Meaning
社 covers three meanings: company or corporation, society or community, and Shinto shrine. In daily use, company — written 会社 (かいしゃ) — is what you'll run into most. Job listings, business cards, office signs: this kanji is everywhere.
社 breaks into two parts. The left side is the radical 示 (shimesu), linked to ritual and the divine — you'll find it in many religion-related kanji. The right side is 土 (tsuchi), meaning earth or soil. Together, they once depicted a sacred earthen altar for the earth deity. Communities gathered at such shrines to pray for good harvests. That sense of people uniting around a shared purpose gradually stretched to mean community, then organization, and eventually the modern company.
社 has 7 strokes and is taught at Grade 2 in Japanese elementary school. Low stroke count, high real-world frequency — that makes it one of the first N5 kanji worth learning well.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
The on'yomi is シャ (sha). It appears almost entirely in compound words (熟語, じゅくご), which is where you'll meet 社 most in real Japanese. Company name, shrine, newspaper — シャ is the reading in all of them.
- 会社 (kaisha) — company, corporation
- 社会 (shakai) — society
- 神社 (jinja) — Shinto shrine
- 社長 (shachou) — company president
- 社員 (shain) — company employee
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
The kun'yomi is やしろ (yashiro), meaning a Shinto shrine — typically a small, local one. Far rarer than シャ in modern Japanese, it mostly shows up in place names and literary writing. Many shrines across Japan carry this reading in their names.
- 社 (yashiro) — (Shinto) shrine
- お社 (oyashiro) — honorific for a shrine
Common Words & Compounds
社 turns up across work, religion, and media. The compounds below are grouped by theme.
Business & Corporate
- 会社 (kaisha) — company, corporation
- 社長 (shachou) — company president, CEO
- 社員 (shain) — company employee
- 社内 (shanai) — within the company, in-house
- 入社 (nyuusha) — joining a company
- 退社 (taisha) — leaving a company, resigning
- 本社 (honsha) — head office, headquarters
- 支社 (shisha) — branch office
Society & Community
- 社会 (shakai) — society, the world
- 社会人 (shakaijin) — working adult, member of society
Religion & Shrines
- 神社 (jinja) — Shinto shrine
- 大社 (taisha) — grand shrine (e.g., Izumo Taisha)
Media
- 新聞社 (shinbunsha) — newspaper company
- 出版社 (shuppansha) — publishing company
Example Sentences
私は会社で働いています。
Watashi wa kaisha de hataraite imasu.
I work at a company.
この会社は東京にあります。
Kono kaisha wa Toukyou ni arimasu.
This company is in Tokyo.
社長は今日会議があります。
Shachou wa kyou kaigi ga arimasu.
The president has a meeting today.
彼女は来年入社する予定です。
Kanojo wa rainen nyuusha suru yotei desu.
She plans to join the company next year.
神社でお参りしました。
Jinja de omairi shimashita.
I paid my respects at the shrine.
社会のルールを守ることが大切です。
Shakai no ruuru wo mamoru koto ga taisetsu desu.
Following society's rules matters.
彼は大学を卒業して社会人になりました。
Kare wa daigaku wo sotsugyou shite shakaijin ni narimashita.
He graduated university and stepped into working life.
この新聞社は百年の歴史があります。
Kono shinbunsha wa hyakunen no rekishi ga arimasu.
This newspaper company has a hundred years of history.
本社は大阪で、支社は全国にあります。
Honsha wa Oosaka de, shisha wa zenkoku ni arimasu.
The headquarters is in Osaka, with branch offices nationwide.
Related Kanji
- 会 — Meet, Meeting, Association (Kanji N5)
- 店 — Shop, Store (Kanji N5)
- 今 — Now, Present (Kanji N5)
- 万 — Ten Thousand (Kanji N5)
- 上 — Above, Up (Kanji N5)
- 南 — South (Kanji N5)
Memory Tip
Picture a sacred patch of Earth (土) with a divine altar (示) on it — that's the original image of 社. The surrounding community gathered there, and that communal gathering became the seed of the word society. Any group organized around a shared goal — trading, farming, building — was also a 社. So imagine workers bowing at a small shrine before the morning shift: same 会社 (company), same 神社 (shrine), same 社会 (society) — all rooted in that one patch of sacred soil.