Learning Kanji’s can be hard at first, but if you study in the correct order, I strongly believe that you can build your Kanji knowledge steadily.  In Japan, school children start learning Kanji’s starting at 1st grade in elementary school.  It is true that they also learn Hiragana & Katakana; however, during the same year, they also master 80 first Kanji’s.  These 80 Kanji’s are basic Kanji’s to begin your Kanji studying. My advise is, if you are just starting to learn Kanji’s, stick to these 80 Kanji’s first. Within the 80 Kanji’s, learn each Kanji by grouping together with other ones based on its meaning. That will facilitate your learning.

I have written a few articles in the past, discussing about Kanji’s that are mentioned in the above chart. If you are interested in reading these articles, click the link below.

• Let’s learn how to read Japanese! Part 5 (Kanji)– Kanji’s that represent numbers, 1 through 10 as well as 100 and 1000. This is a great start if you are just starting to learn Kanji’s.

• Let’s practice reading more Kanji’s!– Kanji’s that represent the days of the week, such as Mondays, Tuesdays, etc…

In this third article of Kanji, I would like to cover more Kanji’s, this time the ones related to “people”, such as men, women, and also the ones that represent your body parts.  Note, for those who would like to learn how to write each of these, I have also a link to take you to a site that shows you the correct stroke order. When writing Kanji’s, stroke order is very important!  So, I hope you will take advantage of the site. Let’s get started!

Manー男、おとこ(otoko)

click here to learn stroke order.

Womanー女、おんな(onna)

click here to learn stroke order.

Humanー人、ひと(hito)

click here to learn stroke order.

We often use the word, “Onnanohito(女の人、おんなのひと)”, meaning, woman by combining with the Kanji, 人. Similarly,  man will be expressed as 男の人、おとこのひと(otokonohito).

Childー子、こ(ko)

click here to learn stroke order.

女の子、おんなのこ – girl (onnanoko)

男の子、おとこのこ – boy(otokonoko)

Mouthー口、くち(kuchi)

click here to learn stroke order.

Eyeー目、め(me)

click here to learn stroke order.

Hand―手、て(te)

click here to learn stroke order.

Feetー足、あし(shi)

click here to learn stroke order.

Earー耳、みみ(mimi)

click here to learn stroke order.

When it comes to memorizing each Kanji, the key is to write and write, and write!  I have to tell you it is very important to keep writing each one of them until you feel comfortable writing the Kanji without looking anything.  Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions!