Japanese · Specialist course
A kanji tutor online who teaches the system rather than the flashcards
Two thousand characters memorised as pictures does not scale. Learned as components and phonetic series, most new kanji become a recombination of things you already know.
Who this is for
Is this the right course for you?
Learners at any level who have stalled on kanji, self-taught students drowning in flashcards, and JLPT candidates whose reading speed is holding back their score.
What you cover
What the lessons cover
- Radicals and what they actually tell you about meaning
- Phonetic components, and why many readings are predictable
- On and kun readings, and how to know which one a compound takes
- Stroke order and handwriting, to the extent you need it
- Reading in context rather than in isolation
- A review system you can sustain without it eating your week
Kanji is taught here as its own course because it is the part of Japanese most likely to stop a learner permanently, and because the standard approach — volume of flashcards — scales badly.
Components and phonetic series
A large share of kanji contain a component that signals the reading. Once you know a few dozen of these, a new character is often predictable rather than arbitrary. This is the single biggest efficiency available to a learner and most self-study routes never mention it.
Reading in context
Recognition on a flashcard and recognition inside a sentence at speed are different skills. Every lesson includes reading real text, because that is the skill the exam and the world actually test.
Kanji questions, answered properly
Do I really need to handwrite kanji?
Less than you used to. Most written Japanese is typed, and typing needs recognition rather than production. Handwriting still helps retention for many learners and is required in some academic and professional settings. We will ask what you need it for rather than insisting on it — for most learners, limited handwriting practice is the right balance.
How many kanji do I need to read a newspaper?
The jōyō list of 2,136 characters covers essentially all general-purpose text, and around 1,000 gets you a long way with a dictionary. Volume matters less than you would think: readers who know 1,000 characters well and read regularly outperform readers who half-know 2,000 from flashcards.
Are flashcard apps a waste of time?
Not at all — spaced repetition is genuinely effective for retention. The problem is using it as the whole method. Cards test recognition in isolation, and reading requires recognition in context at speed. Use the app for review and lessons for the system, the readings and the reading practice.
Related courses
Other Japanese courses
JLPT N5
Beginners who want a structured first target, students needing a documented level, and self- taught learners who want to check where they actually are.
JLPT N4
Learners who hold N5 or equivalent, self-taught students filling gaps, and anyone preparing for study or work in Japan who needs a documented step up.
JLPT N3
Learners who hold N4 and are aiming at N2, and self-taught students who have hit the wall that N3 is famous for.
JLPT N2
Candidates applying for work in Japan, university applicants, and learners who hold N3 and need the certificate that employers actually recognise.
online japanese tutor — every level and every course we teach in Japanese.
Start with a free Japanese trial lesson
You meet the tutor, they work out where you actually are, and you both decide whether to carry on. If we are not the right fit, we will say so.