JLPT N5 First 100 Kanji: Complete Stroke Order, Radicals & Handwriting Guide for English Speakers
Learning your first 100 JLPT N5 Kanji is the single most rewarding milestone for English-speaking Japanese learners in North America and worldwide. Instead of memorizing random strokes by brute force, understanding the 7 Golden Rules of Japanese Stroke Order (筆順 / Hitsujun) and core semantic radicals makes every character predictable. Below is a curated, grouped blueprint of high-frequency N5 Kanji across 5 semantic categories—complete with interactive stroke grading on https://kanji.aldianapps.com and cross-ecosystem tools including F2F Translator (https://www.f2f-translator.com), Hanzi Scribe (https://hanzi.aldianapps.com), and Rapat.io (https://rapat.io/interview?lang=en).
Complete List of 30 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 | 一 | 音: イチ, イツ 訓: ひと, ひと.つ | One (Category 1: Numbers & Quantities) | 一つ ひとつ (Hitotsu) One thing (Rule 1: Left to right) | 1 | ✍️ Practice |
| 2 | 二 | 音: ニ 訓: ふた, ふた.つ | Two (Category 1: Numbers & Quantities) | 二人 ふたり (Futari) Two people (Rule 2: Top to bottom) | 2 | ✍️ Practice |
| 3 | 三 | 音: サン 訓: み, み.つ, みっ.つ | Three (Category 1: Numbers & Quantities) | 三日 みっか (Mikka) 3rd day of the month | 3 | ✍️ Practice |
| 4 | 五 | 音: ゴ 訓: いつ, いつ.つ | Five (Category 1: Numbers & Quantities) | 五つ いつつ (Itsutsu) Five things | 4 | ✍️ Practice |
| 5 | 十 | 音: ジュウ, ジッ 訓: とお, と | Ten (Category 1: Numbers — Rule 3: Horizontal before vertical) | 十分 じゅっぷん (Juppun) Ten minutes / Enough | 2 | ✍️ Practice |
| 6 | 年 | 音: ネン 訓: とし | Year (Category 2: Time & Calendar) | 今年 ことし (Kotoshi) This year | 6 | ✍️ Practice |
| 7 | 今 | 音: コン, キン 訓: いま | Now, present (Category 2: Time & Calendar) | 今日 きょう (Kyō) Today | 4 | ✍️ Practice |
| 8 | 先 | 音: セン 訓: さき | Previous, ahead, teacher (Category 2: Time & Calendar) | 先週 せんしゅう (Senshū) Last week | 6 | ✍️ Practice |
| 9 | 来 | 音: ライ 訓: く.る, き.たる | To come, next (Category 2: Time & Calendar) | 来月 らいげつ (Raigetsu) Next month | 7 | ✍️ Practice |
| 10 | 毎 | 音: マイ 訓: ごと | Every, each (Category 2: Time & Calendar) | 毎日 まいにち (Mainichi) Every day | 6 | ✍️ Practice |
| 11 | 父 | 音: フ 訓: ちち | Father (Category 3: People, Family & Body) | お父さん おとうさん (Otōsan) Father (polite) | 4 | ✍️ Practice |
| 12 | 母 | 音: ボ 訓: はは | Mother (Category 3: People, Family & Body) | お母さん おかあさん (Okāsan) Mother (polite) | 5 | ✍️ Practice |
| 13 | 子 | 音: シ, ス 訓: こ | Child (Category 3: People, Family & Body) | 子ども こども (Kodomo) Child / Children | 3 | ✍️ Practice |
| 14 | 女 | 音: ジョ, ニョ 訓: おんな, め | Woman, female (Category 3: People & Radicals) | 女の子 おんなのこ (Onna no ko) Girl | 3 | ✍️ Practice |
| 15 | 男 | 音: ダン, ナン 訓: おとこ | Man, male (Category 3: Rice field 田 + Power 力) | 男の人 おとこのひと (Otoko no hito) Man | 7 | ✍️ Practice |
| 16 | 目 | 音: モク 訓: め | Eye (Category 3: Body Radicals — Rule 5: Outside before inside) | 目的 もくてき (Mokuteki) Purpose / Goal | 5 | ✍️ Practice |
| 17 | 耳 | 音: ジ 訓: みみ | Ear (Category 3: Body Radicals) | 耳 みみ (Mimi) Ear / Hearing | 6 | ✍️ Practice |
| 18 | 手 | 音: シュ 訓: て | Hand (Category 3: Body Radicals) | 手紙 てがみ (Tegami) Letter | 4 | ✍️ Practice |
| 19 | 足 | 音: ソク 訓: あし, た.りる | Foot, leg, sufficient (Category 3: Body Radicals) | 一足 いっそく (Issoku) One pair of shoes/socks | 7 | ✍️ Practice |
| 20 | 山 | 音: サン 訓: やま | Mountain (Category 4: Nature & Directions — Center peak first!) | 富士山 ふじさん (Fujisan) Mount Fuji | 3 | ✍️ Practice |
| 21 | 川 | 音: セン 訓: かわ | River, stream (Category 4: Nature & Directions) | 川 かわ (Kawa) River | 3 | ✍️ Practice |
| 22 | 天 | 音: テン 訓: あめ, あま | Heaven, sky, weather (Category 4: Nature) | 天気 てんき (Tenki) Weather (Top stroke is shorter than second stroke in print) | 4 | ✍️ Practice |
| 23 | 気 | 音: キ, ケ 訓: — | Spirit, air, mood, energy (Category 4: Nature) | 元気 げんき (Genki) Healthy / Energetic | 6 | ✍️ Practice |
| 24 | 上 | 音: ジョウ 訓: うえ, あ.がる, のぼ.る | Up, above, climb (Category 4: Directions) | 上手 じょうず (Jōzu) Skillful / Good at | 3 | ✍️ Practice |
| 25 | 下 | 音: カ, ゲ 訓: した, さ.がる, くだ.る | Down, below, under (Category 4: Directions) | 地下鉄 ちかてつ (Chikatetsu) Subway / Underground train | 3 | ✍️ Practice |
| 26 | 見 | 音: ケン 訓: み.る, み.える | To see, look, watch (Category 5: Core Verbs & Adjectives) | 花見 はなみ (Hanami) Cherry blossom viewing (Eye 目 on legs 儿) | 7 | ✍️ Practice |
| 27 | 聞 | 音: ブン, モン 訓: き.く, き.こえる | To hear, listen, ask (Category 5: Gate 門 + Ear 耳) | 新聞 しんぶん (Shinbun) Newspaper | 14 | ✍️ Practice |
| 28 | 書 | 音: ショ 訓: か.く | To write, book, document (Category 5: Core Verbs) | 辞書 じしょ (Jisho) Dictionary | 10 | ✍️ Practice |
| 29 | 大 | 音: ダイ, タイ 訓: おお.きい | Big, large, university (Category 5: Core Adjectives) | 大きい おおきい (Ōkii) Big / Large | 3 | ✍️ Practice |
| 30 | 小 | 音: ショウ 訓: ちい.さい, こ, お | Small, little (Category 5: Rule 7 — Center vertical before side dots!) | 小さい ちいさい (Chiisai) Small / Little | 3 | ✍️ Practice |
💡 Study Tips & Exam Strategy
- Memorize the 7 Golden Rules of Japanese Stroke Order (筆順): 1) Top to bottom (二, 三), 2) Left to right (川), 3) Horizontal before vertical when crossing (十, 木), 4) Right-to-left diagonal before left-to-right diagonal (人, 父), 5) Outer frame before inner contents (月, 同), 6) Fill inside before closing the bottom frame (日, 国), and 7) Center vertical stroke before symmetrical side dots (小, 水, 山).
- Learn radicals as visual LEGO blocks: once you know 目 (eye), 耳 (ear), 言 (speech), and 門 (gate), 14-stroke characters like 聞 (hear = ear 耳 inside gate 門) and 読 (read) take 10 seconds to memorize.
- Complement your JLPT N5 Kanji drills with live Japanese speaking practice on F2F Translator (https://www.f2f-translator.com), Chinese character etymology on Hanzi Scribe (https://hanzi.aldianapps.com), and English/Japanese interview prep on Rapat.io (https://rapat.io/interview?lang=en).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What are the 7 golden rules of Japanese Kanji stroke order?
1) Write top to bottom, 2) Write left to right, 3) Horizontal strokes before intersecting vertical strokes (十), 4) Left-falling sweep before right-falling sweep (人), 5) Outer enclosure before inner strokes (同), 6) Close the bottom frame last (日, 国), and 7) Center vertical spine before left and right symmetrical strokes (小, 水).
How long does it take to learn the first 100 JLPT N5 Kanji?
By practicing 10 Kanji per day using interactive stroke-order validation and SM-2 spaced repetition on https://kanji.aldianapps.com, most English speakers master all 103 JLPT N5 Kanji in 10 to 14 days.
Can I use Kanji Scribe alongside F2F Translator, Hanzi Scribe, and Rapat.io?
Yes! All four apps are part of the Aldian Apps language & career ecosystem: practice Japanese handwriting on Kanji Scribe, real-time bilingual voice conversation on https://www.f2f-translator.com, Mandarin characters on https://hanzi.aldianapps.com, and AI job interview teleprompter coaching on https://rapat.io/interview?lang=en.
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