How kanji work
Why one character has several readings, and how to stop finding that alarming.
Kanji came into Japanese from Chinese over many centuries. Japanese kept the Chinese-derived pronunciations and also attached the characters to words it already had, so most characters carry at least two readings. This is the part that frightens beginners. It is more predictable than it looks.
The two reading types
| Type | Origin | Used when | Example with 人 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 音読み (on) | Chinese-derived | In compound words | 外国人 → がいこくじん |
| 訓読み (kun) | Native Japanese | Standing alone, or with kana | 人 → ひと |
Okurigana
The hiragana trailing a kanji is called okurigana, and it carries the grammar the kanji cannot. 食 holds the meaning "eat"; 食べます, 食べない and 食べた are all the same kanji with different endings.
Stroke order matters more than it seems
Correct stroke order makes your characters look right, keeps your handwriting legible, and lets you look words up by stroke count. The general rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before the vertical that crosses it, outside before inside.