JLPT N4 Kanji: How to Learn About 170 New Characters in Eight Groups
N4 roughly triples the kanji you need. Going down a numbered list one character at a time is the slow way to cover that, so this guide sorts them by topic and attaches each one to a word you probably say already.
How Big the Jump Is
There is no official list. The JLPT stopped publishing one in 2010, and every number you see online is an estimate. The common one is about 300 kanji for N4, which includes the N5 set, so you are adding something like 170 characters. Our N4 list, built for the lessons in Nihongo Pass, lands at about the same size.
That sounds like a lot until you notice that you already know most of the words. ๆ, ๅ , ้ง and ้ญ are things you have been saying since your first month. At N4 the work is mostly connecting a shape to a word you can already hear.
Learn Words, Not Characters
โ What slows people down
โ้ง : on'yomi ใจใญ, meaning station, 14 strokes.โ Five facts per character, most of which N4 never asks about.
โ A better flashcard
โ้ง : station. ้ง ใงๅพ ใค: wait at the station.โ One word you already say, one short phrase.
Leave stroke counts and the full list of readings for later. At N4 the exam wants you to read a word and to pick its kanji from four options, so the reading inside a real word is the thing to learn. When a second reading appears in a word you need, add it then.
Eight Groups to Learn Them In
This is a selection from our N4 list, sorted by topic. Each group fits in two or three study sessions. Go through them in this order.
1. Time and seasons
ๆ ๆผ ๅค ๅค ๆ ้ฑ ๆฅ ๅค ็ง ๅฌ ๆฉ
| ๆใ้ฃฏ | breakfast |
| ๆผไผใฟ | lunch break |
| ๅคๆน | early evening |
| ๆฏ้ฑ | every week |
Start here. You already say these words every day, so the kanji only has to attach to a sound you know.
2. Family and people
ๅ ๅผ ๅง ๅฆน ่ฆช ๆ ๅฎถ ็ง ่ ๅก ๅป
| ๅ | my older brother |
| ่ฆช | parent |
| ๅฎถๆ | family |
| ไผ็คพๅก | office worker |
Learn ๅ ใปๅผใปๅงใปๅฆน as a set of four on one card. The JLPT likes to swap them in the kanji-choice questions.
3. Moving and travelling
่ตท ๅ ่ตฐ ้ ้ ่ปข ๆญฉ ้ ๅธฐ ็ ๆฅ ๆญข
| ่ตทใใ | get up |
| ้่ปขใใ | drive |
| ็ใ | arrive |
| ๆฅใ | hurry |
Most of these are verbs. Learn them with okurigana attached (่ตทใใ, not ่ตท), because that is how they appear on the test.
4. Opposite pairs
่ฒธ ๅ ่ฒท ๅฃฒ ๅง ็ต ้ ๆ ๅพ ไฝฟ
| ่ฒธใ / ๅใใ | lend / borrow |
| ่ฒทใ / ๅฃฒใ | buy / sell |
| ๅงใพใ / ็ตใใ | begin / end |
| ๅพ ใค | wait |
Pairs stick better than single kanji. ่ฒธใ and ๅใใ even share the reading ใ, and that is why students mix them up.
5. Thinking and studying
่ ๆ ็ฅ ่จ ็ญ ๅ ๆ ็ฟ ๅ ๅผท ็ ็ฉถ ๆ ๅณ ้ก
| ่ใใ | think, consider |
| ๆใใ / ็ฟใ | teach / learn |
| ่ณชๅ | question |
| ๆๅณ | meaning |
These turn up in instructions and reading passages more than in daily life, so learn the compound (่ณชๅ, ็ ็ฉถ) as well as the single kanji.
6. Places in town
ๅฎค ้ข ้ง ็บ ๅบ ้คจ ๅฑ ๅ ๅ ด ้ ็คพ ้ ๅณ ไบฌ
| ็ ้ข | hospital |
| ๅณๆธ้คจ | library |
| ้ฃๅ | cafeteria |
| ้่ก | bank |
Several of these are endings that mark a type of building: ้คจ, ้ข, ๅ , ๅฑ, ๅบ. Once you know the ending, you can guess what kind of place a new word names.
7. Food and drink
่ถ ้ฃฏ ่ ้ญ ๆ ็ ็ ้ณฅ
| ใ่ถ | tea |
| ็่ | beef |
| ๆ็ | cooking, a dish |
| ้ญ | fish |
The easiest group to review: read menus and supermarket labels in your head.
8. Describing things
้ป ่ตค ้ ่ฒ ๅฎ ๆฐ ๅค ๅค ๅฐ ้ ๅบ ๅผท ๆช ็ ็น ๅฅ ๅ
| ๆฐใใ / ๅคใ | new / old |
| ้ใ | heavy |
| ็นใซ | especially |
| ๅใ | the same |
Adjectives with okurigana again. ๆฐใใ is a common mistake on paper: the okurigana is ใใ, not ใ.
The Look-alikes That Cost Points
In the kanji-choice questions, the wrong options are often shapes that look like the right one. Drill these six sets first.
| Kanji | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| ๅพ / ๆ / ็น | Same right side. ๅฝณ on the left (a road) is wait, ๆ (a hand) is hold, ็ (a cow) is special. |
| ๅ / ้ / ้ / ่ | All inside ้ (a gate). ๅฃ inside is ask, the two-legged shape is open; ๆฅ (between) and ่ณ (hear) you met at N5. |
| ่ฒธ / ๅ | ่ฒธ has ่ฒ (shell, the old sign for money) at the bottom: you lend money. ๅ starts with ไบป (a person) who borrows. |
| ็ / ๅ | In ็ the vertical stroke pokes out above the top line, like a horn. In ๅ (noon) it stops at the top line. |
| ๅง / ๅฆน | Both start with ๅฅณ. The right side of ๅง is ๅธ; the right side of ๅฆน is ๆช (the short line on top). |
| ๅค / ๅค | ๅค is ๅค written twice. |
The parts on the left (ๅฝณ, ๆ, ไบป) are radicals. If you want more of them, the radicals guide covers the common ones.
A Three-Week Plan
- Days 1 to 2: review the N5 kanji. N4 words are built from them (ไผ็คพๅก, ๅณๆธ้คจ), and a shaky N5 base makes everything after it slower.
- Days 3 to 18: one group from the list above every two days, about ten new kanji a day. Each day, review yesterday's words before you add new ones.
- Days 19 to 21: the look-alike table only. Cover the right column and explain each difference out loud.
- After that: ten minutes of review a day until the test.
Ten a day too many alongside grammar? Five a day takes six weeks and works just as well, as long as you keep the group order.
What N4 Actually Asks
Two question types test kanji directly: reading a kanji word in hiragana, and choosing the kanji for a word given in hiragana. The second is where look-alikes do their damage. Kanji also sit inside every reading passage, so slow recognition costs you time there too.
Check yourself (a question I wrote in JLPT style)
ใใใฎ ใพใใง ใจใใ ใกใ ใพใฃใฆ ใใพใใ
1. ๆใฃใฆใ2. ๅพ ใฃใฆใ3. ็นใฃใฆใ4. ไพใฃใฆ
Answer: 2. You wait (ๅพ ใค) for a friend. ๆใค is hold, and ็น and ไพ are not used for this verb.
With or Without Hรกn-Viแปt
If you speak Vietnamese, the on'yomi of many compounds will feel familiar (็ ็ฉถ is nghiรชn cแปฉu, ๆๅณ is รฝ vแป). That helps with ็ ็ฉถ and ่ณชๅ. It does nothing for kun'yomi verbs like ๅพ ใค or ๆฅใ, so those need extra review.
Indonesian and Mongolian speakers usually start with no character background. The topic order above suits that well, because each kanji comes with a word you can already say. Give the look-alike table more time than a Vietnamese or Chinese speaker would need.
Questions Students Ask About N4 Kanji
How many kanji do I need for JLPT N4?
The JLPT has not published an official kanji list since 2010. The usual estimate is about 300 in total, which means roughly 170 new kanji on top of the N5 set. Our own N4 list has about that many.
Do I need to write kanji for the JLPT?
No. Every JLPT question is multiple choice. N4 asks you to read a kanji word in hiragana and to pick the right kanji for a word written in hiragana. Being able to recognise kanji and tell similar ones apart matters far more than handwriting.
How long does it take to learn the N4 kanji?
At ten new kanji a day, with review, about three weeks for a first pass, then another month of review before they feel solid. Learning them through words you already know is faster than learning them one character at a time.
N4 Kanji List โ
Every kanji with readings
Guessing Kanji Readings โ
Sound parts inside kanji
JLPT N4 Guide โ
What else N4 covers
Review each kanji right before you forget it
Nihongo Pass teaches the N4 kanji inside real words and brings each one back when your memory of it starts to fade.