As a native English speaker, Kanji can seem crazy intimidating. With thousands of characters it looks like it never ends! It’s a big reason that students drag their feet because learning can be tedious and repetitive. If you focus, does it really take that long though?
Most people who want to learn the 2000 Jouyou Kanji take around 1-1.5 years if they are going at a steady pace. The timing is similar for N1 kanji lists. This of course depends on a lot of factors so let’s take a look at how fast you could learn the kanji and get it out of the way!
The first thing that will effect how fast your kanji speed is which kanji you’re actually learning! The common lists like Jouyou and JLPT all have different numbers so it’s important to base your plans off the right one.
How long does it take to learn the JTLP kanji lists?
The JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency test) is an exam run by the Japanese government for foreigners to test language skills. It is held around the world at various locations in December and July. There are 5 levels of the test ranging in difficult with N1 being the hardest and the level required for fluency.
It’s a popular measure because passing the N1 effectively means you are considered fluent enough to conduct business in Japan. It’s what employers look for when hiring overseas staff and it looks great on a resume or transcript.
While there are guide books for the JLPT here is no official list of kanji required for each level. Most study guides and apps use lists which have been compiled through previous tests and from lists of the most used kanji.
Here is a table showing on average how many kanji is required for each level and how long it would take to learn.
| JLPT Level | Difficulty | Approximate Number of Kanji | Study days (if learning 10 per day) | Study days (if learning 5 per day) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JLPT 5 | Easiest | ~100 | 10 | 20 |
| JLPT 4 | ~300 | 30 | 60 | |
| JLPT 3 | Medium | ~650 | 65 | 130 |
| JLPT 2 | ~1000 | 100 | 200 | |
| JLPT 1 | Hardest | ~2000 | 200 | 400 |
How long does it take to learn the Jouyou kanji list?
The Jouyou kanji is a list of 2136 characters set out by the Japanese government. In simple terms, it is a list of kanji that students are expected to know by the time they finish high school for basic literacy. It also includes some additional kanji for use in government documents and names etc that you might come across in every day Japanese life. This is not a complete list of kanji and it’s not even a list of every kanji you would need to read but it’s an easy entry point.
If you were to learn 10 kanji a day, completing the Jouyou character list would take you around 214 days. So less than a year!
If you were only learning 5 kanji a day it would take you 428 days.
You can find a nice easy list of the Jouyou kanji and their levels here on the Monash University website.
How long does it take to complete Wanikani for kanji?
Wanikani is a kanji and vocabulary website that uses an SRS system for memorisation. Wanikani is a great system because it mixes learning straight up kanji with vocabulary at the same time. This means you can make connections to words a lot quicker and retain things.
Wanikani contains around 2000 Kanji and 6000 vocabulary words.
According to their website, the quickest you can complete their system is 368 days. This assumes that you are doing reviews the moment they come up though which is often not realistic.
Their website suggests that average person completing Wanikani takes around 1.5-2 years.
How much kanji do you need to read manga?
The amount of kanji you need to read a manga will depend a lot on the age level the manga is aimed at and whether it has a lot of content specific words. For example, you might be reading at the level of a 13yr old but if the manga you want to read is about wizards and contains a lot of complex lore you may struggle.
The best way to estimate is to check the recommended age group for the manga and judge it against the level you are currently at. To easily compare you level to the age range, use the Jouyou guide or practice tests.
To cement your kanji knowledge you should start reading outside of your learning system as soon as you possibly can. Pick content that is appropriate to your level and work your way up. If you find yourself looking up more than a few kanji per page then downgrade until you can comfortably read it.
How much kanji do you need to learn to be fluent in Japanese?
The short answer is that it really depends on how you judge fluency. You don’t need any kanji to speak or listen well in Japanese and many people would describe that as being fluent!
Around 2000 kanji is the requirement for the JLPT 1 test which is how the Japanese government judges fluency.
The Jouyou kanji list contains 2136 characters (slightly different from the JLPT 1 list) which represent basic high school level fluency.
An average Japanese person would know the Jouyou kanji list and then some depending on their person interests and life experiences. That said, on Japanese morning tv shows there are sometimes segments where they ask people on the street if they can recognise obscure kanji and the answer is often no! I think that would give you the feeling that while kanji is important to learn, so long as you have the basic ~2000 down you will be fine.
How much time should I spend studying kanji every day?
If you want to learn 10 new kanji per day then you would probably need to study around 15 minutes. The problem with this math is that it doesn’t take into account the fact that you need to revise the kanji you have previously learnt too. If you spend a few minutes revising each kanji every day this quickly adds up.
This is why most people use Spaced Repetition Systems (SRS) to learn kanji. These systems calculate when the most effective time for each revision is and only show you the character then. There is a lot of science behind it and they are proven to work well so I recommend them.
By spacing the reviews out you can safely learn your 10 new words a day and then leave 20-30 minutes for reviews. Keep in mind that reviews snowball quickly and after a few months of new words things can pile up. The key is to review items as soon as they come up so you aren’t left with a massive queue.
Leave room to learn vocabulary and grammar too!
It’s easy to see these numbers and think “Great! I’ll be fluent in a year!” when that’s just not the case. Kanji doesn’t give you fluency. I would go so far as to say that kanji alone is pretty useless as it doesn’t even give you much vocabulary. You need to learn the kanji, also the context and where it fits into actual words to be fluent. That takes more time. You need to study grammar and vocabulary separately to achieve real fluency and have success on test like the JLPT.
Some tips for speeding learning kanji up.
So the real answer to how long kanji takes to learn is: however long you want it to… but if you are determined then probably 1-2 years. You can speed things up by being methodical and consistent with your study. A few years for a whole new writing system isn’t that bad in the long run!
Now that you’re excited, have a read about how to make learning kanji less boring next!
