What is Kanji alive?

Kanji alive is a free, web-based tool to help beginning and intermediate level Japanese language learners to read and write kanji. It is cross-platform and will run in any browser that supports Adobe Flash and Apple Quicktime.

Features of Kanji alive:

Instead of providing information on kanji in fragments, Kanji alive aims to clearly and succinctly present all the information needed by a learner in a single, unified interface.

By using Kanji alive, students of Japanese can:

• Search for 1235 kanji using a number of different criteria: textbook lesson number, onyomi, kunyomi, English kanji meaning(s), radical name, radical stroke number, radical English meaning(s) and kanji stroke number.

There are two general ways to search for kanji:

• Search by textbook & lesson number: This allows students to search for kanji according to the textbook and lesson number in which these are introduced.
• Search by method of user's choice: Kanji alive gives learners the freedom to search for kanji by using a number of different criteria, such as onyomi, core English meaning, etc.
• Clearly view an actual character (not a font) being drawn stroke by stroke by a Japanese writer in addition to a very clear calligraphic textbook font (kyoukashotai). Students can play the kanji animation from beginning to end or stroke by stroke.
• Listen to audio clips of compound examples to model the correct onyomi and kunyomi pronunciations (up to 12 examples per kanji with male and female speakers)
• Associate each kanji character with:
  • its English core meaning(s)
  • the number of strokes that make up the kanji
  • the breakdown of strokes that make up the kanji
  • its onyomi (Chinese reading) and kunyomi (Japanese reading)
  • compound words where the kanji is used, along with their English meanings
  • its Japanese and English radical meaning, and radical stroke number
  • the grade in which the kanji is taught in Japanese elementary schools
• See how the radicals of each kanji were transformed historically by viewing an animation of the transition. This unique mnemonic device along with the radical's English meaning, Japanese name and stroke number helps learners understand and remember kanji much more effectively.
• Read mnemonic hints which relate the kanji's components to the kanji's meaning.
• Look up further information on each kanji using the reference number for each kanji listed in two major Japanese references (Jack Halpern, The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary, 1st ed., 1999, Kodansha; Andrew N. Nelson, The Modern Reader's Japanese-English Character Dictionary, 2nd. ed., 1974, Tuttle Publishing).

In addition to the practical information needed to use kanji effectively, we have also written a supplement which covers the history of kanji, stroke order basics, and radicals, in order to foster a deeper understanding of kanji. These are provided as multimedia PDF documents, "Introduction to Kanji" and "The 214 Traditional Radicals and their meanings," and can be freely downloaded from the Introduction to Kanji page. We strongly suggest that learners of kanji read these documents.

Kanji alive can be used as a supplementary teaching tool in a variety of academic settings. It can easily be modified to support additional textbooks so that students at these institutions can quickly search for assigned kanji by entering a chapter or lesson number. Please see the Notes for Instructors page for more details.

Please note:

1. Kanji alive is not an English-Japanese dictionary.
   
   Kanji alive has a useful search function to help students find kanji by their core meaning(s) in English, but it is not designed to be used as a dictionary. The search function does not allow a user to search for compound words, such as 電話 (denwa, telephone). A search for English meaning(s) will only yield the individual kanji with that meaning.
2. Kanji alive includes all Kyouiku Kanji which are taught in Japanese elementary schools and all kanji in Level 2 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.
3. Kanji alive presents kanji in two different styles to help distinguish different stroke endings.
   

   Calligraphic font	Written with a pen

   The calligraphic kyokashotai font (displayed initially in the Display window) shows the clearest distinction among the three main stroke endings: the stop, the sweep and the hook (please consult the "Introduction to Kanji" PDF document on the Introduction to Kanji page for an explanation of the three stroke types).

   The pen-written style (displayed in the animated clip) shows how the three endings appear in everyday handwriting. This style is more useful as a model for students' own writing.

4. The mnemonic hints are not based on etymology. They were revised and developed by Harumi Hibino Lory and Camelia Nakagawara especially for Kanji alive, based on 2001 Kanji by Joseph R. De Roo, Bonjinsha, 1980 (currently out of print). All information is used with permission. The meanings of radicals are often broadened, and the radicals are sometimes taken apart to create mnemonic hints.
5. Example compound words where the kanji are used are listed according to the listed order of the onyomi and kunyomi pronunciations, not according to their order of importance.
6. Kanji alive is continuously being improved and enhanced. This is not a final version! Please consult What's new for news on current updates.