Everything You Need to Know About Kanji (But Were Afraid to Ask)

A quick guide to what kanji are, how they’re used, and how to study them

Photo by Hiroshi Tsubono on Unsplash

Why does Japanese have three writing systems? Isn’t one enough? For anyone stepping into the world of Japanese, kanji — the most intimidating of the scripts — can feel like staring up at Mount Fuji when you’re dressed for the beach. They’re beautiful and complex but often make learners wonder, “Is Japanese worth the trouble?”

But here’s the thing — they’re not as scary as they seem! With the right mindset and a few actionable strategies, you can start your kanji journey feeling confident and ready to tackle the stumbling blocks that you’ll hit along the way.

So, why should you bother learning kanji? Well, for starters:

• Kanji are essential for reading Japanese fluently. Sure, hiragana and katakana are great, but kanji is where the real magic happens.

• Kanji add nuance and precision. A single kanji can pack a whole concept into one neat little symbol.

• Kanji help differentiate homophones. Words that sound identical often have completely different meanings, but kanji makes it crystal clear.

Let’s dive into kanji — what they are, why they exist, and how people (native speakers and learners alike) tackle them. By the end, you might just find them more approachable — or at least less likely to give you nightmares.

Part 1: What Even Are Kanji?

1.1 A Quick History Lesson

Kanji (漢字), literally meaning “Chinese characters,” are logographic ideograms borrowed from Chinese and adapted into the Japanese writing system. Unlike emojis, they carry meanings, sounds, and grammatical roles.

Here’s a quick overview:

• There are over 50,000 kanji, but only about 2,000 are commonly used (jōyō kanji).

• Kanji represent meanings and sometimes phonetic or semantic elements

Japanese has three scripts:

• Hiragana: For grammar and native words.

• Katakana: For foreign loanwords and emphasis.

• Kanji: For nouns, verb/adjective stems, and proper names.

Fun fact: While Japanese kanji look similar to Chinese hanzi, their meanings and usage can diverge. For example, 手紙 means “letter” in Japanese but “toilet paper” in Chinese. Both interpretations — hand (手) + paper (紙) — make sense, but receiving one over the other could lead to some confusion!

1.2 Structure of Kanji

Components and Radicals（部首, bushu）

Think of kanji as lego kits that are made up of smaller pieces called parts or components. These components serve as clues to meaning or even pronunciation for some types of kanji. For instance:

木 means “tree” and looks kind of like a tree. Combine it with 口 (mouth), and you get 困 (trapped), as if the tree is stuck in a mouth. (Imagination helps.)

Kanji range from the simple (木) to the complex (like 鬱, which conveniently means “depression”).

Each kanji carries:

• Meaning: A core concept, like “mountain” (山) or “belong” (属).

• Reading(s): Usually more than one, depending on context. It sounds confusing but we study kanji as words and not in isolation — unless you’re doing writing practice.

Like with the examples above, complex kanji are written by combining simpler kanji. In some learning materials, all these component parts are referred to as radicals which can lead to confusion later down the line.

The difference between a radical and the other parts of a kanji lies in their purpose and role within the kanji. While radicals are a specific subset of kanji components with defined functions, not all parts of a kanji are radicals. Let’s break this down:

What is a Radical (部首)?

A radical is a standardized component of a kanji used for:

• Dictionary organization: Radicals are used as the “index keys” in kanji dictionaries.

• Semantic clues: They often provide hints about the general meaning or category of the kanji.

Example: The radical 氵 (three water droplets) appears in kanji related to water, such as:

• 海 (umi, sea)

• 河 (kawa, river)

• 湖 (mizuumi, lake)

A Radical is just a single part of the kanji, even though kanji can consist of multiple parts.

What Are Parts of a Kanji?

Parts of a kanji refer to all the components that make up the character, whether or not they are the radical.

Example:

In 時 (toki, time):

• 日 (sun) is the radical and suggests a connection to the sun or cycles.

• 寺 (temple) provides the pronunciation for the on’yomi reading (ji), but it’s not the radical.

Not All Parts Are Radicals

Radicals are a subset of kanji parts. A kanji might include components that: Indicate meaning, pronunciation (phonetic components), or have no particular function other than be apart of a more complex character.

Practical Tip for Learners

Focus on learning radicals to:

• Decode kanji meanings and group related kanji.

• Use dictionaries effectively.

Explore kanji parts to:

• Understand kanji construction, memorize, and write characters more easily.

Think of kanji as a house:

• Radical: The foundation or main structure that defines the type of house (e.g., bungalow, villa).

• Parts of the kanji: All the components — walls, windows, roof, doors — that contribute to its final look, some functional and others purely decorative.

Types of Kanji

Kanji can also be broken up into a few different categories:

1. Pictographs: Literal pictures of things. Example: 木 (ki, tree) and 山 (yama, mountain).

2. Ideograms: Represent abstract concepts. Example: 上 (ue, above) and 下 (shita, below).

3. Compound Ideograms: Combine elements to create new meanings. Example: 休 (yasumu, rest) = person (人) + tree (木).

4. Phonetic-Ideographic Kanji: Use one part for meaning and another for sound. Example: 河 (kawa, river) = water radical + phonetic component 可 (ka).

1.3 Why Kanji Exist

Why not just stick to hiragana and katakana?

1. Clarifying Ambiguity: Japanese is rich in homophones. Take こうこう, which could mean “high school” (高校) or “navigation” (航行). Kanji clears it up.

2. Efficiency: A single kanji conveys more meaning than multiple kana.

3. Tradition: Kanji has been integral to Japanese culture for over a millennium.

Part 2: How Are Kanji Used?

2.1 Beyond “Hieroglyphics”

Calling kanji “hieroglyphics” or “pictograms” is an oversimplification. Here’s why:

Kanji Often Represent Multiple Readings and Meanings

Many kanji have multiple readings:

On’yomi (音読み): Derived from Chinese pronunciation.

Kun’yomi (訓読み): Native Japanese reading.

For example: 生 can mean “life,” “birth,” or “raw” and be pronounced as せい (sei), しょう (shō), or なま (nama), depending on the context. This complexity shows kanji are not just simple “word-symbol” pairs.

Kanji Are Used for Phonetic Functions

Ateji (当て字): Kanji are used for their sound rather than their meaning, such as in the word 寿司 (sushi). In names and other specialized cases, kanji may represent a pronunciation while ignoring their usual meanings.

Kanji Interact with Hiragana and Katakana

Kanji coexist with hiragana and katakana. While kanji convey meaning, hiragana often mark grammatical elements, and katakana is used for foreign words or emphasis. A typical sentence blends all three scripts seamlessly, such as:

ケーキを食べました (I ate cake).

Here, ケーキ (cake) is in katakana, 食 (eat) is kanji, and べました adds the verb ending in hiragana.

Some words forego kanji entirely for a number of reasons. For example, the word kawaii (cute) is often written in hiragana (かわいい) rather than it’s kanji form (可愛い).

Kanji Are Context-Dependent

A single kanji can change its meaning and pronunciation based on the compounds or grammatical structures it appears in:

人: As a standalone word: ひと (hito), meaning “person.” In a compound like 日本人 (Nihonjin): Pronounced じん (jin), meaning “Japanese person.”

Kanji Can Represent Ideas, Words, and Morphemes

Some kanji represent concrete words (木 — tree), while others represent more abstract concepts (愛 — love).

Others serve grammatical functions rather than full words, such as 者 (もの), which function as a suffix to modify another word or compound. Most words combine kanji (熟語), like 電車 (densha, train).

Part 3: How Do People Learn Kanji?

3.1 How Native Speakers Learn Kanji

In Japan, children start learning kanji in elementary school, beginning with simple characters like 日 (sun) and 月 (moon). Over 12 years, they gradually master the 2,136 joyo kanji, the standard set for daily use.

Students learning how to write kanji use calligraphy practice, writing drills, and kanji practice notebooks and are expected, especially in elementary school, to practice writing for hours every week. For native speakers, six years of language knowledge before entering elementary school combined with constant exposure through classwork, books and other media reinforces their reading ability naturally. There isn’t really anything English speakers would recognize as phonics, just memorization, drilling, and tests. (Which causes problems when Japanese speakers are creating English teaching materials but that’s a story for another day.)

However, even Japanese-speaking adults occasionally struggle with uncommon kanji. The Kanji Kentei, an aptitude test used to evaluate kanji knowledge has 12 levels starting from 10 and going up to level 1. According to data from the organization, in 2023 only about 28% of test takers passed the level 2 test containing all joyo kanji. That figure dropped to around 8% for the highest level 1 test which includes an additional 4,000 characters.

3.2 How Learners Tackle Kanji

For learners, kanji can feel overwhelming. Unlike native speakers, they lack vocabulary to apply to these new symbols or an immersive environment that facilitates gradual acquisition. But a few strategies can make it manageable::

1. Learn Radicals First: Radicals and components simplify complex kanji by revealing patterns

2. Mnemonics: Systems like Heisig’s Remembering the Kanji use imaginative stories to link characters with meanings. For example, 東 (east) becomes “the sun rising behind a tree.”

3. Study in Context: Words like 海水 (kaisui, seawater) show how kanji combine meaningfully. Reading Japanese texts and watching media allows learners to pick up kanji naturally without focusing on the meanings or readings of individual kanji. Kanji in Context is a great resource for this method.

4. Flashcards: Apps like Anki and WaniKani leverage spaced repetition to drill kanji into long-term memory.

5. Practice Writing: Reinforces learning and improves component recognition.

6. Group Kanji by Similarity: Study kanji with shared radicals or related meanings. Example: 火 (hi, fire), 炎 (honō, flame), 灯 (tō, lamp).

7. Read and Engage with Japanese Media: Start small — manga with furigana (small hiragana) is fantastic for beginners. As you improve, try graded readers or novels.

Common Pitfalls

Despite these tools and techniques you’ll still struggle. Kanji learners often trip up on:

1. Cramming Too Much: Learn steadily using SRS tools.

2. Studying Kanji in Isolation: Context reveals real-world usage.

3. Over Reliance on English Translations: Focus on Japanese meanings.

4. Skipping Practice: Daily review ensures steady progress.

Most elementary school students don’t enjoy doing kanji drills either. But with practice and exposure through consuming media, you’ll start feeling comfortable with kanji. When I first started studying Japanese, kanji was definitely frustrating. Now, I think kanji are fascinating and I want to study Chinese just so I can learn more about the writing system!

Kanji might seem like the ultimate boss battle in Japanese, but they’re also what make the language so rich and fascinating. They add depth, clarity, and beauty to the written word, even if they sometimes leave learners pulling their hair out.

While kanji may seem daunting at first, they are far from insurmountable. By breaking them into manageable components, leveraging tools, and embracing gradual exposure, learners can demystify this complex writing system.

So, make kanji a part of your daily routine. Learn a few radicals, read a manga, or test out that SRS app. Consistency beats cramming. Start with a manageable goal, like 5–10 kanji per day. Most importantly, enjoy the process — you’re unlocking the doors to an incredible language and culture. And be sure to celebrate milestones (hello, 100-kanji club!)

Now it’s your turn: What’s your favorite (or least favorite) kanji? What’s been your go-to method for tackling these tricky characters? Share your thoughts below! Let’s make kanji a little less scary — and a lot more fun.