Kanji

Kanji (漢字）is the third Japanese script you should learn! Kanji is adapted from Chinese characters. Each character/symbol represents a word (nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs). There are approximately 2,000 “jouyou kanji”, or “essential kanji” used in every day language. Approximately 1,000 of those kanji are learned in elementary school.

What you’ll find on this page:

Advice about how to learn/teach kanji
Printable worksheets for learning how to read and write kanji
Printable kanji learning charts
Printable kanji flashcards
Kanji learning videos
Lesson plans for teaching kanji

How to Learn/Teach Kanji

It can feel very overwhelming and daunting to think about learning thousands of kanji. But “slow and steady wins the race”. Set small, achievable goals.

My advice:

For the best retention, Learn, Practice, Review, and Read. Don’t rush the process. When you first learn a new kanji, take the time to LEARN the proper stroke order (kakijyun) and pay attention to spacing, size, and all the little details that makes a kanji unique. Then PRACTICE writing that kanji over and over until you can write it exactly like the example. Don’t forget to LEARN and PRACTICE how to read the kanji too! Then, be sure to REVIEW the kanji often. Perhaps make flashcards and view them anytime you have a few minutes, or tape them to the wall where you will see the every day. Also, be sure to READ many books (or maybe even TV shows with Japanese subtitles) so that you get used to seeing kanji in real-world situations.
Learning and retaining kanji when one does not live in Japan is a BIG challenge. So don’t be too hard on yourself. Celebrate little accomplishments!
To hold yourself accountable to your kanji-learning goals, consider studying with a friend, or hiring a tutor (there are many available online).
You can learn kanji in the same order that elementary school students learn them in Japan. Or, perhaps you want to learn them by category (such as numbers and seasons).

Printable Kanji Worksheets

If you do a Google search for “漢字練習プリント”, you will find dozens of resources, but these are the best free worksheets that I have found!

Once again, ちびむすドリル (happylilac.net, by PADIN HOUSE/株式会社パディンハウス) is my go-to resource for printable worksheets. They have dozens of high-quality printable kanji worksheets like the one above.

すきるまドリル (sukiruma.net) is another wonderful resource for printable kanji pages.

Maybe something more simple, like these kanji worksheets from のうトレキッズ meets your needs. These would be great for younger children learning kanji, as there are fewer boxes to fill in.

One more great resource, from 学習プリント.com — Click HERE for their kanji worksheets.

Printable Kanji Learning Charts

Print-kids.net knocks it out of the park with their printable kanji charts. They are organized by grade and category, and just beautiful!

ちびむすドリル has crisp, less-colorful printable kanji charts.

学習プリント.com has kanji charts in many different colors.

Another beautiful kanji chart option from 子供の習い事図鑑(startoo.co).

Printable Kanji Flashcards

ちびむすドリル makes these printable kanji flashcards (shown above). Print, cut, laminate, and get studying!

Kanji Learning Videos

There are many 漢字 (kanji) – learning videos on YouTube. Many are geared toward adults, but if you search for ”子供の漢字”、”一年生の漢字” or something similar, you will find videos that are made for children. Also, if your search terms are 100% in kanji, you may accidentally end up with videos for learning Chinese characters (instead of Japanese). here are some videos to get you started.