About

Read The Kanji is a web based application designed to help those studying Japanese to learn kanji reading patterns through context. In other words, it helps you learn to read kanji by asking you to read actual Japanese sentences and type in the correct answer (no multiple choice).

Many students of Japanese often complain that learning kanji is the most difficult part of studying Japanese. I’ve never really understood this, however. It’s not as though kanji requires a special skill set or secret method. Absolutely anyone can learn it. The only thing that differentiates a seasoned Japanese speaker/reader from a beginner is sheer practice and exposure within the language.

Getting that exposure, however, is not as easy as it could be. I remember when I began learning, trying to read even a children’s book was a real pain. This is because every time I came across a word in kanji I didn’t recognize, I would have to look up each individual kanji through radicals, record their readings, then try to figure out what the correct reading of the kanji compound is. This, together with trying to comprehend grammar and vocabulary at the same time, made reading slow, tedious, and just not very fun.

So I wrote Read The Kanji to give myself a fun, easy way to drill myself on kanji readings to improve my reading abilities.  And this blog is a supplement to the site where we can post information about the site, as well as information about learning kanji and the Japanese language.