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.
This article introduces the Japanese words for key terms related to kanji and kanji usage. Terms are listed in あかさ (gojūon) order.
かんじ
漢字
Kanji - literally, a Chinese character. In Chinese, the same term is read/pronounced Hanzi.
かんたいじ
簡体字
A simplified modern form of a kanji. This term is the general term; In Japan, simplified kanji are more commonly known as 新字体
きゅうじたい
旧字体
A traditional (as opposed to simplified) form of a kanji.
ごじゅうおん
五十音
The gojūon (fifty sounds) is an ordering system for the sounds (phonemes) of Japanese. It is typically used to order hiragana and katakana. The order is sometimes casually referred to as あかさ order.
しんじたい
新字体
Japanese modern (typically simplified) forms of traditional kanji.
じんめいよう
人名用
The Jinmeiyō kanji are a set of 862 kanji allowed for use in names, but not designated part of the Jōyō kanji. For a full list, see our Jinmeiyō collection.
じょうよう
常用
The Jōyō kanji are the 2136 'daily use' kanji designated by the Japanese government for use in official documents. Generally Japanese media also restrict kanji usage to kanji in the Jōyō set, together with Jinmeiyō for names. For a full list, see our Jōyō collection.
はんたいじ
繁体字
A traditional form of a kanji (in contrast to a simplified form). In Japanese, traditional forms are usually known as 旧字体 to contrast with modern 新字体.
ひょうがいじ
表外字
Hyōgaiji, literally ('characters outside the chart') refers to all kanji which are not Jōyō or Jinmeiyō. By some estimates there are as many as 50,000 characters, including many variants and unused characters.
ぶしゅ
部首
A kanji's radical - one of the 214 key components used to identify the kanji in standard dictionaries. The Japanese radicals are based on the
こうき
康熙
ぶしゅ
部首
, known in English as the Kangxi radicals, after the first dictionary in which they were compiled.
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.
