Japanese kanji practice, 5 characters a day with real words
Learning kanji one by one from a list is slow, and you forget the readings a week later. This prompt has your todo.is agent send a small daily set grouped by theme, with readings, the words you will really see, example sentences and a quick quiz, then build a flashcard file you can import into your spaced-repetition app.
The prompt
- Help me practise Japanese kanji. My level is [YOUR LEVEL], aiming for [GOAL]. Every day at [TIME], send me [NUMBER] new kanji grouped by theme. For each: meaning, stroke count, on’yomi and kun’yomi in hiragana and romaji, 3 common words with readings, and one simple example sentence with furigana. Then send a quiz on the previous days: give me words and I type the reading, plus 2 items where I choose the right kanji. Wait for my answers and correct them. Every Sunday, send a CSV file of the week’s kanji and words in a format I can import into Anki (front: kanji or word, back: reading and meaning). Bring back any kanji I got wrong.
What to change
- [YOUR LEVEL]: E.g. "I know hiragana and katakana", "about 50 kanji", "N4".
- [GOAL]: E.g. "JLPT N5 in December", "reading manga without a dictionary", "signs and menus on my trip".
- [TIME]: E.g. "7:00" or "21:30".
- [NUMBER]: E.g. "5". Between 3 and 10 a day is realistic for most learners.
Example result
- Day 1: kanji in the days of the week
- Level: kana learned, aiming for JLPT N5 · 5 new kanji
- 月 (moon, month) · 4 strokes
- • On: ゲツ (getsu), ガツ (gatsu) · Kun: つき (tsuki)
- • 月曜日 (げつようび, getsuyōbi): Monday · 一月 (いちがつ, ichigatsu): January · 月 (つき, tsuki): the moon
- • 月曜日に日本語を勉強します。(げつようびに にほんごを べんきょうします) I study Japanese on Mondays.
- 火 (fire) · 4 strokes
- • On: カ (ka) · Kun: ひ (hi)
- • 火曜日 (かようび, kayōbi): Tuesday · 火山 (かざん, kazan): volcano · 火 (ひ, hi): fire
- 水 (water) · 4 strokes
- • On: スイ (sui) · Kun: みず (mizu)
- • 水曜日 (すいようび, suiyōbi): Wednesday · 水 (みず, mizu): water
- 木 (tree, wood) · 4 strokes
- • On: モク (moku), ボク (boku) · Kun: き (ki)
- • 木曜日 (もくようび, mokuyōbi): Thursday · 木 (き, ki): tree
- 金 (gold, money) · 8 strokes
- • On: キン (kin), コン (kon) · Kun: かね (kane)
- • 金曜日 (きんようび, kin'yōbi): Friday · お金 (おかね, okane): money
- Memory tip
- These days follow the old elements: moon, fire, water, wood, metal, then earth (土, Saturday) and sun (日, Sunday). Learn the set together and you get 7 kanji and 7 words at once.
- Tomorrow's quiz preview
- • Type the reading: 水曜日 · お金 · 火山
- • Which kanji means "tree"? 木 / 本 / 休
- • Which is Friday? 金曜日 / 火曜日
- Anki CSV (sample rows)
- • 月曜日 ; げつようび (getsuyōbi) ; Monday
- • 火山 ; かざん (kazan) ; volcano
- • お金 ; おかね (okane) ; money
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt and fill in your level, goal, time and how many kanji a day.
- Send it to your todo.is agent on WhatsApp or Telegram; Japanese text displays fine in both.
- Read the set, write each kanji by hand a few times, then answer the next day’s quiz.
- Import the Sunday CSV into Anki or a similar app, and say "slow down" or "add 2 more a day" whenever you want.
Tips for a better result
- Learn kanji through words. Knowing 水曜日 and 水 teaches you two readings in context, which is how you meet them in real text.
- Write each new kanji by hand 5 times. Stroke order helps you remember shapes and makes handwritten input on your phone work.
- Check stroke order in a kanji dictionary that shows animations; your agent tells you stroke counts and the main order rules.
- Ask for themed sets that match your goal: food and menus for travel, school and family for manga, or N5 lists for the exam.
Japanese kanji practice: FAQ
- How many kanji do I need for JLPT N5? JLPT does not publish an official kanji list, but common study lists for N5 have around 80 to 100 kanji. Your agent can follow one of these lists and say which source it uses.
- Do I need to learn on’yomi and kun’yomi? Yes, but through words. On’yomi usually appear in compound words like 水曜日, and kun’yomi when the kanji stands alone, like 水.
- Should I learn hiragana first? Yes. Kanji readings and furigana are written in hiragana, so learn hiragana and katakana before starting kanji.
- Can it check my handwriting? Yes. Send a photo of the kanji you wrote, and your agent tells you if any are wrong or unclear. It can spot shape mistakes, but it cannot see the order you wrote the strokes in.
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