By default the Component Builder shows the most common Joyo kanji components (ie, components which are themselves Joyo kanji, or which are used in at least 3 other Joyo kanji). Select an alternative set of components below.
For details of all components and their English names, see the Component collections.
Wherever you see the green star,
you can tag any kanji, word or grammar point for future reference in your
Favorites list, which is accessible from the main menu.
You can automatically create flashcards from your Favorites,
or use Quick Study to study them any time.
Kanshudo Grammar Match is a great way to study Japanese grammar using real example sentences. Grammar Match is free to play, but you need to be logged in. Please LOG IN or REGISTER to use Grammar Match.
Kanshudo Sentence Builder tests your ability to structure Japanese sentences independently. Sentence Builder is free to play, but you need to be logged in. Please LOG IN or REGISTER to use Grammar Match.
OK
Kanshudo Boost is our most powerful tool for building and testing your knowledge of Japanese. It combines multiple learning modes using a wide variety of different games and exercises, and integrates your knowledge of kanji, words, and grammar.
Boost is free to use, but you need to be a Registered User of Kanshudo. Please LOG IN or REGISTER to use Boost.
In most everyday conversations, です is the form of the verb 'to be' you will encounter at the end of sentences. です is the equivalent of the ます form, ie the normal polite form used in speech, or at the end of written sentences.
The plain form, used in embedded clauses or casual speech, is だ. The past form of だ is だった.
The three other forms you will commonly encounter are である, であります and でございます:
である is a more formal version of だ. In other words, it is a plain form, rather than a polite form, but it is more 'official' sounding. In speech, it might be used by a politician or other senior person in place of です at the end of a sentence. In written Japanese, it would be the typical form in for example a Wikipedia article.
であります is the polite form of である. It would be used by a speaker who needs to be both formal (such as when speaking in a formal setting, eg giving a speech, talking to a senior official), and polite (such as when the speaker is addressing someone more senior).
でございます is the humble form. Compared to であります, this has the effect of elevating the relative status of the listener (or lowering the relative status of the speaker). Most commonly this might be used by a waiter speaking to a customer. (でございます is the masu form of でござる, an older form which you will still hear in samurai dramas. でござる is formed from で + ござる, which is a politer form of ある.)
Each of these forms may also be encountered with a も after the で (eg, でもある, でもあります). The も carries its usual meaning 'too, also'. This example illustrates several of these forms together:
Wherever you see the green star,
you can tag any kanji, word or grammar point for future reference in your
Favorites list, which is accessible from the main menu.
You can automatically create flashcards from your Favorites,
or use Quick Study to study them any time.
Besides being a statesman, he is a well-known painter.(click the icon for English translation)
Negative forms
Several negative forms also exist.
ではない is the most common negative form of the plain form だ.
でない is sometimes used instead of ではない. The は in ではない actually functions like the particle marker は, which leads to a subtle difference between the two forms.
じゃない is increasingly used, especially in colloquial speech, instead of both forms.
ではありません is the polite negative form
じゃありません is a hybrid 'casual polite form' - casual, but still with the intention of being polite
Volitional forms
The two main volitional forms are:
だろう - the plain form
でしょう - the polite form
Te form
The て form of です is で, and it is often used as a simple way to join two statements:
Wherever you see the green star,
you can tag any kanji, word or grammar point for future reference in your
Favorites list, which is accessible from the main menu.
You can automatically create flashcards from your Favorites,
or use Quick Study to study them any time.
It's a hard, dirty job.(click the icon for English translation)
Since で is very commonly used as a particle to indicate location etc, be careful not to confuse this form! The simple test is to see if you can replace the で with です and end the sentence there.
A polite て form of です also exists: でして. This is often used as a polite alternative to です at the end of a sentence. Ending a sentence with the て form is a way to 'soften' the sentence.
Wherever you see the green star,
you can tag any kanji, word or grammar point for future reference in your
Favorites list, which is accessible from the main menu.
You can automatically create flashcards from your Favorites,
or use Quick Study to study them any time.
Problem with this grammar? Question or
comment? Please CONTACT US.
The Kanshudo usefulness level shows you how useful a grammar point is for you to learn.
Grammar point has a Kanshudo usefulness level of
.
You can view a summary of your mastery of grammar points at different usefulness (or JLPT) levels
here.
Grammar points in our system are rated from 1 to 6, where 1 is the most useful.
A usefulness level of 1 roughly corresponds to the first level of the JLPT, level 5 - i.e., you would be expected to know this grammar if your Japanese was at JLPT 5 level. A usefulness level of 5 roughly corresponds to JLPT 1 (the highest JLPT level).
Some grammar points also have a JLPT badge, indicating they appear in standard lists of required JLPT grammar. Some useful grammar points do not have a JLPT badge. These means that you would generally be expected to know the grammar if your Japanese was at that level, but the grammar point does not appear in standardized lists (which are not necessarily comprehensive).
Kanshudo is your AI Japanese tutor, and your constant companion on the road to mastery of the Japanese language.
To get started learning Japanese, just follow the study recommendations on your Dashboard.
You can use Quick search (accessible using the icon at the top of every page) to look up any Japanese word, kanji or grammar point, as well as to find anything on Kanshudo quickly.
For an overview, take the tour.
To view mastery data, you must be logged in to Kanshudo. Please LOG IN or REGISTER.
Kanshudo tracks your mastery (knowledge) of every kanji, word and grammar point in Japanese individually. In item searches (Kanji search, Word search and Grammar search), you will see a small circle with a number from 0 - 4 next to each item, where zero means 'no mastery' and 4 means 'absolute mastery'. A summary of your mastery data is displayed in your Kanji, Word and Grammar mastery wheels.
The Kanshudo kanji usefulness rating shows you how useful a kanji is for you to learn.
has a Kanshudo usefulness of , which means it is among the most useful kanji in Japanese.
is one of the 138 kana characters, denoted with a usefulness rating of K. The kana are the most useful characters in Japanese, and we recommend you thoroughly learn all kana before progressing to kanji.
All kanji in our system are rated from 1-8, where 1 is the most useful.
The 2136 Jōyō kanji have usefulness levels from 1 to 5, and are denoted with badges like this:
The 138 kana are rated with usefulness K, and have a badge like this:
The Kanshudo usefulness level shows you how useful a Japanese word is for you to learn.
has a Kanshudo usefulness level of , which means it is among the
most useful words in Japanese.
All words in our system
are rated from 1-12, where 1 is the most useful.
Words with a usefulness level of 9 or better are amongst the most useful 50,000 words in Japanese, and
have a colored badge in search results, eg:
Many useful words have multiple forms, and less common
forms have a badge that looks like this:
The JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test, 日本語能力試験) is the standard test of Japanese language ability for non-Japanese.
would first come up in level
N.
Kanshudo displays a badge indicating which level of the JLPT words, kanji and grammar points might first be used in:
indicates N5 (the first and easiest level)
indicates N1 (the highest and most difficult)
You can use Kanshudo to study for the JLPT. Kanshudo usefulness levels for kanji, words and grammar points map directly to JLPT levels, so your mastery level on Kanshudo is a direct indicator of your readiness for the JLPT exams.
Kanshudo usefulness counts up from 1, whereas the JLPT counts down from 5 - so the first JLPT level, N5, is equivalent to Kanshudo usefulness level .
The JLPT vocabulary lists were compiled by Wikipedia and Tanos from past papers. Sometimes the form listed by the sources is not the most useful form. In case of doubt, we advise you to learn the Kanshudo recommended form. Words that appear in the JLPT lists in a different form are indicated with a lighter colored 'shadow' badge, like this: .
Each Joy o' Kanji essay provides unparalleled depth and insight into a single kanji, and is available as a beautifully presented PDF.
The essays are available as an optional part of a Kanshudo Pro subscription, or can be purchased separately. Once purchased, you can download an essay immediately and any number of times in the future.
The pitch accent markings show you how to pronounce a word. A line underneath a kana symbol indicates low pitch, and a line above indicates high pitch. A vertical line at the end indicates the pitch of the next sound in a sentence using the word is different to the last sound of the word. The number(s) to the right of the markings show how this pitch is represented in a Japanese dictionary.
For more information, see our comprehensive guide:
Wherever you see the green star,
you can tag any kanji, word or grammar point for future reference in your
Favorites list, which is accessible from the main menu.
You can automatically create flashcards from your Favorites,
or use Quick Study to study them any time.
Wherever you see the flashcard icon,
you can automatically create a new flashcard or view flashcard status.
Flashcards can be created for any kanji, word, grammar point or example sentence on Kanshudo.
