How to Learn Kanji: 18 Tips from Someone Who Mastered It

Kanji characters were a major challenge for me—but now, several years later, I can read Japanese well. It might seem like a long process, but keep in mind that Japanese students spend from kindergarten through high school to achieve this foundational literacy.

After my own experience with kanji, I have some tips that I believe could have saved me time, and I want to pass them on to you.

What Is Kanji?

Kanji are Chinese characters integrated into the Japanese writing system, which also includes hiragana and katakana, the two phonetic alphabets of Japanese.

Most Japanese learners would likely agree that kanji present the biggest challenge in learning to read Japanese. Not only are there a great number of them, but some kanji can have up to seven different readings!

To achieve literacy in Japanese, you need to learn approximately 2,000 "Standard Use Kanji" (常用漢字 / じょうようかんじ). These are the characters commonly found in newspapers, magazines, novels, advertisements, and other everyday materials.

That number might seem overwhelming, but I will share the study methods I used to master them below.

How to Learn Kanji Efficiently

1. Learn hiragana and katakana first

I mentioned hiragana and katakana earlier, and I firmly believe you should master these two writing systems (together known as "kana") before tackling kanji.

Not only will they help you read kanji in real contexts (such as text with furigana), but they will also assist you in perfecting your Japanese pronunciation from the beginning.

For instance, kanji in Japanese is written as 漢字 (かんじ). If you read that with an English accent, it might sound like "kahn-jeeh." In Japanese, however, vowels are not elongated in the same way. Every Japanese vowel has only one distinct sound.

In case you need a reminder about hiragana and katakana:

• Hiragana are used for Japanese words that don't have kanji or use kanji that are too difficult and becoming obsolete. They also function as particles and parts of verb conjugations, making them essential for Japanese grammar. If you're curious about the words in parentheses next to some kanji in this post, they are written in hiragana!
• Katakana are primarily used for loanwords and 和製英語 (わせいえいご), which are words that appear to be English but are actually unique to Japanese, like サラリーマン (さらりーまん / salaryman).

Fortunately, both hiragana and katakana consist of only 46 characters each. They are essentially different ways of writing the same set of sounds, so you can memorize them in under a week with consistent practice.

Plus, you can get some helpful hiragana practice here and katakana drills here.

2. Get to know kanji radicals

Once you've mastered the kana, you can proceed to radicals. Radicals are the smaller components that form most kanji characters.

For example, the kanji for "autumn" is 秋. Notice it has two parts: 禾, the radical for "two-branch tree" or "grain," and 火, the radical for "fire."

Learning the roughly 200 radicals in Japanese is important for several reasons:

• Radicals can provide clues for a significant number of kanji. For instance, both the characters for "sea" (海) and "to wash" (洗う) include the radical for "water" (氵), which helps in understanding their meanings.
• Radicals can also help you guess the pronunciation. Often, characters with similar radicals share similar pronunciations. For example, 泡 (bubble) and 砲 (gun or cannon) can both be read as ほう. (Also, notice how 泡 has the "water" radical, while 砲 has the "stone" radical or 石. Interesting!)

While radicals aren't a perfect solution for all kanji challenges, they can make learning kanji much more manageable compared to methods like rote memorization.

If you want to explore all 200+ radicals, check out this comprehensive guide or watch this playlist of video tutorials on YouTube.

3. Start with the most common kanji

After you have a handle on kana and radicals, your next question might be "Which kanji should I learn first?" or "In what order should I learn kanji?"

Honestly, there isn't a single "correct" order for learning kanji—at least not for non-native Japanese speakers. (Japanese students typically learn kanji from the simplest to the most complex in terms of meaning.)

In the following sections, I'll guide you through some possible systems for learning kanji. Remember, these methods are not strict rules. Use whatever works best for you, even if it's not listed here!

With that said, one approach is to begin with the 75 most common kanji listed below:

But if you want to learn more than these 75 characters (and believe me, 75 won't bring you close to basic literacy), you can also use frequency lists like this one from Wiktionary.

4. Let guided kanji systems do (most of) the legwork for you

If you're already using or considering a guided system like Andrew Scott Conning's "The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Course: A Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering 2300 Characters" or apps like WaniKani, you can simply follow the order and method provided.

After all, learning Japanese is challenging enough. Why make it harder by creating your own study system from the ground up?

Additionally, you can always visit forums like /r/LearnJapanese on Reddit to see what other learners think about these systems—both positive and negative.

5. Study kanji based on their JLPT difficulty level

Another way to determine the order for learning kanji is to refer to Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) textbooks. You'll likely find kanji grouped from the easiest level (N5) to the most difficult (N1). It's not a flawless system, but it's a good starting point.

6. Start from the characters with the least to the most strokes

If you're still unsure about the order to learn kanji, you can also go by the number of strokes (the lines that form the characters) per kanji. Begin with kanji that have the fewest strokes and progress to more complex ones. This method helps avoid overwhelming you with complicated kanji early on.

Most kanji textbooks and printed Japanese dictionaries include an index of kanji by stroke order, such as "The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Course" mentioned earlier. They also organize kanji by other criteria like the radicals used, so explore your options!

7. Don’t neglect stroke order (and writing in general)

Speaking of strokes, you might think stroke order isn't important when learning kanji. After all, isn't it only important that the characters are legible once written?

Not exactly. There are several reasons why stroke order is essential for mastering kanji, even if it seems tedious:

• Stroke order helps you read handwritten Japanese characters, even if they are messy. Proper stroke order is ingrained in Japanese students from the time they start writing. This means everyone who writes kanji follows the same patterns. So, even if someone's handwriting is difficult to read, you can decipher it if you know the stroke order.
• Stroke order makes it easier to type kanji on your keyboard. You might think, "But we live in the digital age! Nobody writes by hand anymore." However, many digital Japanese keyboards allow you to write kanji manually—and knowing the stroke order helps you find the correct character faster. While you can type the hiragana and select from suggestions, this can be inefficient given the large number of kanji characters.
• Writing by hand helps you memorize characters more effectively. Research indicates that writing something down by hand improves memory retention. Personally, I've used stroke order to remember characters that were hard to distinguish because they looked similar.

So, don't ignore writing just because we live in a digital world. It will give you a solid foundation for learning kanji more effectively. Try Japanese Kanji Study for Android or Learn Japanese Kanji for iOS to practice writing new kanji on your phone.

8. Associate images with kanji

In other words, use mnemonics to learn kanji.

Mnemonics involve using stories and associations to learn new skills or create memories. A mnemonic can be anything (a word, image, song, or acronym) as long as it helps you connect to the kanji you're learning.

For example, the character for "person" (人) resembles a person without arms. Similarly, the character for "tree" (木) has horizontal and diagonal strokes that look like branches and a vertical stroke that resembles a trunk.

I often create humorous (and sometimes ridiculous) mnemonics because they help me recall kanji faster than more straightforward associations. This works for me, so use whatever comes to mind most easily for you.

If you're not confident in creating your own mnemonics, don't worry! You can use books like "Remembering the Kanji" by James Heisig (perhaps the most well-known kanji book for non-native speakers) and "Kanji Pict-O-Graphix" by Michael Rowley, and adopt the mnemonics they suggest.

9. Do regular flashcard drills

I admit that drills aren't the most exciting way to study, but they are effective. I learned many kanji primarily through flashcards, using this method:

• Dedicate at least thirty minutes each day to flashcard drills. During this time, I would learn seven new kanji and review ones I had learned previously.
• Practice both meanings and readings. Remembering meanings is often easier than remembering readings. As mentioned earlier, some characters can have up to seven readings, though most have only two or three. (That's still challenging, but better than seven!)
• Use a flashcard app like Anki. Anki is widely regarded as the top flashcard app for language learning. Its strength lies in optimizing your reviews using spaced repetition. Regular review helps you retain kanji long-term until they become second nature. You can follow this step-by-step guide for learning kanji with Anki and/or download pre-made kanji flashcard decks (for free!) to maximize this app's potential.

10. Learn the kanji of new vocab

Whenever I learn a new vocabulary word, I make sure to learn the kanji for that word. I also look at other vocabulary words that use the same kanji to see it in different contexts and understand its nuances better.

Fortunately, most kanji learning resources provide common vocabulary examples for each entry, such as:

• Jim Breen’s WWWJDIC. This is a popular online resource for Japanese learners. The best part is that it's free!
• imiwa. Enter a kanji character into this iOS dictionary app, and it will show you several words that include that character.
• Kanji Damage. This practical and context-focused online book covers around 1,700 kanji. It has a casual style and offers examples that might suit your learning preferences.

11. Read Japanese media that interests you

Let's be honest: Japanese textbooks for language learners can become monotonous over time.

To add variety, you can read materials like:

• Manga. For example, "Yotsuba&" is an excellent manga for beginners and is great for early Japanese reading practice.
• Japanese literature. If you have an English version of a book originally written in Japanese (like many works by Haruki Murakami), you can search for its Japanese title on Amazon JP and purchase it. Just ensure the book can be delivered to your location!
• Blogs. The internet is vast. If you have a hobby or interest, there's likely a Japanese blog dedicated to it.
• News websites. Luckily, NHK has a News Web Easy section, which offers simplified Japanese news articles for learners, complete with furigana, audio, and definitions for new vocabulary that appear when you hover over underlined words.

12. Watch shows with Japanese subtitles

Too much reading without any visual content can make studying feel dull.

Why not make the most of your Netflix subscription and turn on Japanese subtitles for that J-Drama you're watching? Alternatively, explore other websites where you can legally watch shows with Japanese subtitles.

You can also try a language learning program like Lingflix.

13. Make a kanji phrasebook

Here's how a kanji phrasebook works (based on my experience):

• Get a blank notebook and write down all the new kanji you encounter or want to learn. I usually include the furigana and meanings to get accustomed to reading and using them in context. This also serves as a reference when I forget a character later.
• Pay attention to Japanese advertisements and note the kanji they use. Japanese magazines, catalogs, and variety shows are filled with ads, which often use catchy, everyday language. Translate and memorize the catchphrases, then write down some of the kanji in your phrasebook. This way, when you see the kanji elsewhere, the ad will jog your memory and remind you of the kanji's meaning.

14. Practice writing kanji with native speakers

There are many nuances to writing kanji, and you learn these best when a native speaker corrects your mistakes—and encourages you when you're doing well!

For example, you can exchange emails with a penpal. You can usually find penpals on sites like Conversation Exchange or ChatPad, the latter of which randomly pairs you with a Japanese partner for chatting.

15. Start a Japanese blog

A good way to stay committed to your kanji studies is to share your progress publicly. Post updates on social media or start a blog that documents your journey to Japanese literacy.

Even better, try writing these posts entirely in Japanese. This provides tangible evidence of your progress and highlights areas for improvement.

16. Set up a competition with fellow learners

Competing with others who are also learning kanji can boost your motivation. You could:

• Agree on a date several months from now. When that day arrives, test yourselves to see who has learned the most kanji.
• Set a specific number of kanji to learn and race to be the first to read and/or write them all. You can also stay accountable by testing each other weekly leading up to the deadline.
• Establish a rewards system for yourself or your study group. For example, treat yourselves to sushi once you can read all the kanji on the menu!

17. Set realistic goals

Naturally, your main goal is to become fluent in Japanese. But what does that mean for you? How can you make your goal SMART—specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely?

Suppose you want to master all 2,200 or so kanji to be "newspaper fluent" in one year. This means you need to learn about six to seven new kanji every day.

This goal is specific ("newspaper fluent"), measurable ("2,200-ish"), achievable ("about six to seven new kanji daily"), and timely ("in one year").

But is it realistic? Can you fully learn six to seven new kanji, including their meanings and readings, each day?

If you can, that's great! If not, you might need to adjust your timeline (for example, extending it to two years).

Avoid setting goals that are too ambitious early on. Otherwise, you may become discouraged if you don't meet them. It's fine to make learning a part of your life, but not to the point where it becomes overwhelming and causes you to resent it.

18. Track your progress

Nothing is more motivating than seeing how much you've improved. Test your kanji knowledge at the beginning to gauge your starting level, and then retest yourself regularly as you learn (e.g., every few weeks or months).

Various online tools can assess your proficiency, such as MLC Kanji Level Check. This quick test estimates how many kanji you know.

There's a less formal but highly rewarding way to track progress: notice your increasing literacy. Pick up a Japanese novel, manga, magazine, or newspaper and observe how much more you can read compared to before.

Being able to read something—even a single sentence—that was completely unintelligible to you previously is a fantastic feeling!

Why You Should Learn Kanji

Of course, you don't need to learn kanji to speak Japanese fluently. But there are several reasons why it's still important.

Reading kanji is essential for complete literacy in Japanese

This might seem obvious, but you don't truly know a language unless you can read it. This is easy to overlook in languages like Spanish or German, which use the same alphabet as English.

Languages that don't use the Roman or Latin alphabet (e.g., Chinese, Korean, and Japanese), however, require learners to invest significant time in reading. Japanese learners, in particular, need to get comfortable with the complexities of kanji.

Kanji helps you pick up new vocabulary

When you learn new Japanese words, knowing the kanji can help you deduce their meanings.

Even if you've never encountered a specific kanji before, you can break it down into its radicals and make an educated guess about its meaning. Often, your guess will be correct!

Knowing kanji will help you get around Japan

If you ever plan to live in Japan, you'll need to know kanji to navigate effectively. Very few signs are in English, especially outside major cities.

Additionally, kanji enables you to read restaurant menus (which may not have pictures) and product descriptions.

Even if you're only visiting Japan, being able to read basic signs and instructions will boost your confidence.

Learning kanji takes time, but as you progress, you'll experience a growing sense of achievement throughout your journey.

Keep practicing, and eventually, you'll recognize all the kanji that once seemed so mysterious!