August 27, 202633 min readKanji Reference

The Full Jōyō Kanji List, With Meanings

Listen to this post

The jōyō (, "regular use") kanji are the 2,136 characters officially designated by Japan's Ministry of Education for use in laws, newspapers, and everyday publications, in a list last revised in 2010. They're taught throughout compulsory education, and together they're what a fluent adult reader is expected to recognize without furigana.

Unlike hiragana and katakana, kanji represent meaning rather than just sound, and most have several possible readings depending on context. The list below pairs every jōyō kanji with one of its common English meanings, so you can browse it as a reference rather than just a wall of characters.

All 2,136 kanji, with meanings

Use the filters below to narrow the list down to a single JLPT level - handy if you're studying toward a specific exam rather than browsing the whole set at once.

Search kanji by character or meaning

Filter by JLPT level

Filter by what you've learned

一One 二Two 三Three 四Four 五Five 六Six 七Seven 八Eight 九Nine 十Ten 百Hundred 千Thousand 万Ten Thousand, 10,000 円Circle, Yen, Round 日Day, Sun, Japan 月Month, Moon 火Fire 水Water 木Tree, Wood 金Gold 土Soil, Earth, Ground 本Book, Present, Main 人Person 今Now 時Time, Hour 半Half, Middle, Odd Number 上Above, Up 下Below, Down, Descend 中In, Inside, Middle 外Outside 右Right 左Left 前In Front, Before 後Behind, Back, Later 午Noon, Sign Of The Horse, 11am-1pm 間Interval, Space 東East 西West, Spain 南South 北North 男Male 女Woman, Female 子Child, Sign Of The Rat, 11pm-1am 学Study, Learning, Science 生Life, Genuine, Birth 先Before, Ahead, Previous 何What 父Father 母Mother 年Year, Counter For Years 毎Every 国Country 見See, Hopes, Chances 行Going, Journey, Carry Out 来Come, Due, Next 食Eat, Food 聞Hear, Ask, Listen 話Tale, Talk 大Large, Big 小Little, Small 高Tall, High, Expensive 気Spirit, Mind, Air 長Long, Leader, Superior 友Friend 入Enter, Insert 出Exit, Leave, Go Out 雨Rain 電Electricity 車Car 校Exam, School, Printing 休Rest, Day Off, Retire 読Read 書Write 名Name, Noted, Distinguished 語Word, Speech, Language 山Mountain 川Stream, River 天Heavens, Sky, Imperial 白White

This list only covers meaning, not pronunciation - most jōyō kanji have both an on'yomi (Chinese-derived) and kun'yomi (native Japanese) reading, which is a separate thing to learn for each one. For an introduction to how kanji fit alongside hiragana and katakana, see the lessons page, or try the hiragana-to-kanji converter to see which kanji are commonly used to write everyday words. To see how kanji are built from smaller parts, browse the radicals reference.