緒 — “Thong / Beginning / Inception / End” in Japanese

Master (高手)しょ, ちょ, お, いとぐち

Radical ⽷ · radical 120 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Thong / Beginning / Inception / End” in Japanese is 緒, read sho, cho, o (しょ, ちょ, お, いとぐち). It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 一緒 (together).

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What does 緒 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	緒
Meaning	Thong / Beginning / Inception / End
Readings	しょ, ちょ, お, いとぐち
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	一緒 (together)

How to read 緒

緒 is read sho (しょ) or cho (ちょ) or o (お) or itoguchi (いとぐち) depending on the word.

Words with 緒

一緒

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Kanji read the same way as 緒

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

Updated: 2026-08-28