Kanji Quiz: 20 N5 Kanji to Read and Define, Answers Below

A single total on a kanji quiz does not show whether you missed readings or meanings. Score the two separately, and each number shows what to practice next.

This is what you might say about a character whose two readings you confuse:

この漢字は読みが二つあって、いつも間違える。このかんじはよみがふたつあって、いつもまちがえる。 (konokanjihayomigafutatsuatte,itsumomachigaeru.)

This kanji has two readings, and I always get them wrong.

Once you can read hiragana, these 20 N5 kanji show whether readings or meanings need practice first. Hiragana comes before this quiz, and anyone who cannot read it yet should begin with the hiragana field note.

This kanji test has two parts, with 10 N5 kanji in each. Part 1 asks for a reading, and Part 2 asks for a meaning in English.

The 20 kanji come from the N5 sets in Ukiyoe Japanese. The JLPT has published no official kanji list since its 2010 revision, so there is no official N5 list to draw from.

Before Part 1, tap “Furigana” and “Romaji” under “Reading aids” near the top of this page so that both are off. While they are on, each kanji shows its reading above it and in romaji beside it. A tap on a kanji can also open a card with its reading and meaning, so answer before you tap.

The scoring rules were written for this quiz. A reading is right if it matches the answer table in kana or romaji, with or without the kana written after the kanji. In romaji, a long vowel can be marked either way.

A meaning is right if it says the same as the table, such as “big” for “large,” and either side of a slash counts.

This note counts eight or more right out of 10 as a part you mostly know. No JLPT standard has such a number, so eight was picked for this note.

Say a reading for each kanji out loud, or write it in kana or romaji. The answer table numbers these 1 to 10, in this order:

三さん (san), 水みず (mizu), 学がく (gaku), 時とき (toki), 見みる (miru), 駅えき (eki), 手て (te), 中なか (naka), 話はなす (hanasu), 新あたらしい (atarashii)

Give one English meaning for each kanji, with both reading aids still off. The answer table numbers these 11 to 20:

金きん (kin), 買かう (kau), 雨あめ (ame), 北きた (kita), 来くる (kuru), 母はは (haha), 友とも (tomo), 多おおい (ooi), 車くるま (kuruma), 花はな (hana)

Check both reading aids before you read the answers. A part answered with either one on does not count, so set both to off and answer that part again. A kanji you tapped before answering counts as wrong.

Both reading aids can be on again for the answers:

A kanji can have more readings than the N5 sets list, but this quiz counts only the ones in the table.

Count Part 1 and Part 2 separately, as a reading score out of 10 and a meaning score out of 10.

This check uses each score on its own and never the total. A total of 13 out of 20 can be three readings and 10 meanings, or the reverse, and those need different practice.

Both scores at eight or more mean you mostly know the N5 kanji, so the N4 kanji come next.

A meaning score of eight or more with a reading score under eight points to readings. Learn each reading inside whole words, as the field note on learning kanji explains.

A reading score of eight or more with a meaning score under eight points to meanings. Start from the parts inside each kanji, and the same field note shows how a part can hint at a meaning.

Both scores under eight mean you go back to the N5 kanji, five at a time, from the start. The first of these four outcomes leads to the N4 shelf in Ukiyoe Japanese, and the last one to its first N5 set.

For today, take one kanji you missed and find it in a word you already know.

There are 21 N5 sets of five kanji in Ukiyoe Japanese. A set joins “Studied sets” when you finish its practice in “Read” mode, the default. From those kanji, the “Kanji quiz” chooses up to 10 and asks for readings and meanings in roughly equal numbers, four choices each.

Keep your own count of right readings and right meanings as you go, because the end screen shows one score and no JLPT level. With 10 or more kanji studied, a quiz usually has five of each, so eight out of 10 becomes four out of five.

The quiz has no level filter, and “All kanji” includes kanji well above N5. A quiz of N5 kanji alone comes from “Studied sets” only while every set you have finished is an N5 set. With more than 10 kanji studied, the kanji it chooses change from one quiz to the next.

The link that ends this note opens the N5 shelf, which has no quiz entry. Start the quiz from “Practice — mixed readings & meanings” on the main Kanji page.

Set practice and the quiz both count toward your daily limit on questions. It is 10 without an account and 20 with a free account, plus up to five more for correct answers in a row. One set's practice can take more than 10 questions, so without an account it may need a second day.

Handwriting and stroke order are outside this quiz and the app's kanji quiz, which uses four choices and scores no writing. These scores are also not a grade on a kanji proficiency exam, which is a different test.

Eight or more on one score and under eight on the other shows whether readings or meanings come next.

Keep the reading score and the meaning score apart, and do not use their total.

No. Since its 2010 revision, the JLPT has published no lists of kanji, vocabulary, or grammar items. The reason, from its FAQ, is that the test measures the use of that knowledge to communicate, not only the items themselves.

The N5 sets in Ukiyoe Japanese have 105 kanji, a count set by the app, not by the JLPT.

Either order gives the same two scores. This quiz puts readings first and keeps both reading aids off through Part 2, so a reading on the screen cannot help with a meaning.

Yes. The 20 questions in this note need no account. The kanji quiz in Ukiyoe Japanese also opens without one, within the limit of 10 questions a day.

Browsing the kanji cards in a set does not count toward the daily limit, so you can read a whole set before you practice it. The Kanji page sorts its kanji sets by level, and each level's shelf has chips for moving to another one.