Introduction to Kanji

1. Introduction

So far, you have learned two Japanese writing systems: ひらがな and カタカナ. Together, these are known as かな (kana), a phonetic writing system in which each character represents a sound (more precisely, a mora). Japanese also uses a third writing system called 漢字(かんじ), or kanji. Unlike kana, kanji represent meaning as well as pronunciation. Kanji originated in China and were introduced to Japan beginning around the fourth and fifth centuries. Over time, Japanese writers developed simplified and cursive forms of kanji that eventually became the two kana scripts, hiragana and katakana.

Table 1. Kanji-Kana Comparison

Kanji	加	奈	Original kanji
Katakana	カ	ナ	Katakana developed from parts of kanji and tends to use straight lines and sharp angles.
Hiragana	か	な	Hiragana developed from more cursive forms of kanji and tends to have rounder, flowing shapes.

2. How They Work Together

In everyday Japanese writing, kanji, hiragana, and katakana are used together. Each writing system has different functions. Kanji are used primarily for content words and the main meaning-bearing parts of words, including:

• Nouns
• Verb stems
• Adjective stems

For example:

• 来ます ("come") — 来 is written in kanji, while ます is written in hiragana.
• 白い ("white") — 白 is written in kanji, while い is written in hiragana.

Hiragana are used for:

• Grammatical particles
• Verb and adjective endings
• Some words that are normally or sometimes written without kanji

The hiragana that follow a kanji to show grammatical endings are called おくりがな.

Katakana are used primarily for:

• Words of foreign origin (loan words): コンピューター ("computer")
• Foreign names: スミス ("Smith")
• Many sound-symbolic expressions: ワンワン (a dog barking), ガチャガチャ (clattering), キラキラ (sparkling)

In addition to these three scripts, Japanese writing frequently uses Roman letters (the Roman alphabet) and Arabic numerals. As a result, even a short sign, advertisement, or headline may contain several different writing systems.

3. How Many Kanji Are There?

Tens of thousands of kanji have existed historically, but only a fraction of them are commonly used in modern Japanese.

• Japanese elementary school students learn 1,026 kanji, known as 教育漢字 (きょういくかんじ), "education kanji," during grades 1–6. By the end of junior high school (ninth grade), students are expected to be able to read the 2,136 常用漢字 (じょうようかんじ), "kanji for general use," designated by the Japanese government, although they are not necessarily expected to be able to write every one of them from memory.

Most newspapers and other materials intended for a general readership generally follow the 常用漢字 guidelines. When an unfamiliar or less common kanji is used, its pronunciation may be shown in small kana above or beside it. These phonetic guides are called ふりがな (furigana) or 読み仮名（よみがな）. In digital typography, they are also called ruby text.

漢(かん)字(じ)

4. How Kanji Represent Meaning

Kana primarily represent sounds, while kanji are characters associated with both meaning and pronunciation. For example, the Japanese word みず ("water") can be written with the kanji 水. The character 水 represents the concept of water and is pronounced みず when used as an independent Japanese word. This differs from alphabetic writing. In English, the letters w-a-t-e-r represent a sequence of sounds that forms the word water. A kanji such as 水, however, functions as a unit associated with meaning and can have different pronunciations depending on the word in which it appears. For this reason, kanji are generally described as logographic characters.

5. Kun Readings & On Readings

Kanji readings are traditionally divided into two major types:

1. Kun readings （訓読み・くんよみ） — readings based on native Japanese words
2. On readings （音読み・おんよみ） — readings derived historically from Chinese pronunciations

Many commonly used kanji have both kun and on readings, and some have several of each. Other kanji may have only one type of reading. For example:

• 本
• ほん in 日本（にほん） — an on reading
• もと in 山本（やまもと） — a kun reading
• 人
• じん in 日本人（にほんじん） — an on reading
• ひと in 日本の人（にほんのひと） — a kun reading

Because the pronunciation of a kanji depends on the word in which it appears, you should learn kanji as part of vocabulary, rather than trying to memorize a single pronunciation for each character. Thus:

• 日本 → にほん
• 山本 → やまもと
• 日本人 → にほんじん
• 日本の人 → にほんのひと

6. Same Sound, Different Kanji

Different kanji can have the same or similar pronunciations while representing completely different meanings. Such kanji are not interchangeable. For example:

• 買う （かう） — to buy
• 飼う （かう） — to keep or raise an animal

Both words are pronounced かう, but their kanji distinguish their meanings. Similarly:

• 書く （かく） — to write
• 描く （かく） — to draw

For this reason, learning a Japanese word includes learning not only its pronunciation and meaning but also, when appropriate, the kanji used to write it.

7. Types of Kanji Characters

Kanji can be classified according to how they were formed. For beginning learners, four major types are particularly useful to recognize.

1. Pictographs -- Characters that developed from simplified pictures of physical objects.
   

   = mountain

   = eye
2. Simple Ideograph -- Characters that use simple graphic forms to represent ideas or relationships.
   

   = above/up

   = below/down
3. Compound Ideographs -- Characters traditionally analyzed as combinations of two or more elements whose meanings contribute to the meaning of the whole character.
   

   = tree

   = woods/grove

   = forest
4. Phono-semantic Compounds -- Characters made up of a semantic element, which provides a clue to meaning, and a phonetic element, which provides a clue to pronunciation.
   

   Semantic Element	Phonetic Element		Meaning / Reading
   mouth +	モン, gate		モン, "question; ask"
   grass/plant +	カ, transform		カ, "flower"

8: Stroke Order & Direction

When learning kanji, it is important to write each character using the standard stroke order. Stroke order follows established conventions that help produce balanced, legible characters. Learning the correct order from the beginning also makes handwriting faster and more consistent. Some basic stroke-order guidelines are:

1. Top to bottom
2. Left to right
3. Horizontal before vertical when strokes cross
4. Outside before inside
5. Close enclosed shapes last

These are general guidelines rather than rules without exceptions. The correct stroke order of each kanji should therefore be learned along with the character itself.

Stroke Direction

• Horizontal strokes are generally written from left to right.
  
• Vertical strokes are generally written from top to bottom.
  
• Enclosed shapes such as 田 are normally completed by writing the closing stroke last.
  
  

Stroke Endings

There are three basic types of stroke endings commonly introduced in beginning kanji instruction:

Stop

Release

Hook

Paying attention to both stroke order and stroke endings will help you develop clear and natural-looking handwriting.

9: Which Fonts Should You Use?

The appearance of a kanji character varies somewhat from one font to another. When learning to write kanji, use the textbook-style font 教科書体（きょうかしょたい, Kyōkashotai） shown in this textbook as your model. Its character forms are designed to resemble the standard shapes taught for handwriting. Other fonts are important to recognize because you will encounter them in books, websites, signs, and other printed materials. However, they should not necessarily be copied as models for handwriting.

Table 2.Examples of Japanese Fonts

Textbook Font (Kyokashotai Font) (Learn to write in this style.)	Printed Font (Mincho Font) (For recognition only)
Brush Stroke Font (Gyosho Font) (For recognition only)	Your Default Computer Font (For recognition only)
	田中日本山上下人 一二三四五六七八九十 学生先私外大小

If your computer does not have an appropriate Japanese font installed, it may substitute a font designed primarily for another language that also uses Chinese characters. As a result, some kanji may appear in forms that differ from the standard Japanese shapes. When viewing or creating Japanese text, make sure that your device or browser is using a font designed for Japanese whenever possible.

Introduction to Kanji