JLPT N3 Kanji: 絶 – Mastering the Kanji for “To Cease” and “Absolute” 絶 Readings: ゼツ (Onyomi), た.える, た.やす, た.つ (Kunyomi) Meaning: To discontinue, to cut off, to cease, to sever, absolute, unparalleled Formed from 糸 (thread) and 刀 (knife), suggesting cutting or severing. View JLPT N3 Kanji List How to Write – Stroke Order […]

JLPT N3 Kanji: 浮 (Uku, Ukabu, Ukaberu) – Float, Rise, Surface 浮 Readings: フ (Onyomi), う-かぶ, う-かべる, う-く, う-かれる, う-き (Kunyomi) Meaning: float, rise, surface, appear Semantic-phonetic compound. The left radical 氵 (water) indicates the meaning related to water and fluidity. The right component 孚 (fú – to hatch, to be trustworthy) provides the phonetic

JLPT N3 Kanji: 喜 – Exploring the Kanji for “Joy” 喜 Readings: キ (Onyomi), よろこ-ぶ (Kunyomi) Meaning: Joy, rejoice, pleasure, congratulate The kanji 喜 is a phono-semantic compound. It combines 壴 (an ancient drum or musical instrument, indicating sound/music and thus joy/festivity) and 口 (mouth, indicating speech or exclamations of joy). The drum part suggests

JLPT N3 Kanji: 婚 (kon) – Master “Marriage” 婚 Readings: コン (Onyomi), (Kunyomi) Meaning: marriage, wedding The character 婚 combines 女 (woman) and 昏 (dark, dusk). Historically, it refers to the custom of a man going to the woman’s house at dusk to take her as his wife, representing the joining of families. View JLPT

JLPT N3 Kanji: 静 (SEI, shizu) – Quiet, Still, Peaceful 静 Readings: セイ, ジョウ (Onyomi), しず-か, しず-まる, しず-める (Kunyomi) Meaning: Quiet, Still, Peaceful The kanji 静 combines 青 (blue/green, symbolizing purity or serenity) and 争 (strife/dispute, here representing motion or struggle). The combination implies a state of “serenity without motion,” thus stillness or quietness. View

JLPT N3 Kanji: 散 (san, chiru) – To Scatter and Disperse 散 Readings: サン (Onyomi), ち.る, ち.らす, ち.らかす, ち.らかる (Kunyomi) Meaning: scatter, disperse, fall apart, distribute, dissipate The character 散 (sàn) is composed of 艹 (cǎo – grass/plants), 敞 (chǎng – wide/open, acting as phonetic and suggesting emptiness/openness), and 攴 (pū – to tap, strike

JLPT N3 Kanji: 精 – The Essence of 精 (Sei/Shou) 精 Readings: セイ, ショウ (Onyomi), (Kunyomi) Meaning: refined, essence, spirit, energy, detailed, skill The kanji 精 combines 米 (rice) and 青 (blue/green, often implying purity or essence). The original meaning refers to highly refined or polished rice, highlighting the essence or purity of something. This

JLPT N3 Kanji: 努 (Do/Tsutomeru) – Endeavor & Effort 努 Readings: ド (Onyomi), つと-める (Kunyomi) Meaning: toil, diligent, endeavor The kanji 努 is composed of the radical 力 (chikara, meaning “strength” or “power”) and the component 奴 (do, meaning “slave” or “person”). The combination suggests putting forth strength or effort, like a person diligently working.

JLPT N3 Kanji: Mastering 罪 (Tsumi) – Sin, Crime, Guilt 罪 Readings: ザイ (Onyomi), つみ (Kunyomi) Meaning: sin, crime, offense, guilt The kanji 罪 combines 罒 (あみがしら, a net, symbolizing capture or punishment) and 非 (ひ, meaning “wrong” or “not”). Together, it depicts being caught in a net for doing something wrong, hence “crime” or

JLPT N3 Kanji: 留 (ryū/to-maru) – To Stop, To Stay 留 Readings: リュウ, ル (Onyomi), と-める, と-まる, とど-める, とど-まる (Kunyomi) Meaning: to stop, to detain, to stay, to keep The character 留 (ryū) is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left part is composed of 卯 (う) which represents a door or gateway, and 田 (た) which

JLPT N3 Kanji: 便 (Ben/Bin/Tayo) – Convenience, Mail, Excrement 便 Readings: ベン, ビン (Onyomi), たより (Kunyomi) Meaning: convenience, mail, facilities, excrement The kanji 便 originally depicted a person (人) with an object, symbolizing ease or convenience in carrying things or performing actions. Over time, its meaning expanded to include communication (mail) and physical bodily functions

JLPT N3 Kanji: 抜 (nuku, nukeru) – Mastering Extraction and Omission 抜 Readings: バツ (Onyomi), ぬく, ぬける, ぬかす, ぬき (Kunyomi) Meaning: extract, pull out, omit, surpass, escape The kanji 抜 combines the radical 扌 (tehen, hand) indicating an action performed with the hand, and the phonetic component 犮 (batsu/hatsu, meaning to pull out or walk

JLPT N3 Kanji: 許 – Mastering “Permit” and “Forgive” 許 Readings: キョ (Onyomi), ゆる.す (Kunyomi) Meaning: Permit, allow, approve, forgive The kanji 許 combines 言 (speech, word radical) on the left and 午 (noon, but here acts as a phonetic component indicating “allow” or “give”). Together, it originally represents giving verbal permission or allowing something.

JLPT N3 Kanji: 途 (to) – Your Path to Mastering Japanese 途 Readings: ト (Onyomi), (Kunyomi) Meaning: way, route, journey, during 途 is a phono-semantic compound (形声字). The radical 辵 (also written as 辶) means “walk” or “movement,” and 余 (よ) acts as the phonetic component, providing the sound. Together, they convey the concept of

JLPT N3 Kanji: 船 (fune/sen) – Master the Kanji for “Ship” and “Boat” 船 Readings: セン (Onyomi), ふね, ふな- (Kunyomi) Meaning: ship, boat The kanji 船 is a pictogram that graphically represents a boat or ship, capturing its basic shape. View JLPT N3 Kanji List How to Write – Stroke Order The kanji 船 is

JLPT N3 Kanji: 覚 (Kaku, Oboeru, Samasu, Sameru) – To Remember, To Awaken 覚 Readings: カク (Onyomi), おぼえる, さます, さめる (Kunyomi) Meaning: learn, remember, awake, perceive The kanji 覚 combines 見 (to see) and 學 (to learn/study), originally suggesting “to learn by seeing” or “to perceive with the senses.” View JLPT N3 Kanji List How

JLPT N3 Kanji: 頼 (Rely, Request, Trust) 頼 Readings: ライ (Onyomi), たの-む, たの-もしい, たよ-る (Kunyomi) Meaning: depend, request, ask, rely on, trust The kanji 頼 (賴 in traditional form) is composed of 束 (soku, a bundle or to bind) and 頁 (ketsu, head). Historically, it depicted binding someone by the head or bowing one’s head

JLPT N3 Kanji: 険 (kiken) – Mastering Danger and Steepness! 険 Readings: ケン (Onyomi), けわ-しい (Kunyomi) Meaning: steep, dangerous, risky, hazardous The kanji 険 combines the radical 阜 (こざとへん), meaning “hill” or “mound,” with the component 検, which here contributes both sound (ケン) and a sense related to “difficult” or “critical.” Together, they suggest a

JLPT N3 Kanji: 薬 (kusuri/yaku) – Medicine, Drug 薬 Readings: ヤク (Onyomi), くすり (Kunyomi) Meaning: Medicine, Drug, Chemical The kanji 薬 is composed of the radical 艹 (kusa-kanmuri), meaning “grass” or “herb,” placed over 楽 (raku), meaning “music,” “comfort,” or “ease.” This combination suggests that ancient medicines were often made from herbs (grass) and were

JLPT N3 Kanji: 宿 (shuku, yado) – Inn, Lodging, Homework 宿 Readings: シュク (Onyomi), やど, やどる, やどす (Kunyomi) Meaning: inn, lodging, dwelling, to lodge, to dwell The kanji combines “宀” (roof/house) and “人” (person) with “百” (one hundred). It depicts a person staying overnight under a roof, often for a long time or repeatedly, leading