How to read kanji
On and kun readings explained, with our counts of how many readings kanji have at each JLPT level and the readings you will meet most.
On and kun
Most kanji have two kinds of reading. On readings (音読み) came with the characters from Chinese; kun readings (訓読み) are Japanese words that took the kanji as their spelling. As a rule of thumb, kanji in compounds of two or more kanji use on readings, and a kanji standing alone or followed by kana uses a kun reading.
How many readings, level by level
| Level | Only on | Only kun | Both | Readings per kanji |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N5 | 3% | 0% | 97% | 4.6 |
| N4 | 11% | 0% | 89% | 3.9 |
| N3 | 9% | 0% | 90% | 3.9 |
| N2 | 17% | 0% | 83% | 2.9 |
| N1 | 21% | 1% | 78% | 2.7 |
Counted on KANJIDIC2 for the JLPT lists. The share with only an on reading is 3% at N5 and 21% at N1, though not every step goes up: rarer kanji are used mostly in compounds.
Kanji with only one kind
Only on in N5 and N4: 電 校 地 員 題 意 不 院 界 特. None of the N5 and N4 kanji has only kun readings in KANJIDIC2.
The on readings you will hear most
Among N5 and N4 kanji, these on readings are used by the common JMdict words of the most characters:
- シ shi — 四 子 自 思 使 私 始 止
- コウ kou — 行 後 高 校 公 考 広 口
- カ ka — 下 何 火 家 歌 花 夏
- タイ tai — 大 代 体 台 待 貸
- ケン ken — 見 間 建 研 験 犬
- ジ ji — 時 事 地 持 字
- チョウ chou — 長 重 朝 町 鳥
- セイ sei — 生 西 世 正 青
When you meet an unknown compound, guessing one of these readings is often right.
Okurigana and changes in sound
Kana written after a kanji (okurigana) show which kun reading is meant and carry the grammar: 学ぶ is manabu. In compounds, sounds change: an on reading ending in -ku or -tsu can double the next consonant (学校, gakkō), and the second kanji can be voiced (rendaku). The word tables on each kanji page show these forms in real words.