How to Memorize Kanji: Stories, Parts and Review

Short answer: break each kanji into parts you already know, tie the parts together in a one-sentence story, and see the kanji again after one day, a few days, and a week. Stories give you the shape. Review gives you the time. Readings come afterwards, through example words.

Most advice on memorising kanji is advice about how not to forget. Here are the pieces, with real examples.

Why copying a kanji twenty times fails

Writing the same character over and over feels productive, and for the hand it is. But your memory is not a muscle that gets stronger by repeating one movement. You can write 聞 fifteen times in a row and still not recall it tomorrow, because the fifteen copies were one event. You saw it once, fifteen times in a row.

Memory responds to being asked again later, when it is a little hard. That is why review gaps matter more than repetitions.

Step 1: find the parts

Most kanji are built from smaller pieces. 明 has 日 (sun) and 月 (moon). 休 has a person and a tree. 男 has a rice field and power. 時 has the sun and a temple.

You do not need to know the formal names of the parts. You need a plain, consistent word for each. Kanji Guide marks the parts in each story, so you can see where they sit. After a while you have a small vocabulary of parts and new kanji read like sentences.

Step 2: turn the parts into a scene

A scene is more memorable than a label. Look at how the story for 明 uses both parts:

Sun (日) and moon (月) shine together in the sky, and everything looks bright.

The sun and moon are in the sky together, and everything is bright. You can see it. The meaning is built into the picture, and so are the two parts.

Here is 男:

A farmer raises his fist, full of power (力), beside his rice field (田) of green sprouts, a strong man.

A farmer, his fist (power), and his field. Next time you see a rice field on the left of a power shape, you know what you are looking at.

A story works best when it is:

• Concrete. You can picture a farmer. You cannot picture “masculinity”.
• Short. One or two sentences.
• Complete. Every part of the kanji appears in it.

Your own story will beat anyone else’s if you have the time to make one. If you do not, a ready-made story is still far better than none.

Step 3: make it vivid, not clever

People often try to build stories that are smart or funny. A plain, slightly odd image is easier to recall than a good joke. The farmer with a raised fist and a field is not clever. It sticks.

If a story does not click for you, change it. The point is for you to see the scene when you see the kanji. If you want a deeper look at how stories are built, see kanji mnemonics explained.

Step 4: review at growing gaps

After you learn a kanji, see it again:

1. the next day,
2. a few days later,
3. about a week later,
4. then every few weeks.

If you get one wrong, it comes back sooner. If you get it right, the gap grows. This is spaced repetition, and it is the single biggest factor in whether kanji stick. Kanji Guide schedules this for you. Anki and WaniKani do the same in their own ways, and there is a fair comparison of the three approaches.

Step 5: memorise readings inside words

Readings are where many learners hit a wall. A bare list like サン, セン, やま is hard to hold. A word is easier. 山 is やま alone and ざん in 火山 (かざん, volcano), the on reading サン with a voiced start. 読 is よむ in 読む and どく in 読書 (どくしょ, reading). Two words, two readings, and each reading has a job.

Take the example words on each kanji page seriously. They are the most efficient way to attach sounds to shapes.

Step 6: use the kanji in a context you care about

A kanji you see on a menu, a sign, or in a song you like will be recalled faster than one you only met in a study set. Say you have learned 食 (eat). The next time you see 食べる or 外食 anywhere, notice it. That small moment of recognition is a free review.

What to do when a kanji will not stick

Every learner has a handful of stubborn ones. A few things help:

• Change the story. If the picture is not working, replace it.
• Compare it with its look-alike. 右 and 左, or 午 and 牛, are easier together than apart.
• Leave it for a day. Sometimes the kanji is fine and you were tired.
• Check you know the parts. If a part is shaky, the kanji will be too.

A realistic daily routine

Ten to fifteen minutes is enough for most people:

1. Do your reviews first, since they are the most valuable.
2. Learn a small number of new kanji, three to five.
3. Look at stroke order for each new one.
4. Stop.

You will forget some kanji. That is not a sign the method is failing. It is the reason the review schedule exists.

Try it

You can start with the N5 kanji or open the study app in your browser. Each kanji comes with a picture story, animated stroke order, readings and example words, and your reviews are scheduled for you. There is an iPhone app as well.