JLPT N1 kanji list

1,232 kanji - the full N1 character set as reconstructed from the pre-2010 official syllabus.

The N1 kanji list runs to 1,232 characters, wider than any other level by a long margin. This is the top of the test, taken by learners aiming for near-native reading and listening proficiency.

N1 covers everything beyond N2: specialised vocabulary from law and medicine, literary kanji used in classical and modern fiction, historical readings of common characters, place-name and personal-name kanji, and a long tail of characters that appear in fewer than one in a thousand texts but show up consistently in the kind of material N1 candidates need to read. The list also includes a notable share of jinmeiyo (name) kanji that are not part of the Joyo list but show up routinely in proper nouns. A learner passing N1 can comfortably read native-aimed newspapers, literary fiction, technical articles in their field, and most popular non-fiction. Despite the list size, individual N1 characters are usually easier to retain than mid-N2 ones because their meanings are more concrete.

WaniKani coverage

N1 is the only tier WaniKani leaves unfinished. It teaches 971 of the 1,232 characters, 79%, reaching 53% by level 50 and the rest across the final ten levels. The 261 it skips are overwhelmingly jinmeiyo name kanji, so the shortfall costs you proper nouns far more than it costs you prose.

Want to see exactly which of these you have already learned? The JLPT coverage tool ties your live WaniKani progress to the lists on this site, with per-level percentages and the missing characters highlighted.

All 1,232 N1 kanji

Other JLPT levels

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