20 Most Confusing Look-Alike JLPT N5, N4 & N3 Kanji Pairs (Radical Memory Guide)
Nearly 30% of vocabulary and reading errors on the JLPT N5, N4, and N3 exams come from look-alike Kanji pairs that share an identical right-side phonetic component (such as 寺 in 待/持/時 or 青 in 晴/清/精) or differ by a single stroke length (未 vs 末, 土 vs 士). Instead of memorizing characters as blurry shapes, use the left-side semantic radical and interactive stroke-by-stroke handwriting on https://kanji.aldianapps.com to lock in the difference permanently.
Complete List of 20 Kanji, Readings & Example Vocabulary
Click the ✍️ Practice button on any row to launch interactive stroke-order handwriting practice on the canvas.
| No | Kanji | Onyomi / Kunyomi | Meaning | Example Vocabulary | Strokes | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 待 | 音: タイ 訓: ま.つ | To wait (Footstep radical 彳 on the left = waiting on the street) | 待つ / 招待 まつ (Matsu) / しょうたい (Shōtai) To wait / Invitation | 9 | ✍️ Practice |
| 2 | 持 | 音: ジ 訓: も.つ | To hold, carry, possess (Hand radical 扌 on the left = holding with fingers) | 持つ / 気持ち もつ (Motsu) / きもち (Kimochi) To hold / Feeling | 9 | ✍️ Practice |
| 3 | 特 | 音: トク 訓: — | Special (Cow radical 牜 on the left + Temple 寺) | 特別 とくべつ (Tokubetsu) Special | 10 | ✍️ Practice |
| 4 | 晴 | 音: セイ 訓: は.れる, は.らす | Clear weather, sunny (Sun radical 日 on the left + Blue 青) | 晴れる / 素晴らしい はれる (Hareru) To clear up / Sunny weather | 12 | ✍️ Practice |
| 5 | 清 | 音: セイ, ショウ 訓: きよ.い, きよ.める | Pure, clean water (Water radical 氵 on the left + Blue 青) | 清潔 せいけつ (Seiketsu) Cleanliness / Hygiene | 11 | ✍️ Practice |
| 6 | 精 | 音: セイ, ショウ 訓: — | Spirit, refined, energy (Rice radical 米 on the left + Blue 青) | 精神 せいしん (Seishin) Mind / Spirit | 14 | ✍️ Practice |
| 7 | 未 | 音: ミ 訓: いま.だ | Not yet, future (Top horizontal stroke is SHORTER = tree still growing) | 未来 みらい (Mirai) Future (Not yet come) | 5 | ✍️ Practice |
| 8 | 末 | 音: マツ, バツ 訓: すえ | End, tip, conclusion (Top horizontal stroke is LONGER = full grown) | 週末 しゅうまつ (Shūmatsu) Weekend (End of the week) | 5 | ✍️ Practice |
| 9 | 土 | 音: ド, ト 訓: つち | Earth, soil, Saturday (Bottom stroke is LONGER like the wide ground) | 土曜日 / 土地 どようび (Doyōbi) Saturday / Land | 3 | ✍️ Practice |
| 10 | 士 | 音: シ 訓: さむらい | Samurai, licensed professional (Top stroke is LONGER like broad shoulders) | 介護福祉士 かいごふくしし (Kaigo Fukushishi) Certified Care Worker | 3 | ✍️ Practice |
| 11 | 牛 | 音: ギュウ 訓: うし | Cow, beef (Vertical spine pokes ABOVE the top horizontal line like horns) | 牛肉 ぎゅうにく (Gyūniku) Beef | 4 | ✍️ Practice |
| 12 | 午 | 音: ゴ 訓: うま | Noon (Vertical spine stops at the top horizontal stroke — no horns!) | 午前 / 午後 ごぜん (Gozen) / ごご (Gogo) AM (Morning) / PM (Afternoon) | 4 | ✍️ Practice |
| 13 | 千 | 音: セン 訓: ち | Thousand (Top stroke slants down-left ㇒ atop 十) | 三千円 さんぜんえん (Sanzen-en) 3,000 Yen | 3 | ✍️ Practice |
| 14 | 干 | 音: カン 訓: ほ.す, ひ.る | To dry, air out (Top stroke is completely flat horizontal 一) | 干す ほす (Hosu) To hang out laundry to dry | 3 | ✍️ Practice |
| 15 | 鳥 | 音: チョウ 訓: とり | Bird, poultry (Has a horizontal eye stroke inside the head box) | 焼き鳥 やきとり (Yakitori) Grilled chicken skewers | 11 | ✍️ Practice |
| 16 | 烏 | 音: ウ, オ 訓: からす | Crow, raven (Missing the inner eye stroke because a crow's black eye blends in) | 烏龍茶 ウーロンちゃ (Ūroncha) Oolong tea | 10 | ✍️ Practice |
| 17 | 氷 | 音: ヒョウ 訓: こおり, ひ | Ice, shaved ice (Water 水 with a freezing droplet 丶 on the top left) | かき氷 かきごおり (Kakigōri) Japanese shaved ice dessert | 5 | ✍️ Practice |
| 18 | 永 | 音: エイ 訓: なが.い | Eternity, forever (Top dot sits centered above the vertical hook) | 永遠 えいえん (Eien) Eternity / Forever | 5 | ✍️ Practice |
| 19 | 顔 | 音: ガン 訓: かお | Face, expression (彥 + Head radical 頁) | 笑顔 えがお (Egao) Smiling face | 18 | ✍️ Practice |
| 20 | 頭 | 音: トウ, ズ, ト 訓: あたま, かしら | Head, mind (Bean 豆 on the left + Head radical 頁 on the right) | 頭痛 ずつう (Zutsū) Headache | 16 | ✍️ Practice |
💡 Study Tips & Exam Strategy
- Whenever two Kanji look 90% identical (like 待 vs 持 or 晴 vs 清), cover the right side and name the left-side radical out loud: 彳 (footstep = wait), 扌 (hand = hold), 日 (sun = sunny), 氵 (water = pure).
- For 1-stroke-length pairs (未 vs 末 and 土 vs 士), write them side-by-side 5 times on https://kanji.aldianapps.com so muscle memory locks in which horizontal bar is longer.
- Print a custom Look-Alike Kanji Genkō Yōshi PDF drill sheet before your next JLPT exam at https://kanji.aldianapps.com/jlpt/worksheets.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How do I remember the difference between 未 (not yet) and 末 (end)?
Picture a growing tree (木): in 未 (Mirai = future / not yet), the top branch is still short because the tree hasn't finished growing yet. In 末 (Shūmatsu = weekend / end), the top branch has grown longer than the lower branch.
Why do 晴, 清, and 精 all have the same On'yomi reading 'SEI'?
They are phonetic-semantic compounds (形声文字 / Keisei Moji): the right-hand component 青 supplies the On'yomi sound 'SEI', while the left-hand radical supplies the meaning (日 sun = sunny, 氵 water = pure, 米 rice = refined spirit).
Where can I practice writing these look-alike Kanji with real-time stroke grading?
Open https://kanji.aldianapps.com on any phone, tablet, or laptop to trace each character with instant stroke-order and radical feedback.
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