The Foundation kanji
The 76 kanji both tiers need, from 一, 人 and 日 to 学校 and 食べる: what each one means and how it is read in the words you know.
Learn
The Foundation kanji, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Know what a kanji is, and how many you need
A kanji is a character that carries a meaning, such as 山 (mountain) or 学 (study). Both tiers need the same 76 Foundation kanji, and Higher adds 124 more. In the reading paper, the first Foundation questions use only kana, and more kanji appear as the questions get harder.
Start with the kanji that began as pictures
Many simple kanji began as drawings of what they mean. 山 shows three peaks, 川 flowing water, 木 a tree and 口 an open mouth. 日 was the sun and 月 the moon, which is why they also mean day and month.
Know that most kanji have more than one reading
How a kanji is read depends on the word it is in. 人 is ひと on its own, じん in a nationality (日本人) and にん when counting (三人). 大 is おお in 大きい but だい in 大学. So learn each kanji inside the words you use, not as a single sound.
Read the kana that finish a kanji word
Verbs and adjectives keep their changing endings in kana, called おくりがな. The kanji gives the meaning and the kana give the grammar: 食べます, 食べました, 行きます, 大きい, 小さい. Learn exactly which kana come after the kanji, because 食ます or 小い is a misspelling.
Read and write numbers and prices in kanji
The number kanji run from 一 to 十, then 百, 千 and 万. Bigger numbers are built in the order you say them, the biggest part first: 二十五 is 25 and 四百八十円 is 480 yen. 円 is the kanji for yen.
Recognise the kanji for days, months and years
Each day of the week begins with a kanji: 月 (moon) for Monday, 火 (fire), 水 (water), 木 (tree), 金 (gold), 土 (earth) and 日 (sun) for Sunday. So Monday is 月曜日 and Sunday is 日曜日. After a number, 月 gives a month and 年 a year: 五月 is May.
Work out compounds from the kanji inside them
Two kanji often join to make a new word, and their meanings add up. 学 (study) and 校 (school) make 学校, 先 (before) and 生 (born) make 先生, someone born before you, and 外 (outside) and 国 (country) make 外国, a foreign country. Compounds mostly use the readings that came from Chinese.
Write kanji in the right stroke order, and only when you are sure
Kanji are written from top to bottom and left to right, and a horizontal stroke comes before a vertical one that crosses it, as in 十. In the writing paper, a variety of kanji is rewarded, but a mistaken kanji can stop a reader understanding you. If you are unsure, write the word in kana, which is always correct.
The Foundation kanji key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Kanji
- A character that stands for a meaning and has one or more readings. GCSE Japanese asks for 76 at Foundation and 200 at Higher.
- Reading
- How a kanji is said in a particular word. 人 can be read ひと, じん or にん, depending on the word.
- Japanese reading
- A reading that comes from a native Japanese word, often used when a kanji stands alone or has kana after it: 山 read やま, 大 read おお in 大きい.
- Chinese-style reading
- A reading that came into Japanese from Chinese, used mostly in compounds: 大 read だい in 大学.
- おくりがな
- The kana written after a kanji to finish a word and show its grammar, like the べます in 食べます.
- Compound
- A word made of two or more kanji, such as 学校 or 日本人. The meanings of the parts often add up to the meaning of the word.
- Stroke order
- The set order for writing the lines of a kanji. Following it makes kanji easier to remember and neater to read.
- Pictograph
- A kanji that began as a picture of what it means, such as 山, 川 and 木.
Common mistakes in The Foundation kanji
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Mixing up kanji that look alike, such as 人 (person) and 入 (enter), or 大 (big), 犬 (dog) and 天 (sky).
Look for the stroke that differs. 入 leans the other way from 人, 犬 adds a dot, and 天 adds a line across the top.
Using a kanji just for its sound, as in 見ま下 for 見ました.
A kanji stands for its own meaning, so it can only write its own word. Grammar endings like ました are always in kana, and a kanji used for its sound can stop the reader understanding you.
Reading a common word kanji by kanji, so 今日 becomes いまにち or 一人 becomes いちにん.
Some everyday words have a reading of their own: 今日 is きょう, 一人 is ひとり and 二人 is ふたり. Learn them as whole words.
Leaving out kana that belong after the kanji, as in 食ます or 小い.
Learn each word together with its おくりがな: 食べます, 小さい, 大きい, 行きます. Copy a new word out a few times, kana and all.
Writing a kanji you are not sure of in an exam answer.
A mistaken kanji can hide your meaning, while kana never will. Use the kanji you know well and write everything else in kana.
Practice
Try a The Foundation kanji question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
How is 大人 read?
- だいじん
- おおひと
- おとな
- たいじん
Show the answer and the working
Answer: おとな
大人 (adult) has a reading of its own: おとな.
- 大人 means adult.
- Its reading is special.
- おとな.