Characters

Kanji Lists

How many kanji are there?

Tetsuji Morohashi published the 大漢和辞典 (Dai Kanwa Ziten) in 13 volumes over the years 1955-1960. It contained over 50,000 kanji and 530,000 compound words. The work includes indices by kun-reading and on-reading. Words with an on-reading also have the the fanqie spelling and rime dictionary category. The fanqie spelling was a method used by the Chinese starting in the 3rd century AD to indicate pronunciation in Middle Chinese, the source language of the Japanese on-readings. The rime dictionary category refers to Chinese dictionaries that organized characters by tone and what they rhyme with. It is another way to recover the Middle Chinese pronunciation.

The joyo kanji are a list of (as of 2010) 2136 characters and their approved readings that students completing their secondary education are expected to know. Government publications, newspapers, and magazines are expected to limit themselves to these kanji. As part of the script reform of 1948, words borrowed from foreign languages are to be written in kana, as are the names of most plants and animals. Ateji (kanji used solely for the readings and ignoring their meaning) are discouraged. The jinmeiyo kanji are an additional 863 characters which are permitted for use in personal names. The kyoiku kanji are a subset of the joyo kanji containing 1026 characters. These are the kanji to be learned in elementary school. Each of them is assigned a grade from 1 to 6.

JIS X 0208 is a set of (as of 1997) 6879 characters. These characters include Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic characters, but 6355 of them are kanji. Interestingly, 63 of the kanji are "ghost" characters from unknown sources; they may simply be errors on the part of the persons compiling the list. The JIS X 0208 character set can be represented with 2 bytes. Shift JIS is a way of encoding the same characters that is compatible with the older JIS X 0201 character set, which was just the ASCII character set and the katakana. When the Japanese publishing industry went digital in the 1980s, the JIS X 0208 character set was adopted, and for a time its choice of 6355 kanji characters placed a practical limit on the kanji that could be used. Character dictionaries published in the 1990s would typically provide the JIS X 0208 code point.

Today the Japanese have mostly switched to Unicode. As part of the development of Unicode, the decision was made that the Chinese characters and the kanji would be treated as the same character set, even though in some cases the Japanese write the same character (according to the Unicode spec) differently from the Chinese. As of Unicode 14, there are 92,865 characters in the unified CJK character set. So in principle the number of kanji today is quite large, though it might be difficult to find fonts which support all those characters and many of them might not have any recognized Japanese readings. The Heisei era which started in 2019 can be written as 平成 or ㍻. The latter character was created for the new era and added to Unicode as part of the 12.1 version.

Romaji ローマ字

There are two popular methods of writing Japanese with Latin characters:

The Hepburn system is named after an American missionary who published a Japanese-to-English dictionary in 1886. The Kunrei system was adopted by government order in 1937.

Hepburn is better at communicating to English speakers how a Japanese word is pronounced. Kunrei maps nicely to the Japanese syllabaries and is natural to Japanese speakers. Kunrei is documented as the ISO 3602 standard.

Input Methods

Mac

There is a Japanese input method on the Mac. On my laptop it was configured like this:

It make two input modes available: a hiragana mode and a katakana mode. The hiragana mode is used more often. In fact, you might find it better to not use the katakana mode at all, since the computer will often anticipate that you want katakana when typing hiragana, and in any case you can select katakana from the dropdown menu in hiragana mode.

In hiragana mode, type using romaji and it will be converted to hiragana. If the live conversion feature is selected the text will sometimes be converted yet again to kanji or katakana. Use the RETURN key to accept the conversion and the SPACE key to bring up a dropdown of alternate conversions. The dropdown may come up in any case.

The input method uses a style of romanization called wapuro (i.e. word processor) romaji.

For consonsants one can use Kunrei or Hepburn spellings with exceptions.

For long vowels, type the vowel twice, e.g. tyuugoku or chuugoku instead of tyūgoku or chûgoku. In Japanese, long e can be spelled either ee or ei even though they are pronounced the same. Similarly long o can be spelled either oo or ou. For the benefit of the input method you must use the correct spelling.

In katakana long vowels are written with a vowel followed by a dash and one must also use a hyphen when using the input method.

The particles は, へ, and を are pronounced wa, e, and o, although they are spelled as if they were pronounced ha, he, and wo. The spellings and not the pronunciations are used when inputting them. The を character is only used for the particle since the syllable wo doesn't occur in modern Japanese.

Japanese writes geminate consonants by preceding them with a small っ or ッ. One can input these characters by typing xtu and in general one makes any character small by prefixing it with x. One can also input a geminate consonant by typing the consonant twice.

One may encounter difficulties typing a syllabic n: ん, say because it precedes a vowel. One can type n twice to force a syllabic n.

ぢ and じ are pronounced the same and both are transcribed as zi in Kunrei. Similarly づ and ず are pronounced the same and transcribed as zu in Kunrei.

ぢ and づ are the rarer versions. They are are used when a ち or つ mora is voiced due to rendaku. Type di or du to input them. There are examples that don't appear to be a result of rendaku, however. For example 続く tuduku (to continue, to go on). I understand that づ is preferred when it follows つ.

Marks and Punctuation

Many Japanese punctuation characters resemble European punctuation and in fact they were borrowed from European languages in the 19th century. The Japanese punctuation characters have different Unicode characters, however, since they are full-width.

There is also a full-width space character, but it is used sparingly. A common use is to indent the first line of a paragraph. Words are usually not separated by spaces. When foreign words are written in katakana, the interpunct ・may be used to separate words. In particular the interpunct is often used between a foreigner's first and last name.

The use of the comma and period is similar to their use in English. Occasionally a question mark or exclamation mark will be used in the same manner as in English. Questions are usually terminated by the particle か and a period, however. Similarly an emphatic sentence is often terminated by the particle よ and a period.

In furigana dictionaries, the headwords are written in kana. If the word is normally written with kanji, this spelling follows inside lenticular brackets.

Fullwidth Latin and Halfwidth Katakana

There are separate Unicode points for fullwidth Latin characters. Moreover, the Mac Japanese input method provides a mode for inputting them, and Hiragana input method includes them as options when a single Latin character is typed along with the normal width Latin character in the dropdown.

They can be used to intersperse Latin characters among Kanji without throwing off the alignment, since Kanji have constant width. However, in Japanese documents today there does not appear to be a strict rule that fullwidth Latin characters must be used. They are used more often for initialisms, frequently for numbers, and less often when foreign names and words are written with Latin characters.

When Japanese must be written with very few characters, Katakana is used. An early example is Wabun code, which represents Katakana as dots and dashes suitable for transmission by telegraph. In the early computer era, JIS X 0201 was used to fit the Katakana characters with the Latin characters into an 8 bit character encoding.

When Japanese is written entirely in Katakana, it is customary to use halfwidth Katakana, and one still sees this today on cash register displays and shopping receipts. JIS X 0208 and later Unicode reserve separate code points for halfwidth Katakana.

Numbers

Positive integers up to the trillions can be written using Kanji. Western-style Arabic numerals are used more often, however.

Some of the numbers 1 through 10 undergo a sound change when followed by a word that starts with an unvoiced consonant. The following word is a counter word, the numbers 100 (hyaku) or 1000 (sen), or the decimal point (ten). The sound change is obligatory:

The kanji for the digits 1 through 9 (e.g. 一、二、三、…、九）can be used in a positional style with the character 〇 (U+3007). This is particularly true for years: the year 2007 can be written 二〇〇七. The character 〇 is not considered a kanji because it is not composed of straight strokes, but it has been in use in China since the 12th century. Use the romaji zero to type it using the Mac Hiragana input method. There is a proper kanji for zero: 零 REI zero. It is used by itself but not as a positional digit.

-29 is マイナス二十九 mainasu nizyuu kyuu.

The number 128.128 is read hyaku nizyuu hatten iti ni hati. The portion of the number before the decimal point is read as if the number were an integer, with the proviso that the number in the ones place can undergo a sound change. The part of the number after the decimal point is read off as a succession of single digits. In speech, if not writing, a digit must always exist before the decimal mark even if it is zero, e.g. 0.1 rei ten iti.

A fraction of the form X/Y is read Y bun no X. This can be written "Y分のX".

Percentages are read パーセント (paasento), eg. 41% is yonzyuu iti paasento.

Tenths can be expressed using the counter 割 wari, e.g. 4/10 is 四割 yon wari. 40% can also be read this way.

２足す３は５。ni tasu san wa go
Two plus three is five.

３かける５は１５。san kakeru go wa zyuu go
Three times five is fifteen.

Japanese and Chinese Web Fonts

Kanji are not always drawn in the same manner as the corresponding Chinese characters. In a few cases the stroke counts are different. Because kanji and Chinese characters use the same Unicode points, this can cause problems. Here are three examples with links to the Chinese versions:

To make sure kanji display correctly, it is best to use a Japanese font. On a Mac one sans-serif choice is Hiragino Kaku Gothic, and a serif choice is Hiragino Mincho. On Windows a sans-serif choice is MS PGothic. Other fonts might be available. Here is a CSS rule which works for a wide variety of operating systems:

font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Source Han Sans",
             "源ノ角ゴシック", "Hiragino Sans", "HiraKakuProN-W3",
             "Hiragino Kaku Gothic ProN W3", "Hiragino Kaku Gothic ProN",
             "ヒラギノ角ゴ ProN W3", "Noto Sans", "Noto Sans CJK JP",
             "メイリオ", Meiryo, "游ゴシック", YuGothic, "ＭＳ Ｐゴシック",
             "MS PGothic", "ＭＳ ゴシック", "MS Gothic", sans-serif;

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels

/u/ is pronounced with unrounded lips.

/u/ and /i/ are devoiced (whispered) between unvoiced stops and fricatives.

Accent

A Japanese word can be unaccented or have a single accent on one of its moras. This is realized by a drop in pitch on the mora after the accented mora. When pronounced in isolation, an unaccented word sounds the same as a word accented on its last mora.

accent phrases

Japanese utterances are divided into one or more accent phrases, each which contains at most one accented word. The accent phrase thus has at most one accented mora. If the first mora is accented, it has a high pitch, and the remaining moras have a low pitch. Otherwise the first mora is low pitch, the second mora and all moras up to the accented mora are high pitch, and the remaining moras have low pitch.

When an utterance contains multiple accent phrases, the high pitch of each successive accent phrase is generally lower than the high pitch of the accent phrase that immediately preceded it.

• Can an accent phrase have no accented words?
• If an accent phrase can have no accented words, how do we know if an accented word should be added to an adjacent accent phrase or form its own accent phrase?
• Are any aspects of how the moras of an utterance are divided into to accent phrases at the discretion of the speaker?
• can accent phrases straddle clauses terminated by ga or kedo?
• can accent phrases straddle phrases terminated by particles such as mo, wa, ga, o?

location of word accent

Pairs of Japanese words exist which are only distinguished by the presence of an accent.

In addition, pairs of Japanese words exist with are distinguished by the location of the accent.

The presence and location of an accent is thus a property of a lexeme and must be memorized.

Japanese nouns can be accented on any of their final four moras. They can also be unaccented, so a Japanese noun with 3 moras has 4 possible accent patterns. Some patterns are uncommon, however. If we look through the dictionary, we see these frequencies for 3 mora nouns:

accent of verbs

The imperfect is the usual citation form for Japanese verbs. The conjugation pattern of a verb can be determined by looking at the imperfect and the perfect. If the imperfect does not end in ~eru or ~iru, the conjugation pattern can be determined from the imperfect alone.

The imperfect is either unaccented or accented on the penultimate mora. If one knows the conjugation pattern of the verb and whether the imperfect is accented, one can predict the accent of the rest of the verb's forms.

Some verbs forms have a fixed accent regardless of the conjugation or whether the imperfect is accented. The distal forms all fall into this category. Verb forms with a fixed accent have accents in their endings below. The consultative form also has a fixed accent.

accent of (-i) adjectives

Like for verbs, the imperfect is the usual citation for adjectives. And also like verbs, the imperfect is either unaccented or accented on the penultimate mora.

compound

The accent of a compound word is not predictable from the accent of its constituents in general. Compounds ending in -gòro and -gùrai have the indicated accent locations, however.

weak accent

Words which lose their accent following an accented word:

• da
• daroo
• datta
• de
• desita
• desu
• desyoo

When following accented -te style gerund:

• kudasai

words which induce accent in preceding word

• kara
• mo
• no
• kedo
• si

Also imperfective.

sentence

boundary phrase markers

JSL pp. 14–16

final notes on accent

Increasing the degree of pitch drop at an accent is used for emphasis or to indicate excitement. Conversely in a de-emphasized situation the degree of pitch drop can be so slight so as to barely be perceptible.

Radicals (部首 busyu)

The modern Chinese radicals were introduced by a 1615 Chinese dictionary. The dictionary ordered the characters by their radical and secondarily by their stroke count. This provided a method of lookup still in use today.

The system has a defect in that some characters have multiple candidates for the radical. If the topmost or leftmost part of a kanji is in the radical list, one should try it first.

Characters

Hiragana

Katakana

Kanji

grade 1

1
一 hito ITI
二 huta NI
三 mi SAN
四 yon SI
五 itu GO
六 mu ROKU
七 nana SITI
八 ya HATI
九 kokono KYUU
十 too ZYUU
百 HYAKU
千 ti SEN
2
日 hi NITI
月 tuki GETU
火 hi KA
水 mizu SUI
木 ki BOKU
金 kane KIN
土 tuti DO
3
上 ue ZYOU
下 sita KA
右 migi U
左 hidari SA
大 oo(kii) DAI
中 naka TYUU
小 tii(sai) SYOU
入 i(ru) NYUU
出 de(ru) SYUTU
4
男 otoko DAN
女 onna ZYO
子 ko SI
人 hito ZIN
口 kuti KOU
目 me MOKU
手 te SYU
耳 mimi ZI
足 asi SOKU
5
白 siro HAKU
赤 aka SEKI
青 ao SEI
学 manu(bu) GAKU
校 KOU
先 saki SEN
生 i(kiru) SEI
年 tosi NEN
6
山 yama SAN
川 kawa SEN
花 hana KA
雨 ame U
田 ta DEN
石 isi SEKI
貝 kai BAI
林 hayasi RIN
森 mori SIN
7
見 mi(ru) KEN
立 ta(tu) RITU
休 yasu(mu) KYOU
天 ame TEN
気 KI
本 moto HON
犬 inu KEN
虫 musi TYUU
草 kusa SOU
8
車 kuruma SYA
名 na MEI
正 tada(si) SEI
音 oto ON
早 haya(i) SOU
王 OU
村 mura SON
町 mati TYOU
竹 take TIKU
9
空 sora KUU
糸 ito SI
字 aza ZI
夕 yuu SEKI
玉 tama GYOKU
文 fumi BUN
力 tikara RYOKU
円 maru(i) EN

grade 2

一
引 hi(ku) IN
羽 ha(ne) U
雲 kumo UN
園 sono EN
遠 too(i) EN
何 nani KA
科 KA
夏 natu KA
家 ie KA
歌 uta KA
画 GA
回 mawa(ru) KAI
会 a(u) KAI
海 umi KAI
絵 KAI
外 soto GAI
角 kado KAKU
楽 tano(sii) GAKU

二
活 KATU
間 aida KAN
丸 maru GAN
岩 iwa GAN
顔 kao GAN
汽 KI
記 siru(su) KI
帰 kae(ru) KI
弓 yumi KYUU
牛 usi GYUU
魚 uo GYO
京 KYOU
強 tuyo(i) KYOU
教 osi(eru) KYOU
近 tika(i) KIN
兄 oni KEI
形 kata KEI
計 haka(ru) KEI

三
元 moto GEN
言 i(u) GEN
原 hara GEN
戸 to KO
古 huru(i) KO
午 GO
後 noti GO
語 kata(ru) GO
工 KOU
公 ooyake KOU
広 hiro(i) KOU
交 mizi(waru) KOU
光 hika(ru) KOU
考 kanga(eru) KOU
行 i(ku) KOU
高 taka(i) KOU
黄 ki KOU
合 a(u) GOU

四
谷 tani KOKU
国 kuni KOKU
黒 kuro KOKU
今 ima KON
才 SAI
細 hoso(i) SAI
作 tuku(ru) SAKU
算 SAN
止 to(maru) SI
市 iti SI
矢 ya SI
姉 one SI
思 omo(u) SI
紙 kami SI
寺 tera ZI
自 mizuka(ru) ZI
時 toki ZI
室 muru SITU

五
社 yasiro SYA
弱 yowa(i) SYAKU
首 kubi SYU
秋 aki SYUU
週 SYUU
春 haru SYUN
書 ka(ku) SYO
少 suku(nai) suko(si) SYO
場 ba SYOU
色 iro SYOKU
食 kuu ta(beru) SYOKU
心 kokoro SIN
新 atara(si) SIN
親 oya SIN
図 e ZU
数 kazu SOU
西 nisi SEI
声 koe SEI

六
星 hosi SEI
晴 ha(reru) SEI
切 ki(ru) SETU
雪 yuki SETU
船 hune SEN
線 suzi SEN
前 mae ZEN
組 ku(mu) SO
走 hasi(ru) SOU
多 oo(i) TA
太 huto(i) TAI
体 karada TAI
台 DAI
地 TI
池 ike TI
知 si(ru) TI
茶 TYA
昼 hiru TYUU

七
長 naga(i) TYOU
鳥 tori TYOU
朝 asa TYOU
直 tada(tini) TYOKU
通 too(ru) TUU
弟 otouto TEI
店 mise TEN
点 tuke(ru) TEN
電 DEN
刀 katana TOU
冬 fuyu TOU
当 ata(ru) TOU
東 higasi TOU
答 kota(eru) TOU
頭 atama TOU
同 ona(zi) DOU
道 miti DOU
読 yomu DOKU

八
内 uti NAI
南 minami NAN
肉 NIKU
馬 uma BA
売 uru GAI
買 ka(u) BAI
麦 mugi BAKU
半 naka(ba) HAN
番 tuga(i) BAN
父 titi HU
風 kase FUU
分 wakeru BUN
聞 ki(ku) BUN
米 kono BEI
歩 aru(ku) HO
母 haha BO
方 kata HOU
北 kita HOKU

九
毎 -goto MAI
妹 imooto MAI
万 yorozu MAN
明 o(kari) MEI
鳴 na(ku) MEI
毛 ke MOU
門 kado MON
夜 yo YA
野 no YA
友 tomo(dati) YUU
用 moti(iru) YOU
曜 YOU
来 ku(ru) RAI
里 sato RI
理 kotowari RI
話 hana(su) WA

grade 3

一
悪 waru(i) AKU
安 yasu(i) AN
暗 kura(i) AN
医 i(yasu) I
委 yuda(neru) I
意 I
育 soda(tu) IKU
員 IN
院 IN
飲 no(mu) IN
運 hako(bu) UN
泳 oyo(gu) EI
駅 EKI
央 OU
横 yoko OU
屋 ya OKU
温 otata(ka) ON
化 ba(keru) KA
荷 ni KA
界 KAI
開 hira(ku) KAI

二
階 KAI
寒 samu(i) KAN
感 KAN
漢 KAN
館 yakata KAN
岸 kisi KAN
起 o(kiru) KI
期 KI
客 KYAKU
究 kiwa(meru) KYUU
急 iso(gu) KYUU
級 KYUU
宮 miya KYUU
球 tama KYUU
去 sa(ru) KYO
橋 hasi KYOU
業 GYOU
曲 ma(garu) KYOU
局 KYOKU
銀 GIN
区 KU

三
苦 kuru(sii) KU
具 GU
君 kimi KUN
係 kaka(ru) KEI
軽 karu(i) KEI
血 ti KETU
決 ki(meru) KETU
研 to(gu) KEN
県 KEN
庫 KO
湖 mizuumi KO
向 mu(ku) KOU
幸 siawa(se) KOU
港 minato KOU
号 sake(bu) GOU
根 ne KON
祭 matu(ru) SAI
皿 sara BEI
仕 tuka(eru) SI
死 si(ne) SI
使 tuka(u) SI

四
始 hazi(meru) SI
指 yubi sa(su) SI
歯 ha SI
詩 SI
次 tugi ZI
事 koto ZI
持 mo(tu) ZI
式 SIKI
実 mino(ru) ZITU
写 utu(su) SYA
者 mono SYA
主 nesi SYU
守 mamo(ru) SYU
取 to(ru) SYU
酒 sake SYU
受 u(keru) ZYU
州 SYUU
拾 hiro(u) SYUU
終 o(waru) SYUU
習 nara(u) SYUU
集 atu(maru) SYUU

五
住 su(mu) ZYUU
重 omo(i) ZYUU
宿 yado SYUKU
所 tokoro SYO
暑 atu(i) SYO
助 tasu(keru) ZYO
昭 SYOU
消 ki(eru) SYOU
商 okina(u) SYOU
章 SYOU
勝 ka(tu) SYOU
乗 no(ru) ZYOU
植 u(eru) SYOKU
申 mou(su) SIN
神 kami SIN
身 mi SIN
真 ma SIN
深 huka(i) SIN
進 susu(mu) SIN
世 yo SEI
整 totono(eru) SEI

六
昔 mukasi SEKI
全 matta(ku) ZEN
相 ai SOU
送 oku(ru) SOU
想 SOU
息 iki SOKU
速 haya(i) SOKU
族 ZOKU
他 hoka TA
打 u(tu) DA
対 aite TAI
待 TAI
代 ka(waru) DAI
第 DAI
題 DAI
炭 sumi TAN
短 mizika(i) TAN
談 DAN
着 ki(ru) TYAKU
注 soso(gu) TYUU
柱 hasira TYOU

七
丁 hinoto TYOU
帳 TYOU
調 sira(beru) TYOU
追 o(u) TUI
定 sada(meru) TEI
庭 niwa TEI
笛 hue TEKI
鉄 kurogane TETU
転 koro(garu) TEN
都 miyako TO
度 tabi DO
投 na(geru) TOU
豆 mame TOU
島 sima TOU
湯 yu TOU
登 nobo(ru) TOU
等 hito(sii) TOU
動 ugo(ku) DOU
童 DOU
農 NOU
波 nami HA

八
配 kuba(ru) HAI
倍 BAI
箱 hako SOU
畑 hata
発 ta(tu) HATU
反 so(ru) HAN
坂 saka HAN
板 ita HAN
皮 kawa HI
悲 kana(sii) HI
美 utuku(sii) BI
鼻 hana BI
筆 hude HITU
氷 koori HYOU
表 omote HYOU
秒 BYOU
病 ya(mu) BYOU
品 sina HIN
負 ma(keru) HU
部 -be BU
服 HUKU

九
福 HUKU
物 mono BUTU
平 tai(ra) HEI
返 kae(su) HIN
勉 tuto(meru) BEN
放 hana(tu) HOU
味 azi MI
命 inoti MEI
面 omo MEN
問 to(u) MON
没 BOTU
薬 kusuri YAKU
由 YUU
油 abura YU
有 a(ru) YUU
遊 aso(bu) YUU
予 YO
羊 hituzi YOU
洋 YOU
葉 ha YOU
陽 hi YOU

十
様 sama YOU
落 o(tiru) o(tosu) RAKU
流 naga(reru) RYUU
旅 tabi RYO
両 RYOU
緑 midori RYOKU
礼 REI
列 RETU
練 ne(ru) REN
路 RO
和 yawa(ragu) WA

grade 4

一
愛 ito(sii) AI love
案 AN proposal
以 mot(te) I to the ... of, by means of
衣 koromo I garment
位 kurai I rank, position
囲 kako(mu) I enclose
胃 I stomach
印 sirusi IN mark, seal
英 hanabusa EI distinguished, England
栄 saka(eru) EI flourish, glory
塩 sio EN salt
億 OKU hundred million
加 kuwa(eru) KA add
果 ha(tasu) KA fruit
貨 takara KA money, goods
課 KA section, lesson
芽 me GA bud
改 arata(meru) KAI reform
械 KAI mechanical contrivance
害 GAI harm

二
街 mati GAI city quarter
各 onoono KAKU each
覚 obo(eru) KAKU perceive, commit to memory
完 KAN complete
官 KAN government, government official
管 kuda KAN pipe, exercise control
関 kaka(waru) KAN concern, barrier
観 KAN view
願 nega(u) GAN wish, ask a favor
希 KI raise, apsire
季 KI season
紀 KI era
喜 KI yoroko(bu) happy
旗 hata KI flag
器 utuwa KI vessel, instrument
機 hata KI machine, aircraft, opportunity
議 GI discuss, legislative body
求 moto(meru) KYUU seek
泣 na(ku) KYUU cry
救 suku(u) KYUU save

三
給 KYUU supply, pay
挙 a(geru) KYO nominate, noteworthy act, raise
漁 GYO fish
共 tomo KYOU joint
協 KYOU cooperate
鏡 kagami KYOU mirror, optical intstrument
競 kiso(u) KYOU compete
極 kiwa(meru) KYAKU extreme, pole
訓 KUN instruct
軍 GUN army
郡 GUN county
経 KEI path, diameter
型 kata KEI type
景 KEI scene
芸 GEI art
欠 ka(keru) KETU lack
結 musu(bu) KETU marriage
建 ta(teru) KEN build
健 suko(yaka) KEN robust
験 KEN test

四
固 kata(meru) KO solid, firm
功 KOU merit
好 kono(mu) KOU like, favorable
候 KOU season, seasonable weather
航 KOU navigate
康 KOU healthy
告 tu(geru) KOKU notify
差 sa(su) SA difference
菜 na SAI vegetable
最 motto(mo) SAI most
材 ZAI timber, material
昨 SAKU yesterday, last
札 huda SATU note, paper money
刷 su(ru) SATU print
殺 koro(su) SATU kill
察 SATU inspect, guess
参 mai(ru) SAN participate, visit a holy place
産 u(mu) SAN give birth, produce
散 ti(ru) SAN scatter
残 noko(ru) ZAN remain, ruthless

五
士 SI military man, man of learning
氏 uzi SI family, courtesy title
史 SI history
司 SI officiate
試 tame(su) SI try
児 ZI child
治 osa(meru) ZI govern, cure
辞 ya(meru) ZI word, resign
失 usina(u) SITU lose, slip
借 ka(riru) SYAKU borrow
種 tane SYU variety, seed
周 mawa(ri) SYUU periphery
祝 iwa(u) SYUKU celebrate, congratulate
順 ZYUN order, obey
初 hazi(mete) SYO first
松 matu SYOU pine
笑 wara(u) SYOU laugh
唱 tona(eru) SYOU sing
焼 ya(ku) SYOU burn
象 SYOU phenomenon, elephant

六
照 te(rasu) SYOU illuminate
賞 ho(meru) SYOU prize
臣 ZIN retainer
信 SIN believe, message
成 na(ru) SEI become, achieve
省 kaeri(miru) SYOU ministry, save, introspect
清 kiyo(i) SEI clear
静 sizu(ka) SEI quiet
席 SEKI seat
積 tu(mu) SEKI accumulate
折 o(ru) SETU break off, fold
節 husi SETU joint, season
説 to(ku) SETU explain, theory
浅 asa(i) SEN shallow
戦 ikusa SEN war
選 era(bu) SEN choose
然 ZEN modifier forming suffix, so
争 araso(u) SOU contend
倉 kura SOU storehouse
巣 su SOU nest

七
束 taba SOKU tie up, bundle
側 gawa SOKU side
続 tuzu(ku) ZOKU continue
卒 SOTU graduate
孫 mago SON grandchild
帯 obi TAI belt, wear
隊 TAI party
達 TATU attain
単 TAN single
置 o(ku) TI place
仲 naka TYUU intermediary, personal relations
貯 TYO lay up
兆 kiza(si) TYOU omen, trillion
腸 TYOU intestines
低 hiku(i) TEI low
底 soko TEI bottom
停 TEI halt
的 mato TEKI target, adjectival suffix
典 TEN standard work, canon
伝 tuta(waru) DEN transmit

八
徒 TO follower
努 tuto(meru) DO exert
灯 hi TOU lamp
堂 DOU hall
働 hatara(ku) DOU work
特 TOKU special
得 e(ru) TOKU acquire, gain
毒 DOKU poison
熱 atu(i) NETU heat, hot
念 NEN thoughts
敗 yabur(reru) HAI be defeated
梅 ume BAI japanese apricot
博 HAKU doctor
飯 mesi HAN cooked rice, meal
飛 to(bu) HI fly
費 tui(yasu) HI expense
必 kanara(zu) HITU without fail
票 HYOU vote, slip
標 HYOU mark
不 HU not

九
夫 otto HU husband, male laborer
付 tu(keru) HU attach
府 HU urban prefecture
副 HUKU secondary
粉 ko HUN powder
兵 HEI soldier
別 waka(reru) BETU separate, another
辺 ata(ri) HEN vicinity, borderland
変 kawa(ru) HEN change, abnormal
便 tayo(ri) BEN convenient, post, excreta
包 tutu(mu) HOU wrap, encompass
法 HOU law, method
望 nozo(mu) BOU hope, look afar
牧 maki BOKU pasture
末 sue MATU last part
満 miti(ru) MAN full
未 MI not yet
脈 MYAKU vein, pulse
無 na(i) MU without, nothing
民 tami MIN people

十
約 tuzu(maru) YAKU promise, shorten, approximately
勇 isa(mu) YUU brave
要 i(ru) YOU important, summarize, require
養 yasina(u) YOU foster
浴 a(biru) YOKU bathe
利 ki(ku) RI advantage, profit
陸 RIKU land
良 yo(i) RYOU good
料 RYOU fee, materials
量 haka(ru) RYOU quantity
輪 wa RIN wheel, ring
類 tagu(i) RUI kind
令 REI command
冷 tume(tai) REI cold
例 tato(eru) REI example
歴 REKI personal history
連 tu(reru) REN link, in succession
老 o(iru) ROU old
労 ROU labor
録 ROKU record

grade 5

一
圧 ATU pressure
移 utu(ru) I shift
因 yo(ru) IN cause
永 naga(i) EI eternal
営 itona(mu) EI manage, barracks
衛 EI guard
易 yasa(sii) EKI easy, exchange
益 EKI benefit, profit
液 EKI liquid
演 EN perform
応 kota(eru) OU respond
往 OU go on
桜 sakura OU cherry
恩 ON grace, debt of gratitude
可 -geki KA possible, approve
仮 kari KA temporary
価 atai KA price, value
河 kawa KA river
過 su(giru) KA pass by, exceed

二
賀 GA congratulate
快 kokoroyo(i) KAI pleasant
解 to(ku) KAI take apart, dissolve, clarify
格 KAKU norm, status
確 tasi(ka) KAKU certain
額 hitai GAKU amount
刊 KAN publish
幹 miki KAN trunk
慣 na(reru) KAN habitual practice
眼 manako GAN eye
基 moto KI base
寄 yo(ru) KI contribute, draw near
規 KI regulation
技 waza GI skill
義 GI righteousness, meaning
逆 saka(rau) GYAKU reverse
久 hi(sasii) KYUU of long duration
旧 KYUU former
居 i(ru) KYO reside

三
許 yuru(su) KYO permit
境 sakai KYOU boundary, situation
均 KIN even
禁 KIN prohibit
句 KU phrase, haiku
群 mu(re) GUN group
経 ta(tu) KEI pass through, manage
潔 isagiyo(i) KETU immaculate
件 KEN matter
券 KEN ticket, certificate
険 kewa(sii) KEN danger, steep
検 KEN examine
限 kagi(ru) KEN limit
現 arawa(reru) GEN actual, appear
減 he(ru) GEN decrease
故 yue KO old, the late
個 KO individual, general, counter
護 GO protect
効 ki(ku) KOU effect

四
厚 atu(i) KOU thick, kind
耕 tagaya(su) KOU till
鉱 KOU ore, mine
構 kama(eru) KOU construct, mind
興 oko(ru) KYOU rise to prosperity, amusement
講 KOU lecture
混 ma(zeru) KON mix
査 SA look into
再 hutata(bi) SAI another time
災 wazawa(i) SAI natural calamity
妻 tuma SAI wife
採 to(ru) SAI pick, gather
際 kiwa SAI verge, occasion
在 a(ru) ZAI be
財 ZAI wealth
罪 tumi ZAI crime
雑 ZATU miscellaneous, mixed
酸 su(i) SAN acid, oxygen
賛 SAN approve of, praise

五
支 sasa(eru) SI branch, support
志 kokorozasi SI ambition
枝 eda SI branch
師 SI master
資 SI resources
飼 ka(u) SI raise animals
示 sime(su) ZI show
似 ni(ru) ZI resemble
識 SIKI discriminate, knowledge
質 SITU quality, matter
舎 SYA building
謝 ayama(ru) SYA thank, apologize
授 sazu(keru) ZYU confer
修 osa(meru) SYUU cultivate, repair
述 no(beru) ZYUTU state
術 sugu ZYUTU practical art
準 ZYUN standard, quasi-
序 ZYO introductory part, order
招 mane(ku) SYOU invite

六

承 uketamawa(ru) SYOU agree to
証 SYOU prove, certificate
条 ZYOU article
状 ZYOU form, condition, letter
常 tune ZYOU normal, regular
情 nasa(ke) ZYOU emotion, actual conditions
織 o(ru) SIKI weave
職 SYOKU employment
制 SEI system, control
性 SEI nature, sex, –ity
政 maturigoto SEI political administration
勢 ikio(i) SEI power
精 SEI refine, essence, spirit
製 SEI manufacture
税 ZEI tax
責 se(meru) SEKI responsibility, blame
績 SEKI achievements
接 SETU contact
設 mou(keru) SETU set up

七
舌 sita ZETU tongue
絶 tae(ru) ZETU break off, come to an end
銭 zeni SEN money
祖 SO ancestor
素 SU element, plain
総 SOU total, general
造 tuku(ru) ZOU make
像 ZOU image
増 hu(eru) ZOU increase
則 SOKU rule
測 haka(ru) SOKU measure, conjecture
属 ZOKU belong to
率 hiki(iru) RITU rate, lead
損 soko(nau) SON loss
退 sirizo(ku) TAI retreat
貸 ka(su) TAI lend
態 TAI state
団 katamari DAN collective
断 kotowa(ru) DAN cut off, resolve

八
築 kizu(ku) TIKU construct
張 ha(ru) TYOU spread, strain
提 TEI present
程 hodo TEI extend, established form
適 TEKI suitable
敵 kataki TEKI enemy
統 TOU unite, interconnected system
銅 DOU copper
導 mitibi(ku) DOU guide
徳 TOKU virtue
独 hito(ri) DOKU alone, Germany
任 maka(seru) NIN office, leave to
燃 mo(eru) NEN burn
能 NOU ability
破 yabu(ru) HA break
犯 oka(su) HAN offense
判 HAN judge
版 HAN printing plate, publishing
比 kura(beru) HI compare

九
肥 HI fatten
非 HI is not
備 sona(eru) BI provide
俵 tawara HYOU straw sack
評 HYOU comment
貧 mazu(sii) HIN poor
布 nuno HU cloth, spread
婦 HU adult woman
富 to(mu) HU rich
武 BU military
復 HUKU return to
複 HUKU compound
仏 hotoke BUTU Buddha, France
編 a(mu) HEN compile, knit
弁 BEN speak eloquently, valve
保 tamo(tu) HO preserve
墓 haka BO grave
報 muku(u) HOU inform, requite
豊 yuta(ka) HOU plentiful

十
防 huse(gu) BOU prevent
貿 BOU trade
暴 aba(ku) BOU violent
務 tuto(meru) MU duty
夢 yume MU dream
迷 mayo(u) MEI perplexed
綿 wata MEN cotton
輸 YU transport
余 ama(ri) YO remaining, excess
預 azu(keru) YO deposit
容 YOU appearance, contain
略 RYAKU abridged, strategy
留 to(maru) RYUU keep, stay
領 RYOU territory

grade 6

一
灰 hai KAI ash
吸 su(u) KYUU suck, breathe in
厳 kibi(sii) GEN severe
砂 suna SA sand
捨 su(teru) SYA discard
諸 SYO various
宣 SEN proclaim
尊 tatto(i) SON honor
痛 ita(i) TUU pain
肺 HAI lung
訪 otozu(reru) HOU visit
乱 mida(reru) RAN disordered
胸 mune KYOU chest
后 KOU empress
若 waka(i) ZYAKU young
城 siro ZYOU castle
担 nina(u) TAN bear on shoulder, undertake
届 todo(ku) deliver, reach
忘 wasu(reru) BOU forget
望 nozo(mu) RIN be present at

二
我 ware GA self
疑 utaga(u) GI doubt
絹 kinu KEN silk
困 koma(ru) KON be in trouble
射 i(ru) SYA shoot
署 SYO public-service station
誠 makoto SEI sincerity
存 SON exist
賃 TIN wage, charges
背 se HAI back
宝 takara HOU treasure
翌 YOKU the following
供 sona(eru) KYOU offer
誤 ayama(ru) GO mistake
尺 SHAKU shaku (30.3 cm)
障 sawa(ru) SYOU hindrance
宅 TAKU dwelling house
討 u(tu) TOU study, suppress by armed force
亡 na(i) BOU decease
律 RITU law, rhythm

三
沿 so(u) EN along
貴 tatto(i) KI noble, your honorable
権 KEN right, power
骨 hone KOTU bone
磁 ZI magnetism
処 SYO deal with
聖 SEI holy, saint
蔵 kura ZOU store
頂 itada(ku) TYOU summit, receive humbly
拝 oga(mu) HAI worship, humbly
暮 kura(su) BO dusk, live
欲 ho(sii) YOKU desire
巻 ma(ku) KAN roll up, volume
敬 uyama(u) KEI respect
孝 KOU filial piety
就 tu(ku) SYOU set about
蒸 mu(su) ZYOU steam, evaporate
段 DAN step
難 kata(i) NAN difficult, disaster, fault
密 MITU close, secret

四
延 noba(su) EN extend, postpone
机 tukue KI desk
憲 KEN constitution
穀 KOKU cereal
誌 SI magazine
純 ZYUN pure
盛 saka(ru) SEI prosperous
臓 ZOU internal organ
潮 sio TYOU tide
俳 HAI haiku
補 ogina(u) HO supplement
幼 osana(i) YOU very young
株 kabu stock
筋 suzi KIN muscle, threadlike structure
蚕 kaiko SAN silkworm
宗 SYUU religious sect
創 tuku(ru) SOU create
暖 atata(kai) DAN warm
腹 hara HUKU belly
幕 MAKU curtain, shogunate

五
映 uturu EI reflect, project
揮 KI wield
穴 ana KETU hole
刻 kiza(mu) KOKU engrave, point of time
詞 SI words
熱 atu(i) NETU hot
寸 SUN a bit of, sun (3.03cm)
装 yosoo(u) SOU dress, fit out
庁 TYOU government agency
派 HA sect, dispatch
片 kata HEN fragment, one of two
郵 YUU mail
割 wa(ru) KATU divide
勤 tuto(meru) KIN service
冊 SATU counter for books
収 osa(meru) SYUU take in
善 yo(i) ZEN good
誕 TAN be born
秘 hi(meru) HI secret
枚 MAI counter for flat things

六
宇 U universe
危 abu(nai) KI dangerous
激 hage(sii) GEKI violent
降 o(riru) KOU descend
視 SI regard
縮 tidi(meru) SYUKU shrink
推 o(su) SUI infer
窓 mado SOU window
著 itiziru(sii) TYO author, conspicuous
脳 NOU brain
陛 HEI imperial palace steps
優 yasa(sii) YUU superior, actor
革 kawa KAKU leather, reform
郷 KYOU hometown
策 SAKU scheme, measure
樹 ZYU standing tree
染 so(meru) SEN dye
探 saga(su) TAN probe, search
批 HI criticize
棒 BOU rod

七
域 IKI bounded area
簡 KAN simple
劇 GEKI drama
鋼 hagane KOU steel
至 ita(ru) SI come to
縦 tate ZYUU vertical
垂 ta(reru) SUI hang down
操 oyatu(ru) SOU manipulate
忠 TYUU loyalty
納 osa(meru) NATU pay, accept, put away
閉 tozi(ru) HEI close
訳 wake YAKU translate, sense
閣 KAKU tall magnificent building, cabinet
己 onore KO oneself
裁 saba(ku) SAI cut out, judge
将 SYOU general officer
洗 ara(u) SEN wash
糖 TOU sugar
否 ina HI say no, or not
裏 ura RI rear

八
遺 I leave behind
看 KAN watch, care for
警 KEI guard against, warn
紅 beni KOU crimson
私 watasi SI private, I
従 sitaga(u) ZYUU follow
仁 ZIN benevolence
層 SOU stratum
宙 TYUU space, midair
認 mito(meru) NIN recognize
並 nara(beru) HEI line up
模 MO pattern
拡 KAKU enlarge
呼 yo(bu) KO call
済 su(mu) SAI settle, relieve
傷 kizu SYOU wound
泉 izumi SEN spring
党 TOU party
晩 BAN evening
覧 RAN look over

九
異 koto(naru) I different
干 ho(su) KAN dry
系 KEI system, lineage
皇 KOU emperor
姿 sugata SI figure
衆 SYUU multitude
針 hari SIN needle
奏 kana(deru) SOU play music
値 ne TI value
乳 titi NYUU milk
奮 huru(u) HUN rouse up
盟 MEI alliance
論 RON argue, theory
源 minamoto GEN source
座 suwa(ru) ZA seat, sit
除 nozo(ku) ZYO rid of
専 SEN exclusive
展 TEN unfold, display
班 HAN squad
卵 tamago RAN egg