JLPT N5 kanji list (101 kanji)

JLPT N5 is the first level of the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test. Its kanji are about 101 everyday characters: numbers (一二三), days of the week (月火水), time (時分半), people (人男女) and places (山川国).

Click a kanji to see its meaning, its on and kun readings with romaji, a stroke-by-stroke diagram and two example words with audio. The order follows the app: numbers first, then days of the week, then the rest by topic.

All N5 kanji

On’yomi and kun’yomi in one minute

On’yomi (音読み) is the reading borrowed from Chinese. It is mostly used when a kanji is part of a compound word: 日本 (nihon, Japan), 毎日 (mainichi, every day). Dictionaries write it in katakana.

Kun’yomi (訓読み) is the native Japanese reading, used when the kanji stands alone or is followed by hiragana (okurigana): 日 (hi, sun), 一つ (hitotsu, one thing). Dictionaries write it in hiragana; the dot marks where the okurigana starts.

FAQ

How many kanji are in JLPT N5?

The JLPT does not publish an official list; study lists for N5 usually have 80 to 110 kanji. This list has 101.

How many kanji should I learn a day?

Three to five new kanji a day with review of the previous ones lets you finish N5 in about a month.

Which kanji should I learn first?

Numbers and days of the week: they are simple, have few strokes and appear on every calendar and price tag.