JLPT N5 Kanji List

All 79 kanji on the JLPT N5 list, ordered by frequency. Search by character, reading, or English meaning. Tap any character to expand its readings, stroke count and example words; characters with a full study guide link straight to it.

79 kanji

日Day一One国Country人Person年Year大Large十Ten二Two本Book中In長Long出Exit三Three時Time行Going見See月Month後Behind前In Front生Life五Five間Interval上Above東East四Four今Now金Gold九Nine入Enter学Study高Tall円Circle子Child外Outside八Eight六Six下Below来Come気Spirit小Little七Seven山Mountain話Tale女Woman北North午Noon百Hundred書Write先Before名Name川Stream千Thousand水Water半Half男Male西West電Electricity校Exam語Word土Soil木Tree聞Hear食Eat車Car何What南South万Ten Thousand毎Every白White天Heavens母Mother火Fire右Right読Read友Friend左Left休Rest父Father雨Rain

Studying JLPT N5 kanji

The JLPT N5 kanji are the foundation — numbers (一, 二, 三), days and time (日, 月, 年), directions (上, 下, 左, 右), and the first everyday verbs and nouns. Almost all of them are high-frequency characters you will see on every sign, menu and timetable in Japan, so the effort pays back immediately.

How to approach them

  • Learn each kanji through a real word, not in isolation: 学 sticks once you meet 学生 (student) and 学校 (school).
  • At this level most readings are regular, so anchor the on'yomi and kun'yomi to one common word each.
  • Separate the look-alikes early — 大/犬/太, 日/白/百, 土/士 — before they blur together.

Master these first: they unlock the vocabulary and grammar you'll meet everywhere else.

How N5 kanji show up on the test

On the exam itself, N5 kanji appear in two question types: kanji-reading, where you pick the correct reading for a word, and orthography, where you choose the right characters for a word given in kana. Because almost every N5 character is high-frequency, reading a lot of simple Japanese does more for you here than rote memorisation.

Practice readings in the kanji drills, or take a free N5 mock test.