漢字

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 漢字を覚えます。▶ —
   I memorize kanji.
2. 漢字の読み方は何ですか。▶ —
   How is this kanji read?

Collocations

Mnemonic

かんじ — 漢字, Sino-Japanese. 'Kanji = the characters of the Han dynasty'. The Korean reading hanja matches character for character. Why Japan's writing system is the strangest in the world ── Japanese uses four scripts in a single sentence ── 漢字 kanji: Chinese-borrowed characters. Meaning units. 平仮名 hiragana: 9th-century cursive of kanji. Native sounds. Endings and particles. 片仮名 katakana: 9th-century kanji fragments. Loanwords and emphasis. ローマ字 roomaji: Latin alphabet. Borrowed for Western words. Each kanji carries two readings ── kunyomi (native Japanese) and onyomi (Sino-Japanese). 常用漢字 jouyou kanji: 2,136 characters, the daily-learning target. Korean uses two systems (hanja + hangul), Chinese uses one (hanzi), Japanese uses four ── a uniquely layered writing system.

Quick check

1. Japans script count?

   • 4 systems combined: kanji + hiragana + katakana + roomaji — globally unique
   • 1 (kanji only)
   • 2 (kanji + kana)
   • 3 (kanji + kana + roman)