All 100 N5 kanji, one at a time: what each is made of, how it's read, how to remember it

The 100 N5 kanji are the first real wall after the kana alphabets, and brute memorisation is the fastest way to hit it. This page is a practical guide: which characters to take first, how ON and KUN readings actually work, and how to build mnemonics that survive more than a day. The full JLPT N5 kanji list with meanings, components, example words and stroke order animations is free in Kanazora, in English or Romanian, and works offline.

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What order to learn the 100 N5 kanji in

The 100 N5 kanji are not meant to be learned in dictionary order. Kanazora groups them into ten themes — numbers, time and calendar, people and family, nature and weather, positions and directions, actions, qualities, places, school and everyday objects — and that grouping is also a sensible study order. Start with the numbers (一 二 三 … 十): few strokes, and they turn up in dates, times and prices straight away, so you get the feeling of reading something real. Then take time (日 月 年 時), then people (人 女 男 子). Leave actions and qualities until you have thirty or so behind you, because that is where hiragana endings start attaching to the character. Two or three new kanji a day plus five minutes of review is a pace you can hold for months. Ten a day looks great in week one and collapses in week two.

ON and KUN readings explained

Almost every kanji carries at least two readings. The KUN reading is the native Japanese word the character was borrowed to write: 山 on its own is yama, mountain. The ON reading imitates the old Chinese pronunciation and shows up mostly when kanji sit next to each other: 富士山 becomes Fuji-san. A working rule for beginners: character alone or followed by hiragana → KUN; character glued to another kanji → ON. There are exceptions, but it gets you through most of what you meet at N5. The classic mistake is memorising readings as bare lists — ジツ、ニチ、ひ、か — which almost never sticks. Learn whole words instead: 日本 (Nihon), 今日 (kyō), 日曜日 (nichiyōbi). Every kanji has a mnemonic for its ON reading and, where the character has a KUN reading, a separate one for that too, plus the words it appears in, recorded by native speakers.

Components and mnemonics: how to remember a kanji

A kanji is not a picture you copy stroke by stroke; it is built from parts that keep coming back. 男 is a rice field (田) above strength (力) — the force that works the land. 時 puts the sun (日) next to a temple (寺), where the hour used to be rung. Once you see the parts, 100 characters turn into a much smaller set of components that keep coming back,. Mnemonics grow straight out of that: take the components, the meaning and the sound of the reading, and tie them into one short, ridiculous scene. The more absurd and personal it is, the better it holds. The app gives you the components, the real historical explanation of the shape, and a mnemonic per reading in English and Romanian — but if yours is funnier, use yours. A mnemonic is scaffolding; drop it once the word is automatic.

Stroke order and writing by hand

Stroke order feels like bureaucracy until you try to write quickly or look a character up by drawing it. Three rules cover most cases: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before the vertical that crosses it. All 100 kanji come with a stroke order animation, so you can see exactly where each line starts. Watching is the weak version, though. In writing mode you draw the character on screen and get a score for it, and if you prefer paper you can print A4 practice sheets with the characters you picked. Handwriting is not required for the exam — JLPT is multiple choice throughout — but five minutes of writing fixes small differences like 大 versus 犬, or 土 versus 士, far better than ten minutes of staring at them.

Common mistakes, and how long it really takes

Three mistakes show up in almost every beginner. First, learning characters in isolation. A kanji met alone is gone in two weeks; the same kanji met inside three words stays. Second, marathon sessions. An hour on Sunday is worth less than ten minutes every day, because memory consolidates across intervals, not volume. Third, skipping review because "I know these already". You know them today. The spaced repetition system brings back the characters you actually get wrong more often, precisely so the decision is not yours to make. Realistic timing: three new kanji a day with daily review gets you through all 100 in six to eight weeks. One a day gets you there in about four months — still fine, as long as you do not stop.

Recurring components

• 木 tree → 林 森 東 来 新 校 本
• 口 mouth → 名 石 右 言 古 語
• 日 sun, day → 時 東 書 白 早
• 一 one → 二 三 百 天
• 十 ten → 千 南 古 早
• 人 person (roof shape) → 金 今 食 会
• 土 earth → 金 生 黒 社
• 儿 legs → 四 先 見

The full list

Frequently asked questions

How many kanji do I need for JLPT N5?

The JLPT does not publish an official kanji list, but textbooks and prep materials converge on roughly 100 characters. The 100 covered here match what normally turns up at N5.

Do I have to learn to write them by hand?

Not for the exam — the JLPT is multiple choice throughout. Writing does help you stop mixing up look-alike characters, so a few minutes a day is worth it.

Should I learn the ON reading or the KUN reading first?

Don't treat them as separate lists. Learn whole words that contain the kanji and the readings settle into place on their own, with context and sound.

Can I start kanji right after finishing hiragana?

Yes, as long as hiragana is solid — the furigana and example words are written in kana. You can keep learning katakana alongside without any conflict.

What does it cost, and does it work offline?

It's free and needs no account. The 100 kanji, the example words and the recorded pronunciation all work offline, in English or Romanian.