- Kanji are characters that carry meaning, originally borrowed from Chinese.
- Japan’s official list of common-use kanji (jōyō kanji) contains 2,136 characters. You need only a few to start.
- Most kanji have two kinds of readings: on’yomi (from Chinese) and kun’yomi (native Japanese).
- Many kanji are built from smaller parts, and simple ones combine into new meanings: 木 tree + 木 tree = 林 grove.
- Learn kanji after kana, a few at a time, always together with real words.
What are kanji?
Kanji (漢字, literally “Han characters”) came to Japan from China more than a thousand years ago. Unlike hiragana and katakana, which only represent sounds, each kanji represents a meaning, and usually one or more ways to pronounce it.
In a Japanese sentence, kanji typically carry the core meaning (nouns, the stems of verbs and adjectives), while hiragana handles the grammar around them. That’s why a sentence like 私はコーヒーが好きです mixes all three scripts. If that’s new to you, read hiragana, katakana and kanji explained first.
When should you start learning kanji?
Once you can read hiragana comfortably, and ideally katakana too. Kanji make far more sense when you already know how the words sound, and you can use hiragana to read their pronunciation.
Then start small: two to five new kanji a day is plenty. Consistency is what builds up a large vocabulary over months.
On’yomi and kun’yomi: why kanji have several readings
When Japan adopted kanji, it kept an approximation of the Chinese pronunciation and also attached existing Japanese words to them. So most kanji have two families of readings:
- On’yomi (音読み), the Chinese-derived reading. Usually used when a kanji is part of a compound word. Written in katakana in dictionaries.
- Kun’yomi (訓読み), the native Japanese reading. Usually used when a kanji stands alone or is followed by hiragana. Written in hiragana in dictionaries.
Example: 山 alone is yama (kun’yomi), but in 富士山 it’s san (on’yomi): Fuji-san, Mount Fuji. Don’t try to memorise every reading of every kanji in isolation. Learn words, and the readings come with them.
Explore your first kanji
Pick a kanji to see it drawn, with its meaning, readings and example words. Tap the play buttons to hear the words.
10 easy kanji to start with
These ten are simple, common and mostly pictographic, meaning they started out as drawings of what they mean.
| Kanji | Meaning | Readings | Strokes | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 一 | one | イチ / ひと(つ) | 1 | 一つ hitotsu, one (thing) |
| 二 | two | ニ / ふた(つ) | 2 | 二人 futari, two people |
| 三 | three | サン / みっ(つ) | 3 | 三月 sangatsu, March |
| 日 | sun, day | ニチ・ジツ / ひ・か | 4 | 日本 nihon, Japan |
| 月 | moon, month | ゲツ・ガツ / つき | 4 | 月曜日 getsuyōbi, Monday |
| 山 | mountain | サン / やま | 3 | 富士山 Fujisan, Mount Fuji |
| 川 | river | セン / かわ | 3 | 川 kawa, river |
| 木 | tree, wood | モク・ボク / き | 4 | 木曜日 mokuyōbi, Thursday |
| 人 | person | ジン・ニン / ひと | 2 | 日本人 nihonjin, Japanese person |
| 口 | mouth, opening | コウ・ク / くち | 3 | 出口 deguchi, exit |
Look at them again: 山 has three peaks, 川 shows flowing water, 木 a trunk with branches and roots, 口 an open mouth. The first three are simply one, two and three lines.
How kanji combine
Here’s where kanji become fun. Many characters are built from simpler ones, and once you know the building blocks, new kanji become much easier to remember:
| Parts | Result | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 木 + 木 | 林 (hayashi) | grove, small wood |
| 木 + 木 + 木 | 森 (mori) | forest |
| 日 + 月 | 明 (as in 明るい, akarui) | bright |
| 人 + 木 | 休 (as in 休む, yasumu) | rest: a person leaning against a tree |
These building blocks are called radicals or components. Learning the most common ones is one of the most effective ways to speed up kanji study.
Stroke order basics
Kanji are written in a fixed stroke order. It makes handwriting look natural and helps you recognise characters faster. The main rules:
- Top to bottom.
- Left to right.
- Horizontal strokes before vertical strokes that cross them (十).
- The centre before the sides when they are symmetrical (小).
- An enclosing box is closed last (口, 日).
How many kanji do you need?
| Goal | Approx. kanji |
|---|---|
| Read simple signs and menus | ~100 |
| JLPT N5 (beginner) | ~100 |
| JLPT N4 | ~300 |
| JLPT N3 (intermediate) | ~650 |
| Read most everyday texts | ~1,000 – 2,000 |
| Full jōyō list | 2,136 |
The JLPT does not publish official kanji lists, so these are common study estimates. The takeaway: the first hundred give you a real foothold, and at a few kanji a day you get there within a couple of months.
Frequently asked questions
How many kanji are there?
Tens of thousands exist historically, but Japan's official list of kanji for everyday use, the jōyō kanji, contains 2,136 characters. Knowing around 1,000 to 2,000 lets you read most everyday texts.
Should beginners learn kanji?
Yes, but after hiragana and katakana. Start with a few simple, common kanji per day and always learn them together with real words that use them.
What is the difference between on'yomi and kun'yomi?
On'yomi is the reading derived from Chinese and is usually used in compound words. Kun'yomi is the native Japanese reading, usually used when a kanji stands alone or with hiragana endings.
What are the easiest kanji to learn first?
Numbers like 一, 二 and 三, and pictographic kanji such as 日 (sun), 月 (moon), 山 (mountain), 川 (river), 木 (tree), 人 (person) and 口 (mouth).