Japanese Kanji vs Simplified and Traditional Chinese: Where Chinese Speakers Hesitate
Hiroki Obara · Developer
Japan’s current standard for kanji is the Jōyō Kanji Table (PDF, in Japanese), issued by Cabinet notice on 30 November 2010. It lists 2,136 characters. Mainland China’s standard is the Table of General Standard Chinese Characters (通用规范汉字表, in Chinese), published by the State Council in 2013. Its first appendix maps standard characters to their traditional and variant forms.
In the Jōyō table, some entries have a second form in round brackets, such as 気（氣）. The notes to the table say these are the so-called Kangxi dictionary forms, added for reference to show the link with the type used since the Meiji era, and left out where the difference is small.
If you put the two tables side by side and check the characters in Unicode’s Unihan database, Japanese kanji fall into a few groups. In this post, “traditional” means the forms given in the Chinese table’s appendix and in Unihan. Each linked kanji opens its stroke order page on this site (in Japanese).
Same as traditional, different from simplified
Japanese keeps the unsimplified form, the same as traditional Chinese.
| Japanese | Simplified | Example word in the Jōyō table |
|---|---|---|
| 車 | 车 | 電車 |
| 書 | 书 | 読書 |
| 見 | 见 | 意見 |
| 東 | 东 | 東西 |
| 電 | 电 | 電気 |
| 馬 | 马 | 馬車 |
| 魚 | 鱼 | 金魚 |
| 鳥 | 鸟 | 野鳥 |
If you write simplified Chinese, these are the ones to switch to the full form. If you write traditional Chinese, there is nothing new here.
Same as simplified, different from traditional
The other way round, some Japanese kanji are the same as simplified Chinese. The Jōyō table gives the traditional form in brackets, and the Chinese table maps them to the same traditional forms.
| Japanese (= simplified) | Traditional | Example word in the Jōyō table |
|---|---|---|
| 学 | 學 | 学習 |
| 国 | 國 | 外国 |
| 体 | 體 | 体格 |
| 万 | 萬 | 万一 |
| 声 | 聲 | 声援 |
| 医 | 醫 | 医学 |
| 来 | 來 | 来年 |
This is the group for traditional Chinese writers to watch. Japanese writes 学 and 国, not 學 and 國. Simplified Chinese writers can write these as usual.
Different from both
In a third group, the Japanese form is neither the traditional nor the simplified Chinese one.
| Japanese | Traditional | Simplified | Example word in the Jōyō table |
|---|---|---|---|
| 気 | 氣 | 气 | 元気 |
| 駅 | 驛 | 驿 | 駅長 |
| 図 | 圖 | 图 | 地図 |
| 売 | 賣 | 卖 | 売買 |
| 鉄 | 鐵 | 铁 | 鉄道 |
| 発 | 發 | 发 | 発明 |
| 楽 | 樂 | 乐 | 音楽 |
| 関 | 關 | 关 | 関係 |
Whichever script you grew up with, these are new characters to learn.
One Japanese kanji for several traditional ones
Sometimes several Chinese characters share one form in Japanese.
- 弁: the Jōyō table gives three older forms for 弁: 辨, 瓣 and 辯. Its example words are 弁償, 花弁 and 雄弁. In the Chinese table, 辯 becomes 辩, while 辨 and 瓣 are standard characters as they are. Chinese keeps three characters; Japanese writes all of them as 弁.
- 芸: the Jōyō table gives 藝 as the older form of 芸, with the example 芸術. In the Chinese table, the standard form of 藝 is 艺, so the 芸 of Japanese 芸術 corresponds to the 艺 of Chinese 艺术. Chinese also has a separate standard character 芸, whose traditional form is 蕓. It is not the same character as the Japanese 芸.
- 欠: the Jōyō table gives 缺 as the older form of 欠, with the examples 欠乏, 欠席 and 補欠. In the Chinese table, 欠 and 缺 are two separate standard characters.
Only a little different
The easiest ones to miss are the kanji that differ only slightly.
| Japanese | Traditional | Simplified | Example word in the Jōyō table |
|---|---|---|---|
| 黒 | 黑 | 黑 | 黒板 |
| 収 | 收 | 收 | 収入 |
| 緑 | 綠 | 绿 | 緑茶 |
| 歳 | 歲 | 岁 | 歳月 |
| 説 | 說 | 说 | 説明 |
| 戸 | 戶 | 户 | 戸外 |
The Jōyō table gives 黑, 收 and 綠 in brackets after 黒, 収 and 緑. In the Chinese table, 黑 and 收 are standard characters with no separate traditional form, so both simplified and traditional Chinese write 黑 and 收. Only Japanese writes 黒 and 収.
For 歳, 説 and 戸, the Jōyō table gives no bracketed form, which by its own notes means the difference was judged small. In Unihan, though, the Japanese 歳, 説 and 戸, the traditional 歲, 說 and 戶, and the simplified 岁, 说 and 户 are all separate characters. In Japanese, you use the Japanese one.
Covered in other posts
The gate radical in 問, 間 and 聞, the 寺 in 時, and 歩 and 強 are in Similar-Looking Kanji Learners Mix Up. How radicals such as 言, 門 and 頁 differ from their simplified forms is in Learning Kanji by Radicals. Parts like the 糸 radical, whose stroke count differs from Chinese, are in How to Count Kanji Strokes.
Sources
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan: Jōyō Kanji Table (Cabinet notice, 2010). The Japanese form of each kanji and the Kangxi forms in brackets.
- State Council of the People’s Republic of China: Table of General Standard Chinese Characters (2013), Appendix 1, the table of standard, traditional and variant forms.
- Unicode Consortium: Unihan database (UAX #38). Code points and simplified and traditional mappings.
Practising Japanese forms in KanjiN
KanjiN is a kanji app for iPhone and iPad where you answer by handwriting. Instead of tapping a choice, you write on the screen with a finger or stylus. The menus are available in English and in simplified and traditional Chinese.
In the Writing Drill you see only the reading and write the kanji from memory, so when a kanji like 気, 図 or 黒 comes up, any hesitation shows. In the Neat Writing Drill, you trace the strokes in order to learn the shape, and get a score comparing your writing with the model. To focus on the kanji you tend to write in their Chinese form, use My Data: add an example sentence, the answer kanji and the reading in hiragana to make your own questions.
Besides JLPT N5 to N3, you can practise school grades 1 to 6 and Kanken levels 10 to 5. Today’s Drill, Today’s Challenge and the 10-question Skill Check are free. A one-time purchase, Unlock Everything, opens every drill, with no ads and no subscription. The first time you use it, the app downloads what it needs to read handwriting, so you need an internet connection then.
How to make your own questions is in Make a Drill of Only the Kanji You Miss with KanjiN’s My Data, and how to start is in Getting Started with KanjiN.
