【JLPT N5】Kanji ver. Part 1
The kanji studied at the N5 level are approximately 80-100 characters that form the basis of the Japanese language. These kanji are necessary to build a basic vocabulary commonly used in daily life and are the first kanji beginners should learn when learning Japanese. N5 level kanji are used in daily conversation to introduce oneself, date, time, weather, direction, etc., and to express familiar nouns such as food, animals, etc.
Learning Kanji at this level will enable you to have simple conversations in Japanese and solidify the foundation of your Japanese language skills. mastering N5 level Kanji is a big step forward in your Japanese language skills.
If you are going to study in Japan, definitely use it!
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【JLPT N5】Hiragana ver.
【JLPT N5】Katakana ver.
【JLPT N5】Hiragana and Katakana ver.
Contents
What is "漢字 (Kanji)"?
Kanji characters were introduced from China and are used to write the Japanese language. There are three types of characters in the Japanese language: hiragana, katakana, and kanji, of which kanji are the most meaningful. Each Kanji symbol represents a meaning or idea.
A single kanji often represents a word or part of a word, and kanji can be used alone or in combination with other kanji to represent a variety of words and concepts.
For example, "水" is read alone as "mizu" and means water. However, it can be combined with other kanji characters to form compound words with new meanings, such as "水曜日" (suiyoubi, Wednesday) and "冷水" (reisui, cold water). Also, "川", which is read as "kawa" and means a river or stream, can be added with a figurative meaning to form a new word, as in "小川" (ogawa, small river).
Onyomi and Kunyomi
Kanji characters have two different readings: On'yomi and Kun'yomi.
On reading is based on the original Chinese pronunciation and is often used for idioms (words made up of two or more Chinese characters). For example, "学" in "学校 (gakkou, school)" is read as "gaku" and "校" as "kou".
Kun-yomi is the reading of an old Japanese word applied to a kanji. This is mainly used to write Japanese words (words that have existed as Japanese for a long time).
For example, in the word "食べる" (taberu, to eat), the kanji "食" is read with the kunyomi "ta". On the other hand, in the compound word "食事" (shokuji, meal), the kanji "食" is read with the onyomi "shoku".
Also, in the phrase "雨が降る" (ame ga furu, it rains), the kanji "雨" is read with the kunyomi "ame", but in the compound word "雨天" (uten, rainy weather), the kanji "雨" is read with the onyomi "u".
Some kanji have both on reading and kun reading, and the same kanji can be read in different ways depending on the context.
At first, you may find it difficult to remember how to read kanji, but with practice you will gradually deepen your understanding. Studying kanji is an essential part of improving your Japanese, so don't be in a hurry to learn it little by little.
In Part 2, you will study 57 Kanji characters by category!
