so / ソ
The last of the S row — “so” in two strokes. A steep first mark and a downward sweep keep it distinct from look-alike ン.
Pronunciation
The character ソ represents the syllable 'so', identical in pronunciation to hiragana そ. Take care: ソ closely resembles ン (n) — but ソ's strokes go from upper right to lower left (like a downward-sloping accent), while ン's strokes go from lower left to upper right. Common in loanwords (sofa, sauce, software).
ソ matches hiragana そ — a steady “so.” It opens loanwords like ソファ (sofa), ソース (sauce), ソフト (software), ソーダ (soda). Its first mark is steep and its long stroke sweeps downward — the mirror of ン (n), whose mark is flatter and whose stroke sweeps up.
How to write ソ
Trace ソ on the canvas at the top of the page. Animated arrows show each stroke's direction; trace along them and the stroke fills in. Each numbered step below explains what that stroke does.
A short, steep stroke at the top, angled down to the right — almost vertical.
A long stroke sweeping DOWN from the upper right to the lower left. The steep first mark and the downward sweep are what separate ソ from its look-alike ン (whose first mark is flatter and whose long stroke sweeps upward).
Origin
Katakana ソ comes from the top of the kanji 曽 (so, “formerly” or “once”). The two short strokes crowning 曽 became ソ; the rest was left behind.
Common words starting with ソ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing ソ by hand — the top row shows the stroke order to trace, then fill the blank squares.
Lock it into memory
Reading is only half of it. Drill the katakana you’ve learned with spaced-repetition flashcards — the fastest way to make them stick.