How many kanji do I need for Grade 1 Japanese reading?

Grade 1 itself introduces 80 kanji. Reading at this level assumes the 80 kanji taught from Grade 1 through Grade 1 — every article here stays inside that set, checked automatically before publication.

Why school grades instead of JLPT levels?

Japan's Ministry of Education fixes exactly which kanji belongs to which school grade, so a grade is a boundary you can verify rather than an estimate. JLPT levels have no official kanji list of this kind.

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Japanese reading practice for absolute beginners — Grade 1 kanji only (80 kanji)

Read real Japanese at exactly the level you are now. Every article below uses only the 80 kanji taught from Grade 1 through Grade 1 — nothing above it, ever. Furigana sits over every character and an English translation runs beside the text.

Why Japanese school grades, not JLPT?

Japan's Ministry of Education sets the Kyōiku kanji list: exactly which characters children learn in which school year. That makes "Grade 1" something you can check, not something someone estimated. Every article on this page is machine-verified before publication — if a single character sits above Grade 1, it is not published.

The 80 kanji introduced in Grade 1

Tap any character for stroke order, readings and example words.

85 readings at Grade 1

🚸 Why Japanese children walk to school alone from the age of six 🧊 Why does ice float on water? The 9% that keeps lakes alive in winter 🐒 Snow monkeys of Japan: why wild macaques bathe in a hot spring all winter 🛰️ 「みちびき」が空へ 🎴 Competitive karuta: the Japanese card sport decided in 0.2 seconds 🪲 虫の名まえはルフィ 🏮 Obon: the four days in August when Japanese families welcome their ancestors home 🌙 月の町をつくる 👟 Why Japanese people take off their shoes indoors: the genkan rule explained 🍵 おちゃが大人気 🌊 Why is the sea salty? The answer, in simple Japanese at six kanji levels ⚔️ スター・ウォーズのアニメが出た 🎍 Why bamboo grows a metre a day — and why it is a grass, not a tree 📺 ドラマを見る人がおおい 🪼 ひのかみさまのクラゲ 📻 Radio taiso: why Japan does the same three-minute workout at 6:30 am 🍜 Ramen: how a Chinese noodle dish became Japan's national food 🏮 青森の大きなおまつり 🎎 Daruma dolls: why one eye is painted first, and what the other one means 🎬 ちいかわのえいが、大人気！ 🎒 Randoseru: the ¥60,000 backpack every Japanese child carries for six years ⚾ おおたにさんのホームラン 💨 かぜと空気 🚂 空をとぶでんしゃのアニメ 🪷 はすの花 🐒 さるの赤ちゃんパンチ 🏃 学校のうんどうかい 🐄 大きなうし 🐱 Maneki-neko: what the raised paw and the colours actually mean 🏛️ ならのふるいみやこ 🧹 Why Japanese students clean their own school every day 🏆 すごい日本人のせんしゅ 🪰 そらをとぶトンボ 🚵 じてんしゃで山を下る ⚾ たのしいやきゅう 🚀 ロケットのテスト 🏆 大きなサッカーのたいかい 🖌️ Shodo: what Japanese calligraphy trains besides handwriting 🎆 なつの花火 ♻️ ごみをわけて出す 🔵 空はなぜ青い? 🌸 アサガオの花 🦌 ならのしか千六百八十七ひき 🍧 Kakigori: Japan’s shaved ice, from Heian nobles to summer festivals 🚨 Koban: the tiny police boxes other countries copied 🔊 音はどうつたわる? 🐢 うみのかめ 🛰️ そらをとぶ「はやぶさ２」 🎽 たすきをつなぐえきでん 👘 Yukata vs kimono: what the Japanese summer robe actually is 🍱 Kyushoku: how Japanese school lunch became a class in itself 🧲 じしゃくの力 🪲 なつの虫の王さま 🏮 きょうとの大きなおまつり ⚽ アルゼンチンがかった 🎐 なつのおとふうりん 🥤 Why Japan has around four million vending machines ⚡ そらの大きな音 🌻 なつの花、ひまわり 🌿 くまもとの水 🏊 学校のプール 🎏 Origami: from paper cranes to satellite solar panels 🏪 町のコンビニ 💧 水のたび 🎐 なつの虫、セミ ☀️ 日本のなつ 🤼 大きな力のすもう 🌙 月のかたち 🎋 七月七日のたなばた 💴 お金のはなし 💠 雨とあじさいの花 🗻 ふじさんにのぼるなつ 🎋 七夕はなつのおまつり ⚾ なつのやきゅう 🌈 にじができる ♻️ ゴミをわける日本人 🏮 八月のおまつり ⚽ メッシゴール王 🤼 日本のすもう 🍱 学校のきゅうしょく ✨ ホタルを見にいこう 🐛 森でひかる小さな虫 🎆 なつの花火 🌸 さくらの花 🚆 あたらしいでんしゃ

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