JLPT N4 kanji list
166 kanji - the full N4 character set as reconstructed from the pre-2010 official syllabus.
JLPT N4 is the next step up from N5 - the level at which a learner can handle basic daily-life conversations and read simple paragraphs about familiar topics. The kanji list roughly doubles compared to N5.
N4 characters cover the vocabulary of daily life: family relationships (mother, father, older brother, younger sister), weather and seasons, basic adjectives (new, old, fast, slow), and a wider set of verbs that appear in conversational Japanese (use, work, think, send, study). This is also the level where compound kanji words start to dominate over single-character readings - knowing the kanji alone is no longer enough; the words they combine into matter. Beginners often find N4 the most rewarding tier to study because it produces the biggest visible jump in reading comfort: short manga, picture books, and casual social media posts open up. The list is again community-maintained from the pre-2010 official syllabus.
WaniKani coverage
WaniKani teaches around 94% of the N4 list. The bulk of the set is at Guru I or higher by around WK level 20, with some characters introduced earlier as components of N5 vocabulary.
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 166 N4 kanji
See your personal coverage
The grid above is identical for every visitor. To see how many of the 166 N4 kanji you have personally learned - grouped by your current SRS stage and pinned to your goal level - open the JLPT coverage tool and paste a WaniKani personal access token. Your token stays in your browser; nothing is stored on a server.