How to use kanjikaki
Check the kanji burden before you start reading
kanjikaki does not label an entire passage from its single hardest character. It combines the frequency of kanji that actually occur in the text with the learning range you select, so you can see what to prepare before reading.
How is the text level calculated?
The analyzer classifies each kanji by learning band and uses the token-weighted 90th percentile of the resulting difficulty distribution. A single rare advanced character therefore does not automatically make the whole passage advanced.
Japanese school grade and Kanken labels describe character-learning ranges. JLPT publishes no official character-by-character syllabus, so the JLPT label is a study comparison derived from school and Kanken bands, not an official exam judgment.
What does “within my range” mean?
Choose a benchmark at the top of the page to separate characters within your current range from those you have not yet covered. Coverage uses actual occurrences rather than only the number of distinct characters, which helps prioritize important kanji repeated throughout the passage.
- Select practice targets from the unmastered list.
- Review Japanese on/kun readings, a plain-English meaning, and representative usage examples.
- Write directly in the browser with numbered stroke order and an optional guide.
PDFs and long documents
For PDFs containing selectable text, the browser extracts the text before analysis. Image-only scanned PDFs require OCR and may not be readable here. Long passages are analyzed in a separate worker, while the source and kanji list scroll inside bounded panels.
Entered text is not currently sent to or stored in a kanjikaki server database. Language, benchmark, and selection preferences may remain locally in your browser.
Where do readings and stroke data come from?
Joyo and school-grade classifications are normalized from Agency for Cultural Affairs and MEXT references. Japanese readings and English meanings use KANJIDIC2/JMdict-derived data, while diagrams use KanjiVG vectors and complete official stroke-number coordinates.
Verified on/kun readings and representatives cover all 5,663 characters from Kanken 10 through 1. Joyo entries prioritize official Agency for Cultural Affairs examples; sourced Kanken, JMdict, KANJIDIC2, or Kanjipedia representatives are used only when no official example exists.
A simple study loop
Start with a short passage, select five to ten unmastered characters, and practice their numbered stroke order. Analyze the same passage again a few days later to see how your coverage changes.