Learn by Playing! Recommended Games with a Kanji Theme
There are adults who aren’t good with kanji, or who feel like they know them but can’t quite recall them, right?
Once you develop even a slight aversion, the hurdle gets higher, so I’d love for people to learn in a fun way.
How about turning it into a game to learn kanji—getting hands-on with kanji while you play?
We introduce various kanji games, from free apps to board and card games.
Adults can play too, so why not try them with your children?
- [Playable from lower grades] Japanese language games and activities
- [Interesting] Summary of Kanji Reading Quiz Questions
- [For Elementary School Students] Country Names in Kanji Quiz. A quick, fun quiz
- [For Elementary School Students] Cipher Quiz: Fun Puzzle Riddles
- [Elementary School] Let's Learn Kanji with Songs! The Fun Kanji Song
- [Play Right Away!] Exciting Recreation Games Recommended for Elementary School Students
- Quiz for junior high school students
- [Brain Training] Difficult Riddles That Even Adults Struggle With
- [Get Friendly with Games] Math Games, Apps, and Activities
- Recommended card game. Easy! Fun! Adults get hooked too!
- [Interesting] A collection of brain teaser quiz questions. Let's train your brain!
- Recommended for upper elementary grades! Exciting indoor recreation and games
- [Interesting] Collection of Matchstick Quiz Problems
[Learn by Playing!] Recommended Games with a Kanji Theme (1–10)
Elementary School Handwritten Kanji Drill 1026
We’d like to introduce “Elementary School Handwritten Kanji Drill,” an app that lets you review the 1,026 kanji learned over six years of elementary school! You can write directly with your finger on a tablet, and it marks your answers right away.
You can also choose the grade level and course, so it’s great for matching your child’s learning stage.
If you’re unsure, you can look at the answer and trace it to memorize the correct form.
It’s a free app, so it’s perfect not only for individualized study but also for quick practice in spare moments.
Install it on your device and it will be a big help for your child’s kanji learning.
Japanese Language Pirate
Why not incorporate the learning app “Kokugo Pirates,” which has surpassed 4 million downloads worldwide, into your kanji study? Even children who struggle with studying can enjoy learning kanji through a game! It includes all 1,026 kanji taught from first to sixth grade in elementary school.
Stages are divided by grade, so kids can enjoy the game at a level that suits their learning progress.
With cute pirate characters and fun animations that keep them engaged, plus a well-balanced difficulty setting, it helps boost motivation too.
Group Kanji Relay Competition
Here’s a recommended group competition Kanji Relay for classroom group activities! It’s great for reviewing kanji you’ve learned.
First, make groups of about three to four students and give each group a sheet with a grid.
Students take turns writing kanji they’ve studied, and the simple rule is to compete to see how many they can write within the time limit.
The key is to divide the groups in a way that avoids big gaps between teams.
Since all you need is paper, why not try adding this activity between lessons?
[Learn by Playing!] Recommended Games with a Kanji Theme (11–20)
Kanji expert
It’s easier to remember kanji if you think of them as being made up of a left “radical” (hen) and a right “component” (tsukuri).
The card game “Kanji Hakase” focuses on that idea.
You can learn the kanji taught in elementary school while playing! The rules are simple: shuffle the cards well, place them face down in the center as a draw pile, and take turns flipping them over.
If you can combine the card you flipped with a card on the table to form a complete kanji, you get to take those cards.
The player who forms the most kanji wins! You can also have fun studying by adapting rules from games like Speed or Concentration (Memory).
Doraemon: Parent and Child Kanji Play
How about studying kanji together with everyone’s favorite, Doraemon? Let me introduce the educational app “Doraemon: Parent and Child Kanji Play”! You can have fun tackling the kanji taught from first to third grade in elementary school together with Nobita.
It’s packed with features like Practice Mode, where you trace guides to learn kanji, and Battle Mode, where you can practice reading and writing words and compounds.
Answer lots of questions to earn Secret Gadget stickers and boost your motivation! Give it a try!
Scattered Kanji Puzzle
“Scattered Kanji Puzzle” is a game where you assemble broken-up kanji to complete a two-character compound word.
In the video, the puzzles are made using kanji learned in the first grade of elementary school.
Once they’re taken apart, even simple kanji lose their original shape, so it can be difficult for adults without hints.
It’s recommended for children who want to learn kanji from a different perspective and enjoy it like a game, rather than memorizing them in the usual way.
It also works as brain training, so it’s a game that can be recommended for all ages.
Newspaper kanji search
It’s a game where you search for characters using a newspaper.
As long as you have a newspaper and a pen, anyone can play easily.
The rules are very simple: you pick a single kanji character and then look for the same character in the newspaper.
One of the appealing points is that, as you repeat the game on a single sheet, the newspaper gradually becomes colorful.
If you also think about how the kanji you find is being used in context, you’ll likely gain a deeper understanding of the character.
