Japanese Kanji Level-4 or Basic Kanji

The ancient characters adopted from the Chinese Hanzhi writing. They each convey an idea, and are used for nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. This collection of more than 7,000 characters usually has double meanings for each one, depending on the context and position in the sentence.

The third alphabet, kanji, was imported over the centuries from China. The pictograms are typically (much) more complex than kana (remember, "kana" refers collectively to hiragana and katakana) and, furthermore, have different readings and meanings depending on how they're combined with other kanji. They represent ideas or words rather than syllables, although of course hiragana or katakana could be used to spell out the pronunciation.

Kanji have two sorts of readings, i.e. ways of being pronounced: "on" readings and "kun" readings.

The "on" readings are based loosely on the original Chinese pronunciation of the kanji, and are typically used when a kanji is part of a compound, i.e. written with at least one other kanji to form a word.

The "kun" reading is used when kanji are used on their own, either as complete nouns in their own right or as adjective and verb stems.

On-readings are typically used when a kanji forms part of a compound word (usually a noun); kun-readings are normally used for single kanji, either as words in their own right, or as the stems of adjectives or verbs. Adjectives and verbs typically consist of a kanji followed by a hiragana suffix.

Take Note: There are exceptions to this rule. Most kanji have at least one on-reading and one kun-reading each, but plenty have no kun-reading and a few have no on-reading. Some use kun-readings, not on-readings, to make compounds. You just have to learn them case by case.

Kanji	Romaji:	English:
	Ichi	One
	Ni	two
	San	Three
	Shi	four
	Go	five
	Roku	six
	Nana	Seven
	Hachi	eight
	Kyu	nine
	Ju	ten
	Ka	low, inferior, come down, go down, retire
	Jou	high, highest, top, best, superior
	Chu	center, middle, middle of three
	Hito/Jin	man, person, people
	Yasu	rest, sleep, retire
	Sen	future, priority
	Iru	go, come in, set in
	En	circle
	Sui	born from, appearing from, going out, sending out
	Chikara	strength
	Sen	thousand, many
	Kuchi	mouth, speech, words, lips
	Migi	right, right hand
	Mei	distinguished, wise
	Seki	evening
	Dai	big, great, elder, huge, grand, very
	Ten	sky, air, heavens, god
	Onna	woman, female, girl
	Ko	child, offspring, seed
	Ji	character, letter, word
	Gaku	learning, scholar, scholarship, science
	Shou	small, tiny, little
	San	mountain
	Sen	river, stream, brook
	Sa	left
	Nen	year
	Shu	arm, hand
	Bun	literature, civil affairs, art, writing, text, composition
	Nichi	day
	Haya	fast, quick
	Boku	tree
	Getsu	month
	Mura	village
	Hayashi	forest
	Kou	school
	Mori	woods, grove
	Sei	right, justice, correct
	Ke	mind, spirit, soul
	Sui/Mizu*	water, ice water
	Ka	fire
	Inu	dog
	O/Kimi	king, rule
	Tama	gem, jewel, jade
	Sei	life, birth, existance
	Ta	ricefield, paddy
	Chou	town, block, street
	Dan	man, male
	Haku	white
	Hyaku	hundred, many
	Me	eye
	Ishi	stone, pebble
	Su	empty
	Ryu	stand
	Chiku	bamboo
	Shi	string, thread
	Ji	ear
	Hana	flower
	Kusa	grass
	Mushi	bug, insect
	Miru	see, look at
	Bai	shell, shellfish
	Seki	red
	Soku	foot, leg
	Sha	vehicle
	Kane	money
	Ame	rain
	Sei	green
	On	sound, noise