What is Kanji? A Complete Introduction

Hiragana (ひらがな) is the first script you learn. It is used for native Japanese words, grammar particles, and verb endings. Every Japanese sound can be written in hiragana.

Katakana (カタカナ) represents the same sounds as hiragana but is used for foreign loanwords, onomatopoeia, and emphasis. Both hiragana and katakana are phonetic — they represent sounds, not meanings.

Kanji (漢字) are logographic characters that represent meanings. A single sentence in Japanese often mixes all three: 私はコーヒーを飲みました (I drank coffee) uses kanji (私, 飲), hiragana (は, を, みました), and katakana (コーヒー).

Every kanji is built from smaller components called radicals (部首). There are 214 traditional radicals, but about 50 appear frequently. Learning these radicals is like learning the alphabet for kanji — they are your building blocks.

For example, the radical 氵(water) appears in 海(sea), 泳(swim), 洗(wash), 湖(lake). If you see 氵in an unfamiliar kanji, you can guess it relates to water. This pattern recognition dramatically speeds up learning.

Most kanji have two types of readings: on-yomi (Chinese-origin reading) used in compound words, and kun-yomi (native Japanese reading) used when the kanji stands alone. For example, 山 is read 'san' in 富士山(Fuji-san) but 'yama' when used alone.

The answer depends on your goal. For JLPT N5, you need approximately 110 kanji — basic characters for numbers, days, directions, and common verbs. This is very achievable in 2-3 months of casual study.

For JLPT N3, you need approximately 650 kanji. This is where many students hit a wall because the jump from N4 (300 kanji) to N3 requires learning 350 new characters while maintaining all previous ones.

For reading a Japanese newspaper, you need approximately 2,000 kanji (the Joyo kanji set). This sounds overwhelming, but with consistent daily practice using spaced repetition, most dedicated students reach this level in 2-3 years.

The worst way to learn kanji is writing each character 50 times in a row. Research shows this produces short-term memory but poor long-term retention. Instead, use spaced repetition — review kanji at increasing intervals based on how well you remember them.

The best approach combines three elements: learn the radical components (understand the structure), learn kanji through vocabulary (context), and use spaced repetition (timing). This is exactly how our app is designed.

Writing practice is still valuable, but do it strategically. Write each kanji 3-5 times while saying the reading aloud, then move on. Return to it tomorrow, then in 3 days, then in a week. This spaced approach builds lasting memory.

Every JLPT level tests kanji directly. N5 and N4 test basic kanji readings, while N3-N1 test both readings and meanings in increasingly complex contexts.

The most common question format: given a sentence with a kanji word underlined, choose the correct reading from 4 options. The trap is usually a similar-looking kanji or a wrong reading type (on-yomi vs kun-yomi).

My advice for JLPT kanji preparation: do not study kanji in isolation. Read Japanese text (graded readers at your level) and look up kanji you encounter. This builds reading fluency alongside kanji knowledge.