社 — “company / society” in Japanese

Grade 2しゃ, やしろ

Radical ⽰ · radical 113 The building block this kanji is filed under

“company / society” in Japanese is 社, read sha, yashiro (しゃ, やしろ). It is a Grade 2 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 2 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 会社 (company).

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What does 社 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	社
Meaning	company / society
Readings	しゃ, やしろ
Grade	Grade 2 (Easy)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	会社 (company)

How to read 社

社 is read sha (しゃ) or yashiro (やしろ) depending on the word.

Words with 社

会社かいしゃ
社会しゃかい
現代社会げんだいしゃかい
神社
副社長

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Kanji read the same way as 社

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28