Learn Japanese Vocabulary with Kanji You Already Know

Knowing a kanji gives you a useful clue when you meet it in a new word—but it does not guarantee its reading or meaning. Connect characters you have studied to complete words, check each word’s reading and context, and return to it later. YoruLearn’s dictionary includes kanji-coverage filters that can help you find words containing learned characters; availability of these filters depends on your plan.

Try the free exercise Explore YoruLearn for iOS

From a familiar character to a useful word

Suppose you have learned 学 and 校. Study 学校 as a complete word, rather than guessing from individual character meanings. The same characters can appear in other words with different readings.

Word	Reading	Meaning	Connection
学校	がっこう	school	Uses both 学 and 校.
学生	がくせい	student	Reuses 学 with 生.
校長	こうちょう	school principal	Reuses 校 with 長.
大学	だいがく	university	Reuses 学 after 大.

学生は学校に行きます。

Gakusei wa gakkō ni ikimasu. The student goes to school. Notice the small っ in がっこう; don’t assume a character has just one pronunciation.

Free mini-practice: find the connection

Try these without the app. Answer first, then open each explanation.

1. Which character appears in both 学校 and 学生?

学. The words are がっこう (school) and がくせい (student).

2. Does 学 have the same reading in every word?

No. Compare がっこう with がくせい and だいがく. Learn the complete word and its reading.

3. What does 大学 mean?

University, read だいがく.

4. You know 学 but not 生. Is 学生 made only of known kanji?

No: it contains one known and one unfamiliar character. It can be a useful next word, but you still need to learn 生 and the whole word.

5. How would you check a new word before using it?

Check its reading, meaning, an example sentence and context. Individual kanji are clues, not a reliable word-by-word translation.

Using your kanji progress in YoruLearn

Study characters in writing practice and build your progress.
Open the dictionary and explore its kanji-coverage filters, such as “Has learned kanji” or “Only learned kanji”.
Check the reading and meaning of a word, then practise it in context.

Dictionary search is free; progress and kanji-coverage filters are Premium features according to the app’s current feature descriptions. Check the App Store and app for current availability and pricing. These are dictionary filters; they do not imply that every vocabulary lesson automatically selects words based on your kanji progress.

Continue with the N5 vocabulary list, N5 kanji hub, or handwriting practice guide.

Common questions

Can I guess a word's reading from its kanji?

Not reliably. The same character can have different readings, and sound changes can occur in compounds.

Does knowing a kanji mean I know every word containing it?

No. Learn each word’s meaning, reading and use. A familiar character is a connection, not a substitute for context.

Can I use this exercise without downloading the app?

Yes. The examples and mini-practice on this page are free to use in your browser.