衆 — “the masses / crowd” in Japanese

Grade 6しゅう, しゅ

Radical ⾎ · radical 143 The building block this kanji is filed under

“the masses / crowd” in Japanese is 衆, read shuu, shu (しゅう, しゅ). It is a Grade 6 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 6 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 観衆 (audience).

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What does 衆 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	衆
Meaning	the masses / crowd
Readings	しゅう, しゅ
Grade	Grade 6 (Hardest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	観衆 (audience)

How to read 衆

衆 is read shuu (しゅう) or shu (しゅ) depending on the word.

Words with 衆

観衆
聴衆

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Updated: 2026-08-28