Japanese writing gave rise to Japanese calligraphy, considered one of Japan’s most famous art forms. Yet, Japanese calligraphy is often confused with the Chinese version. This is due in large part to their similar writing systems, known as kanji (漢字) in Japanese. The literal translation of kanji is “Chinese letters,” but it specifically refers to Japanese characters. What is kanji, then, and what makes it different from Chinese?
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Table of Contents
What is kanji?
Kanji is the oldest and most extensive of the three Japanese writing systems, and it uses the unique characters borrowed from Chinese to represent individual words and ideas. Until about the eighth century A.D., Japan did not have a written language, but Chinese writing was adopted around this time period. Over the centuries, the other two Japanese writing systems—hiragana (平仮名) and katakana (片仮名)—were developed. They are based on specific kanji to create a phonetic alphabet that could be used separately from kanji.
Hiragana and katakana use Japanese letters or characters known as kana (仮名) that have 46 characters each and function as Japanese alphabets. The former is primarily used for native Japanese words and the latter is primarily used for foreign words. While there is no kanji alphabet to speak of, each kanji has one or a handful of meanings that can be understood at a glance without spelling them out because they are all unique.
For example, the kanji 川 (kawa) means “river” and refers to a river or stream. It even looks like one! Any number of kanji may also be used in names. The common Japanese surname Yamakawa (山川) uses the kanji for “mountain” and “river” in a similar fashion to the English surnames Hill and Bush, using nature words to create names.
How many Japanese kanji are there?
While the hiragana and katakana alphabets each have 46 characters, there are thousands of kanji: over 40,000! However, few people know every single one. Instead, it’s more reasonable to go by the list of common-use kanji (jо̄yо̄ kanji, 常用漢字), which are the mere 2,136 characters taught in Japanese schools.
Do Chinese and Japanese use the same kanji?
Yes and no. Since Japanese kanji share a history with Chinese hànzì (汉字), roughly 70-80% of the characters used in Japanese look the same as hànzì and have near-identical meanings. However, comparisons of kanji versus Chinese characters only go so far.
- They are not pronounced the same, even if the readings are reminiscent of the original Chinese.
- There are many false friends between the two languages even with the same character. For example, the character 娘 is “daughter” in Japanese and “mother” in Chinese.
- The Chinese language has simplified more characters over the years—and in different ways—than Japanese. Japanese still uses many of the traditional variants of the character, such as in the word kanji itself. In Mandarin Chinese, kanji is hànzì (汉字). The characters that make up the word are the same in both languages, but Chinese has simplified the first character, using 汉字 instead of 漢字.
- Japanese has even developed its own unique kanji that do not originate in Chinese at all. These “national characters,” or kokuji (国字), include highly specific terminology, such as species of animals, plants, and systems of measurement.
How do you read kanji?
The majority of kanji are read multiple ways. This results in two groups of potential spellings or “readings.” The first is called kun’yomi (訓読み, “meaning reading”), which are based on native Japanese readings. The second is on’yomi (音読み, “sound reading”), which are based on the original Chinese readings. Most kanji have at least one of each type, but some kanji have multiple spellings in each category.
Essentially, when Chinese characters were originally adopted into the Japanese language, the characters already represented Chinese words. However, Japanese also had its own words for the same concepts or objects. This resulted in both types of readings being used. How, then, do you know whether to use the kun’yomi or on’yomi reading when approaching an unfamiliar kanji?
Kun’yomi: Japanese kanji readings
Kun’yomi readings are based on native Japanese words. When a kanji is by itself in a sentence or is followed by hiragana—known as okurigana (送り仮名)—it most likely uses the kun’yomi reading.
- Ano hito wa higashi e ikimasu. (あの人は東へ行きます。）= That person is going east.
The kanji using kun’yomi in the example sentence include two nouns and a verb. They’re broken out in this chart so you can easily compare the reading vs. the kanji.
| Kanji | Kun’yomi | Romanization | English Meaning |
| 人 | ひと | hito | person |
| 東 | ひがし | higashi | east |
| 行（きます） | い（きます） | i (kimasu) | going |
On’yomi: Chinese kanji readings
On’yomi readings are based on borrowed Chinese words. However, Chinese has far more phonemes than Japanese, meaning that the borrowed readings are pronounced using Japanese phonetics, resulting in approximations rather than exact copies of the Chinese pronunciation.
Conveniently, words with multiple kanji often combine the meanings of each individual kanji, which helps when making informed guesses about the meaning of unfamiliar words. In a way, this is like converting English to Japanese kanji. For example, the word “telephone” (denwa, 電話) combines the kanji for “electric” (電) and “speak” (話), resulting in a method of “speaking electronically.”
Kanji that are attached to other kanji or katakana typically use the on’yomi readings. When written in dictionaries and other Japanese language resources, on’yomi readings are listed in katakana because they are borrowed from another language.
- Chūgoku-jin no tomodachi wa kyonen tо̄kyо̄ ni hikkoshimashita.（中国人の友だちは去年東京に引っ越しました。）= My Chinese friend moved to Tokyo last year.
There are three words in this sentence that use multiple kanji, and therefore use on’yomi readings. Each kanji has an individual meaning:
| Kanji | On’yomi | Romanization | English Meaning |
| 中 | チュウ | chū | middle / inside |
| 国 | コク | koku | country |
| 人 | ジン・ニン | jin / nin | person |
| 去 | キョ | kyo | past |
| 年 | ネン | nen | year |
| 東 | トウ | tо̄ | east |
| 京 | キョウ | kyо̄ | capital |
When put together, the kanji become new words. For example, the kanji for “past” and “year” combine to create “last year.”
| Kanji | Hiragana | Romanization | English Meaning |
| 中国人 | ちゅうごくじん | chūgoku-jin | Chinese person |
| 去年 | きょねん | kyonen | last year |
| 東京 | とうきょう | tо̄kyо̄ | Tokyo |
Kanji and radicals
Just as Japanese kanji are combined with other kanji to create new words, there are distinguishable components called “radicals” in each kanji that give hints to its reading and/or meaning. The radical 寺 is synonymous with the kanji for “temple” (寺), but it is also used as a component in the kanji for “time” (時) and “hold” (持). Additionally, the on’yomi for all three is “ji”!
While this doesn’t work every time, radicals work as great mnemonic devices, and they are also used to look up kanji in kanji dictionaries. Can you find the common thread between these words?
| Kanji | Hiragana | Romanization | English Meaning |
| 糸 | いと | ito | thread |
| 線 | せん | sen | line |
| 結 | けつ | ketsu | bind / tie |
| 絹 | きぬ | kinu | silk |
@chloedyhe this is also the same way i learnt chinese hanzi as a child! (and how kids in china and maybe (?) japan learn
♬ Transcend – L3ahpar) writing might not be as useful nowadays, but familiarising yourself with the types of strokes and stroke order of kanji will serve as a great foundation for learning more difficult kanji (as well as writing neater!) #kanji #learnkanji #japanesekanji #languagelearning #日本語勉強中 #日本語 #languagelearningtips #learnjapanese #nihongo #studyjapanesewithme #studyjapanese
Using Japanese punctuation with kanji
Japanese punctuation rules are considerably less strict than English punctuation rules, but there are a few special uses to keep in mind when learning kanji.
Repeated words and iteration marks
Japanese characters are sometimes repeated back-to-back to create a new word. When this is done with kanji, the iteration mark 々 is used. It is usually referred to as noma (のま・ノマ).That makes sense since it looks like the katakana characters no (ノ) and ma (マ) squished together.
By duplicating the kanji, the kanji’s meaning is also reiterated. What do you get when you take time (時) and double it? “Sometimes” (時々)! While many words that use repeated kanji don’t evoke any particular emotions, some reduplications can be used as cute Japanese words in casual conversation.
| Kanji | Hiragana | Romanization | English Meaning |
| 時々 | ときどき | tokidoki | sometimes |
| 別々 | べつべつ | betsubetsu | separately |
| 粒々 | つぶつぶ | tsubutsubu | grainy / beady |
Spaces
Like the Japanese language as a whole, kanji do not use spaces. Functionally, this is where Japanese particles help. Particles are short Japanese words that separate parts of speech and other sections of a sentence while also identifying the role each of those words play in a sentence. For example purposes, spaces have been inserted in this Japanese sentence to break up each word:
- Kotoshi wa nihon ni ikitai desu.（今年 は 日本 に 行きたい です。) = I want to go to Japan this year.
The words composed of a single character are the particles. Let’s look at the same sentence again without the spaces so you can see where the particles sit without spaces.
- Kotoshi wa nihon ni ikitai desu.（今年は日本に行きたいです。) = I want to go to Japan this year.
The hiragana used in the particles generally look simpler than the kanji that make up the larger words. Despite the lack of spaces, this helps break up the sentence into more easily understandable chunks.
Parentheses
There are two notable uses of parentheses when learning the answer to “What is kanji?” Parentheses are used to explain how to read a word and to separate the kun’yomi from the okurigana in dictionaries or other language resources.
In some cases (such as when a reading is unusual or if the content is designed for newer learners), small hiragana characters referred to as furigana (振り仮名) are written above kanji to explain how to read it without guesswork. However, due to formatting constraints or as a matter of convenience, the reading is sometimes offered in parentheses following the kanji instead.
- Otо̄to wa mо̄ otona nan desu yo.（弟はもう大人（おとな）なんですよ。）= My little brother is already an adult!
In dictionaries or similar reference materials, parentheses may also be used to separate the reading of the kanji and the reading of the characters that follow them (the okurigana). This is also sometimes done with a single period rather than two parentheses.
| Full Japanese Word | Hiragana | Romanization | English Meaning |
| 見せる | み（せる） | mi (seru) | to show |
| 小さい | ちい（さい） | chii (sai) | small |
Important Japanese kanji to know
There are hundreds of kanji that are useful for brand new learners, but this table includes 25 Japanese kanji phrases for travel and self-introductions. Any characters in parentheses are okurigana that typically accompany the kanji. Some of these kanji also have multiple pronunciations, but only the most common have been included.
| Kanji | Kun’yomi | On’yomi | English Meaning |
| 人 | ひと hito | ジン・ニン jin / nin | person |
| 名 | な na | メイ mei | name |
| 国 | くに kuni | コク koku | country |
| 語 | かた（る） kata (ru) | ゴ go | language / speech |
| 年 | とし toshi | ネン nen | year |
| 時 | とき toki | ジ ji | time / hour |
| 分 | わ（ける） wa (keru) | フン fun | minute / divide |
| 日 | ひ hi | ニチ nichi | day / sun |
| 月 | つき tsuki | ガツ gatsu | month / moon |
| 東 | ひがし higashi | トウ tо̄ | east |
| 西 | にし nishi | セイ・サイ sei / sai | west |
| 北 | きた kita | ホク hoku | north |
| 南 | にし nishi | ナン nan | south |
| 入 | はい（る） hai (ru) | ニュウ nyū | enter |
| 出 | で（る） de (ru) | シュツ shutsu | exit |
| 前 | まえ mae | ゼン zen | front / before |
| 後 | あと・うし（ろ） ato / ushi (ro) | ゴ go | back / later |
| 上 | うえ ue | ジョウ jо̄ | up / above |
| 下 | した shita | カ ka | down / below |
| 中 | なか naka | チュウ chū | middle / inside |
| 外 | そと soto | ガイ gai | outside |
| 食 | た（べる） ta (beru) | ショク shoku | eat / food |
| 飲 | の（む） no (mu) | イン in | drink |
| 書 | か（く） ka (ku) | ショ sho | write |
| 読 | よ（む） yo (mu) | ドク doku | read |
Frequently asked questions about Japanese kanji
When learning kanji, getting to know their history, how to read them, and the concept of radicals are just the basics. With thousands of kanji waiting for you, there are bound to be a mountain of questions! We’ve included some more helpful information to help you answer the question, “What is kanji?”
What is the difference between Japanese and kanji?
Kanji is a part of the Japanese written language, so Japanese and kanji are inextricably linked. In most Japanese sentences, kanji will be combined with one or both of the other Japanese writing systems: hiragana and katakana. So, if you ask “What is kanji?” don’t be surprised if you get a long answer.
Are kanji hard to learn?
Whether or not kanji are hard to learn is dependent on the approach and amount of dedicated effort. Learning all 2,136 common-use kanji in a month would be quite difficult. However, by studying kanji at a more measured pace—such as 10 per week or 50 per month—it won’t be as hard to learn Japanese and its writing systems.
What is kanji stroke order and is it important?
Stroke order is the order in which each line of a Japanese character is written. While not absolutely essential, it is important when determining a kanji’s radicals and looking up kanji through apps or dictionaries. Certain characters actually change meaning when written in the wrong order (the characters for “enter” (入) and “person” (人) being the most prominent example), so learning Japanese stroke order alongside readings and meanings is incredibly useful.
Should I use the on’yomi or kun’yomi reading for this kanji?
If a kanji stands alone or with attached hiragana, it will most likely use the kun’yomi. If a kanji is paired with another kanji and does not come with attached hiragana, the on’yomi reading will most likely be used. However, this is not foolproof and there are many exceptions, so when in doubt, look it up in a dictionary or ask someone!
How many kanji do you actually need to learn?
A beginner will want to learn between 200-300 kanji. Those looking to become proficient in Japanese would benefit from aiming for the full list of common-use kanji, which totals just over 2,000. To get you started, the Rosetta Stone app lets you seamlessly switch between each writing system, letting you get acclimated to kanji at your own pace!
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