Writing about Japanese, one kanji at a time.
Practical notes on learning Japanese, preparing for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, kanji study methods, and life in Japan. Written for people actually doing the work.
When kanji reviews pile up faster than you can clear them.
You clear two hundred reviews and the next day there are two hundred more. The backlog grows when you add new cards faster than memory can absorb them. Here is how to get it back under control.
Why your kanji all start looking the same.
Somewhere past your first hundred kanji, they start blurring together. That is normal, and it has a specific cause. You are reading each one as a whole picture instead of the small set of parts they are built from.
Kanji readings feel impossible because you're learning them in the wrong order.
You look up one character and find two on'yomi, three kun'yomi, and exceptions to both. The problem isn't the readings — it's where you're starting.
The kanji you studied this week might not be there next week.
You flip through cards and it's clicking. Then you open a real text and it's gone. The recognition-recall gap explains why most kanji study methods fail and what actually builds lasting memory.
How many kanji do you need for JLPT N5?
About 100 kanji and 800 vocabulary words. But the number alone doesn't tell you much. Here's what to actually study, how long it takes, and why most people make this harder than it needs to be.
What to do after hiragana and katakana.
You finished the kana and now everything you try to read is full of characters you don't recognize. The advice on what to do next is all over the place. After 30+ years of Japanese, here's what actually works.
Japan's new work visa rule takes effect April 15.
Customer-facing roles under Category 3 or 4 now require Japanese proficiency at CEFR B2 — roughly JLPT N2 with an upper-half score. What changed, and where to start if this affects your plans.
More posts coming soon. New articles are published 1–2 times a month.