JLPT
JLPT N5 Kanji — the starter set, explained.
The JLPT N5 is the entry level of the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test. The kanji portion covers roughly 103 essential characters — enough to read basic signs, simple sentences, and the foundation of every JLPT level above it.
A taste of the N5 set
Below is a representative sample of N5 kanji. They're a mix of concrete nouns (mountain, river, person), positions (above, below, left, right), and high-frequency verbs (to go, to come, to see). All of these are in KanjiKanji Modern's free tier.
Sample only; the full set inside the app is curated against the standard JLPT N5 kanji list. Note: the JLPT has not published an official kanji list since the 2010 redesign — sources commonly cite 80–103 characters as the N5 set.
What N5 actually covers
~103 kanji
~800 vocabulary words
Basic listening + reading
How long it takes
For full N5 readiness, most learners report 200–400 hours of total study time across kanji, vocabulary, grammar, and listening. Estimates vary by source — the Japan Foundation's Can-Do project and the major prep publishers (Tofugu, JLPT Sensei) all sit in this range, with figures clustering around 300 hours.
For the kanji portion specifically, KanjiKanji Modern paces you to 3 new kanji per day on the free tier. At that cadence, the active learning phase for the full N5 kanji set is 4–8 weeks, plus consolidation review time.
The JLPT has not published an official kanji list since the 2010 redesign. The ~103-kanji figure is a community-curated approximation from past exams and JLPT preparation textbooks (Genki, Minna no Nihongo, Tofugu's N5 list). KanjiKanji Modern's N5 set follows that convention.
How to study N5 with KanjiKanji Modern
- Install the free tier. N5 (and N4) content is fully included. No subscription needed to complete N5.
- Take the placement assessment. The onboarding quiz confirms you're starting at N5; if you already know some kanji, it'll surface that.
- Set a daily pace you can sustain. Three new kanji per day plus due reviews is the proven cadence. 30 new per day for a week, then quitting, is the most common failure mode.
- Use stroke order from day one. Animated stroke guides (from KanjiVG) are free. Writing helps recall even if you only plan to read.
When you finish N5, the natural next step is N4 — also in the free tier. To unlock N3, N2, and N1, see Pricing. For the broader method, read What is spaced repetition?
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