How to write hiragana so”そ”?

Why are there two types of hiragana ‘so’「そ」?

The reason why there are two types of hiragana ‘so’「そ」 can be seen by looking at the origin of the characters.

The original character for the hiragana 「そ」 is the kanji 「曽」.

If the kanji 「曽」 is written in a cursive, collapsed form, it has a character form similar to the hiragana 「そ」.

On the other hand, the hiragana character ‘そ’, which is written with two strokes, can also be written like the katakana character ‘ソ’, depending on the viewer when looking at the writing of the kanji character ‘曽’.

Is it correct to write the hiragana ‘so’「そ」 with one stroke apart?

The hiragana ‘so’ is written in two different ways.

・How to write with one stroke and a head beginning like the letter ’Z’ in the alphabet.

・How to write with two strokes and the head looks like a katakana ‘so’「ソ」.

Although it is not decided which is ‘correct’, in Japanese primary school students are taught with ‘そ’, which is written with one stroke and joined together like an alphabet Z.

How do the Japanese use these two types of ‘so’?

When the one stroke ‘そso’ is used

The main time when ‘so’ is used in a stroke is when writing.

Many Japanese learn this way of writing in school, so many people use this way of writing in their daily lives.

However people sometimes write with ‘so’, which is written in two strokes.

Two different types of ‘so’ are sometimes used, depending on people’s preferences and writing habits.

When the two stroke そ’so’ is used

The ‘So’「そ」 written with two strokes is more design-oriented than the one with one stroke.

Some people use it when daring to write because it looks fashionable.

‘So’「そ」, written in two strokes, is often seen on posters and notices.

How to write the hiragana ‘so’「そ」 neatly

The hiragana ‘so’「そ」 is a very simple character, with no bounceはね/sweepingはらい.

Letters look neatly if they are stopped firmly at the end.

summary

You can see that there are two ways of writing the hiragana ‘so’「そ」 by looking at the Chinese character, kanji 「曽」, which is the source of the character.

・In the first stroke, the head part begins like the letter “Z” in the alphabet.

・In the second stroke, the head part is written like the katakana ‘so’「ソ」.

Both are not wrong.

However, Japanese education recommends writing ‘so’ with one stroke.