How to Learn Kanji: 7 Smart Strategies for Beginners (with Games)
Many people say kanji is the hardest part of Japanese. There are thousands of them, most have more than one reading, and some look almost the same. But here is a secret: kanji are not random. They are built from a small set of parts, and those parts give you hints about the meaning and even the sound.
In this guide, you will learn 7 strategies that make kanji much easier to remember, and you can practice each one right away with a free game. At the end, there is a 15-minute daily routine you can start today.
You don’t need 2,000 kanji to start reading. With the first 300, you can already read signs, menus and simple sentences. Let’s make those 300 easy.
Contents
- Strategy 1: Learn how kanji are made
- Strategy 2: Learn the radicals (the meaning parts)
- Strategy 3: Use the sound parts to guess the reading
- Strategy 4: Learn words, not single kanji
- Strategy 5: Make a memory story
- Strategy 6: Review at the right time (spaced repetition)
- Strategy 7: Write a little, read a lot
- Watch out for look-alike kanji
- Kanji you will see on your first day in Japan
- Useful tools for learning kanji
- 5 common mistakes (and what to do instead)
- Final challenge
- FAQ
- What’s next
- Practice with a real teacher
Strategy 1: Learn how kanji are made
Almost every kanji was made in one of four ways. When you know the four types, a new kanji stops being a strange shape and becomes something you can understand.
A drawing of a thing. 山 has three mountain peaks, and 木 is a tree with branches and roots.
A mark that shows an idea. 上 has a mark above a line: “above.” 本 is a tree with a mark at the root: “origin.”
Two kanji make a new idea. A person (亻) and a tree (木) make 休, “rest.”
One part shows the meaning, and one part shows the sound. 晴 = sun (日, meaning) + 青 (セイ, sound). It is read セイ.
The fourth type is the most important one. Most kanji, often estimated at around 80%, are “meaning + sound” kanji. That means for most kanji, you can get a hint about the meaning and the reading just by looking at the parts. Strategies 2 and 3 show you how.
Strategy 2: Learn the radicals (the meaning parts)
A radical (部首, bushu) is a part that appears in many kanji. It often shows the general meaning. For example, kanji with 氵 on the left are often about water: 海 (sea), 池 (pond), 泳 (swim), 洗 (wash).
You don’t need to learn all 214 radicals. These 16 appear again and again in beginner kanji:
- Guess the meaning. You see 鉄 for the first time. It has 金 (metal), so it is probably a metal. It is! 鉄 means “iron.”
- Remember faster. 読 (read) = words (言) + 売. Now you only need to remember one new part.
- Look up kanji. Dictionary apps let you search for a kanji by its parts, even when you can’t read it.
Strategy 3: Use the sound parts to guess the reading
In “meaning + sound” kanji, the other part gives a hint about the on reading (the Chinese-style reading). Kanji with the same sound part often share the same reading. Look at these families:
This is not a perfect rule. The sound part is a hint, not a promise, because Japanese pronunciation changed over many centuries. Here are some exceptions you will meet:
| Sound part | Exceptions |
|---|---|
| 寺 (ジ) | 待 タイ (wait), 特 トク (special), 詩 シ (poem) |
| 反 (ハン) | 返 ヘン (return) |
| 青 (セイ) | 情 ジョウ (feelings), 静 also ジョウ |
| 門 (モン) | 聞 ブン (hear; モン is also used, but ブン is the common one) |
Still, the hint is right very often. When you see a new kanji in a two-kanji word, try the sound part first. You will be surprised how often you are right.
Strategy 4: Learn words, not single kanji
Most kanji have two kinds of readings. The kun reading is the original Japanese word, and the on reading comes from Chinese. Beginners often try to memorize long lists of readings for every kanji. Please don’t! Instead, learn each kanji inside one or two useful words. The readings will come naturally.
Two simple rules tell you which reading to use most of the time:
| When | Examples | |
|---|---|---|
| Kun reading | The kanji is alone, or it has hiragana after it (okurigana) | 水 みず (water), 食べる たべる (to eat), 大きい おおきい (big) |
| On reading | The kanji is in a word with other kanji | 水曜日 すいようび (Wednesday), 食堂 しょくどう (dining hall), 大学 だいがく (university) |
There are exceptions, like 花火 (はなび, fireworks) and 手紙 (てがみ, letter), which use kun readings, and special words like 今日 (きょう, today) and 一人 (ひとり, one person). That is exactly why learning words works better than learning readings: the word teaches you the right reading.
Strategy 5: Make a memory story
Your brain remembers stories and pictures much better than shapes. So for each new kanji, break it into parts and make a short, silly story. The sillier, the better.
- Use the parts. Every part of the kanji should be in your story.
- Make it visual. Imagine the scene for 3 seconds. Funny or strange scenes stick best.
- End with the meaning. The last word of your story should be the meaning of the kanji.
- It doesn’t have to be true. A memory story is a tool, not history. The real origin of a kanji is often different, and that is OK.
Strategy 6: Review at the right time (spaced repetition)
If you learn 20 kanji on Sunday and never look at them again, you will forget most of them by Friday. Your memory works best when you review just before you forget. This is called spaced repetition.
Each time you remember a kanji, you can wait longer before the next review. Flashcard apps like Anki do this for you. You can also use the free Kanji Trainer on our Writing System page: kanji you miss come back more often.
Your 15-minute daily routine
With 5 new kanji a day, you will know all the N5 and N4 kanji in about two months. Small daily steps beat one long study day every week.
Strategy 7: Write a little, read a lot
Writing kanji by hand is one of the best ways to remember them, because your hand learns the shape and the order of the parts. But in real life you will read and type kanji much more than you write them. So a good balance is: write each new kanji a few times, then spend most of your time reading.
- Follow the stroke order. It helps you see the parts and makes your writing look natural. You can watch stroke order animations for every N5 and N4 kanji on our Writing System page.
- Copy the textbook style, not your phone font. Some kanji look a little different in fonts. We explain this in Handwriting vs. typed text.
- Read every day. Graded readers, NHK News Web Easy, manga with furigana, and our N4 reading practice are all great.
Watch out for look-alike kanji
Some kanji look almost the same. Don’t try to learn them at the same time. Learn one well, and then compare it with its “twin.” Focus on the one small difference:
人 person, 入 enter. Which stroke is on top?
未 not yet (short top line), 末 end (long top line).
午 noon, 牛 cow. Does the line go through the top?
持 hold (扌 hand), 待 wait (彳 road).
問 question (口), 間 between (日).
右 right, 石 stone. Look at the top.
Kanji you will see on your first day in Japan
Practice your kanji in real life! These signs are everywhere: in stations, shops and restaurants. Tap a card to hear it.
Going to Japan soon? The Travel Japanese Pack has the words and phrases you need at stations, restaurants, hotels and shops, with audio. It is a quick way to feel ready before your trip.
Useful tools for learning kanji
| Tool | What it is good for |
|---|---|
| Writing System page (this site, free) | All N5 and N4 kanji with readings, example words, memory tricks, stroke order animations and a trainer. |
| Jisho.org (free) | An online dictionary. You can search for a kanji by its parts (radicals) or by drawing it. |
| Anki (free on computer and Android) | Flashcards with spaced repetition. You can make your own cards or download decks. |
| WaniKani (paid, free to try) | A kanji course built on radicals, memory stories and spaced repetition. |
| Kanji Study (app) | Stroke order, quizzes and writing practice on your phone. |
For more apps and websites, see Top 10 apps and websites for learning Japanese.
5 common mistakes (and what to do instead)
- Memorizing every reading. Learn one or two words for each kanji instead.
- Learning too many at once. 30 new kanji on a weekend feels great, but you will forget most of them. 5 a day is better.
- Skipping review. Review is not extra work. It is the work. Always review before you learn new kanji.
- Only reading romaji. If your textbook has romaji, cover it. Your eyes need to see kanji and kana.
- Learning look-alikes together. Learn 未 first, and add 末 a week later.
Final challenge
Test everything you learned on this page. The questions are different every time, so come back and try to beat your best score.
FAQ
How many kanji should I learn a day?
For most learners, 5 new kanji a day is a good pace, with daily review. If you are busy, 3 a day is fine. It is better to be slow and steady than fast and tired.
Do I need to learn stroke order?
Yes, at least for the first few hundred kanji. Stroke order helps you see the parts, write neatly, and use handwriting search in dictionary apps. The rules are simple, and after a while you will guess the order of new kanji naturally.
Should I learn the on and kun readings separately?
No. Learn kanji inside words. 大学 (だいがく) teaches you the on reading, and 大きい (おおきい) teaches you the kun reading. You learn both, and you also learn two useful words.
Can I learn kanji without writing them?
You can learn to read kanji without writing, and many learners do. But writing each new kanji a few times helps your memory a lot. A little writing plus a lot of reading is the best mix.
How long does it take to learn the N5 and N4 kanji?
At 5 new kanji a day, about two months. If you are using GENKI, you can learn the kanji of each lesson together with the grammar.
What’s next
- Learn hiragana, katakana and all N5–N4 kanji with charts, stroke order and games.
- Step 1 of the grammar series: XはYです. Start reading real sentences.
- は vs が: a simple guide for beginners.
Practice with a real teacher
A teacher can check your handwriting, help you read aloud, and give you reading practice at your level. On italki, you can find Japanese teachers for every level and book a short trial lesson.
This is an affiliate link. If you book a lesson, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
