Look-alike kanji: telling confusable N5 and N4 kanji apart
Many beginner kanji differ by a single dot or by how far one stroke reaches. This guide covers the common look-alike groups at N5 and N4, gives you the detail that separates each one, and pairs every kanji with a common word so the difference has something to attach to.
How to separate a pair
- Name the difference in words. "The dog has a dot at the top right" is easier to recall than a picture.
- Learn the pair on purpose. When you meet the second kanji of a pair, put the two side by side and compare them, rather than hoping you will notice.
- Anchor each one to a word you already know. If 犬 means いぬ to you, a new kanji that looks almost the same has to be something else.
- Write them. Writing makes you decide where each stroke goes, which is exactly where look-alikes differ.
- Use the context. In real text, look-alikes rarely fit the same slot. 太い and 犬 never compete for the same place in a sentence.
The groups
大, 犬, 太, 天, 夫 and 失
Start from 大 (big), as in 大きい (おおきい, big). Then look at what has been added.
- 犬 (dog) adds a dot at the top right, like an ear: 犬 (いぬ).
- 太 (thick, fat) adds a dot at the bottom, between the legs: 太い (ふとい, thick).
- 天 (heaven, sky) adds a line on top, and nothing pokes above it: 天気 (てんき, weather).
- 夫 (husband) has two lines, and the slanting stroke pokes up through the top one: 夫 (おっと).
- 失 (lose) is 夫 with a short extra stroke at the top left: 失敗 (しっぱい, failure).
The test for 天 and 夫 is the top edge. If anything sticks up above the highest line, it is 夫 or 失.
日, 白, 百, 目 and 自
日 (sun, day) is a box with one line inside, as in 毎日 (まいにち, every day). 目 (eye) is taller, with two lines inside: 目 (め). Adding a short stroke on top turns each into a new kanji. 日 becomes 白 (white), as in 白い (しろい). 目 becomes 自 (self), as in 自分 (じぶん, oneself). 自 began as a picture of a nose, which may help, since Japanese speakers point at their nose to mean "me".
百 (hundred) is 白 with a line on top, as in 百円 (ひゃくえん, 100 yen). Their on'yomi echo each other too: ハク for 白, ヒャク for 百.
木, 本, 未 and 末
木 (tree) is き, as in 木曜日 (もくようび, Thursday). 本 adds a short line across the bottom of the trunk, marking the root, and means origin or book: 本 (ほん, book), 日本 (にほん, Japan).
Two N3 kanji join this group later. 未 (not yet) has a short top line, as if the branches have not yet grown: 未来 (みらい, the future). 末 (end) has a long top line, reaching out to the tips: 週末 (しゅうまつ, weekend).
十, 千, 午 and 牛
千 (thousand) is 十 with a slanting stroke on top: 千円 (せんえん, 1,000 yen). Don't confuse it with 干 (dry), an N3 kanji with a flat line on top instead.
午 (noon) and 牛 (cow) differ only at the top. In 牛 the vertical sticks up through the top line, like the animal's head. In 午 it stops at the line: 午後 (ごご, afternoon), but 牛肉 (ぎゅうにく, beef).
土 and 士
Compare the two horizontals. In 土 (earth, ground) the bottom line is longer, like ground spreading out at the base: 土曜日 (どようび, Saturday). In 士 (warrior, gentleman) the top line is longer, like broad shoulders. 士 is beyond N4, but you will meet it in words such as 武士 (ぶし, samurai).
人 and 入
Look at which stroke reaches the top. In 人 (person) the left stroke is the tall one and the right stroke leans against it: 人 (ひと). In 入 (enter) it is the right-hand stroke that starts at the top, and the short left stroke tucks under it: 入口 (いりぐち, entrance) and 入る (はいる, to enter).
右, 左 and 石
右 (right) and 左 (left) share their top. 右 has 口 underneath, 左 has 工. A common way to remember them is that you eat with your right hand, and 口 is a mouth: 右 (みぎ), 左 (ひだり). They also start differently when you write them: 右 with the slanting stroke, 左 with the horizontal.
石 (stone) also has 口, but its slanting stroke hangs below the top line instead of crossing it: 石 (いし).
休 and 体
Both start with 亻, the person radical. 休 (rest) adds 木, a person leaning against a tree: 休む (やすむ, to rest). 体 (body) adds 本, with the extra line at the bottom: 体 (からだ).
見, 貝 and 買
見 (see) ends in two long legs: 見る (みる). 貝 (shellfish) ends in two short strokes: 貝 (かい). Shells were once used as money, so 貝 turns up in kanji to do with buying and paying, such as 買 in 買う (かう, to buy) and 貸 in 貸す (かす, to lend).
力 and 刀, 九 and 丸
In 力 (power) the slanting stroke pokes up above the top: 力 (ちから). In 刀 (sword), a kanji beyond N4, it stays below: 刀 (かたな). 丸 (round) is 九 (nine) plus a dot: 丸い (まるい, round), 九 (きゅう).
心 and 必
必 (certainly, necessary) is 心 (heart) with a long slanting stroke cutting through it: 必ず (かならず, without fail), 心 (こころ). It is also written in its own order, not as 心 plus a stroke; see the stroke order guide.
Quick reference
| Pair | What to look for | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 小 / 少 | 少 has an extra slanting stroke at the bottom | 小さい (ちいさい, small), 少し (すこし, a little) |
| 正 / 止 | 正 has an extra line on top | 正しい (ただしい, correct), 止まる (とまる, to stop) |
| 生 / 主 | 生 has a slanting stroke at the top left; 主 has a dot on top | 先生 (せんせい, teacher), 主に (おもに, mainly) |
| 合 / 全 | Under the same roof, 合 has a line and 口; 全 has 王 | 合う (あう, to fit), 全部 (ぜんぶ, all) |
| 細 / 組 | Both start with 糸; 細 ends in 田, 組 in 且 | 細い (ほそい, thin), 番組 (ばんぐみ, programme) |
| 鳥 / 島 | 島 (island, beyond N4) swaps the four dots for 山: a bird on a mountain | 鳥 (とり, bird), 島 (しま, island) |
Keep your own list
Everyone has a few personal confusions that are not on any list. When you mix two kanji up twice, write them side by side with the difference circled and a word for each, and review them together until the mistake stops. The kanji pages in the N5 and N4 lists show look-alikes where a kanji has them, and so do the kanji cards in Kanji Fortress, under "Don't confuse with".