Learn Kanji Fast, Without the Boredom
If you want to learn kanji fast, you need three things: short rounds, constant recall and a reason to come back tomorrow. Kanji Blitz gives you all three in one game.
Most apps help you learn kanji fast for a week and then lose you to repetition, a wall of information or a paywall. Kanji Blitz was built to fix exactly that. Every round takes about a minute, every kanji has a story, and a surprise exam keeps you honest. Below is everything you can do in the game to learn kanji fast, and why each piece works.
⚡ Coming soon to Android
How to learn kanji fast: one-minute rounds
The fastest way to learn kanji fast is to practise recall in small, frequent bursts. A Kanji Blitz test is exactly that: it asks you to draw the kanji stroke by stroke, read it, and use it in a real word, all in about a minute.
- Draw it. Stroke order and direction are checked as you go. A wrong stroke flashes red and you try again.
- Read it. Type every onyomi and kunyomi reading in kana or romaji, so you never need to know kana to start.
- Use it. Type the meaning of a real example word, so the kanji lives in vocabulary and not on a flash card.
Pass five perfect tests in a row and the kanji is mastered for good, with a gold border to prove it. That clear finish line is what makes it so easy to learn kanji fast: you always know what to do next.
Learn kanji fast with the study pages
Before a kanji can be tested, you read it. The study pages show an animated stroke-order player, every reading with its romaji, and a set of real example words. There is a Practice Drawing pad too, which judges your strokes like a test but never costs a coin.
This read-first rule is on purpose. When you unlock a kanji, a book button appears where the Take Test button will be. Open it, read the kanji, and only then does the test unlock. People who try to learn kanji fast by testing a kanji they have never seen simply fail it; reading first fixes that.
- Search the whole list by character, meaning or reading.
- Drag your favourite kanji to the top of your own list.
- Switch between JLPT N5, N4, N3, N2 and N1 tabs.
Learn kanji fast with surprise exams
Every few minutes an exam pops up. This is the part that keeps you from forgetting what you learned, and it is the reason you can learn kanji fast without it fading. An exam has four stages, and every one is about a kanji you have unlocked:
- DrawWrite one of your kanji, stroke by stroke.
- MeaningA kanji appears. Pick what it means.
- KanjiA meaning appears. Pick the right kanji.
- ReadingsOnyomi and kunyomi appear. Pick the kanji.
The exam adds a little strategy. You can unlock as many kanji as you like, but the more you own, the more material the exam can ask about, and every failed stage costs Kanji Coins. Unlock too fast and you risk losing coins. Unlock too slowly and you learn kanji fast in name only.
The exam also favours the kanji you fail most, so your weak spots come back. But half of the questions are pure chance, so no kanji is ever forgotten for good. On the hardest difficulty, a single mistake ends the exam.
Learn kanji fast with mnemonics from the community
A strong mnemonic puts a kanji in your head for good, which is why the mnemonics are the real fire of Kanji Blitz. Each one is a short, silly story that covers every reading of the kanji. The kanji for big, for example, is a dinosaur whose tail is so big: “dai”, “tai” and “oo” are all in the story.
Writing a good story for every kanji takes time, so you can submit your own idea from inside the game. If it is picked, it appears for everyone, with your name on it if you like. That is how a community helps you learn kanji fast: one clever story at a time.
- Colour-coded readings: onyomi, kunyomi and meaning.
- Pictures you can tap to zoom.
- Search by kanji, reading or any word from a story.
Learn kanji fast with achievements, coins and streaks
Speed needs motivation, so Kanji Blitz is a game first. You earn Kanji Coins for every test you pass and spend them to unlock more kanji. Every kanji keeps a streak flame, and there are 50 achievements to collect, from “So it begins” to “The whole shebang” (unlock every single kanji).
Pick a difficulty that fits you. Easy forgives a forgotten reading and some wrong strokes. Hard removes the hints. Insane ends the test at the first mistake. All four are built to help you learn kanji fast, just with different stakes. A rare golden torii gate also drifts across the screen now and then: click it quickly for a bonus.
Learn kanji fast for every JLPT level
Kanji Blitz teaches all 1,964 kanji of the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test, from your very first kanji to the hardest. N5 is free. Master enough kanji of one level and pay a few coins to open the next.
Whether you are starting your first kanji or finishing N1, the same loop applies: study it, test it, get examined on it, and lock it in with a story.
Five tips to learn kanji fast (in any app)
- Write by hand. Drawing a kanji stroke by stroke builds memory far better than just looking at it.
- Learn readings inside words. A reading with a real word attached is much easier to recall than a bare sound.
- Use a vivid mnemonic. The sillier the story, the faster you learn kanji and the longer it stays.
- Review when you least expect it. Surprise recall beats planned recall, which is why the exam appears without warning.
- Keep sessions short. Ten focused minutes a day beats one long weekend. One-minute rounds make that easy.
Kanji Blitz puts all five tips into a single game, so you can learn kanji fast without having to plan any of it.
Questions about learning kanji fast
What is the best way to learn kanji fast?
Write each kanji by hand, learn its readings inside real words, attach a vivid mnemonic, and test yourself in short rounds with surprise reviews. Kanji Blitz combines all of this in one-minute rounds.
How long does it take to learn kanji fast?
It depends on how much you play. The 80 N5 kanji can be learned in a few weeks with ten minutes a day. In our own playtesting simulations a steady player reaches the end of N1 after roughly 40 to 85 hours of play, depending on the difficulty.
Can I learn kanji fast if I do not know hiragana and katakana yet?
Yes. Every reading is shown in kana and in romaji, and you can answer in either, so beginners are not slowed down.
Is Kanji Blitz free?
The N5 kanji are free and there are no ads. You earn Kanji Coins by passing tests and spend them to unlock more kanji. Kanji Blitz is coming to Android first.
Does Kanji Blitz cover all JLPT levels?
Yes: 1,964 kanji from N5 to N1 (80, 166, 367, 367 and 984 per level).
Ready to learn kanji fast?
Draw it, read it, remember it, and have fun doing it. Kanji Blitz is coming soon to Android.