Look-Alike Kanji for Beginners

1. 右 (right) and 左 (left)

Both start with the same cross shape on top. The difference is the part below: 右 has 口 (a mouth), and 左 has 工 (a tool).

• Memory trick: many people eat with their right hand, so the right hand goes to the mouth (口).
• The stroke order is different, too. 右 starts with the slanted stroke (ノ); 左 starts with the horizontal stroke (一).
• 左右 (SAYUU) means “left and right.” In Japanese, left comes first.

2. 人 (person) and 入 (enter)

These two are like mirror images. In 人, the left stroke starts at the top, and the right stroke leans on it. In 入, it is the other way around: the right stroke starts at the top, and the short left stroke leans on it.

• Memory trick: 人 is a person walking. 入 is an arrow pointing down into an opening, like the way in.
• You see 入 on doors: 入口 (IRIGUCHI) is the entrance. Its opposite is 出口 (DEGUCHI), the exit, with 出 (go out).
• Do not confuse them with 八 (eight), where the two strokes do not touch.

3. 大 (big) and 天 (sky, heaven)

大 is a person standing with arms spread wide: “this big!” 天 adds one more line on top. It is often explained as the sky above the person’s head.

• More members of the same family: 太 (thick, fat) has a dot at the bottom, and 犬 (dog) has a dot at the top right.
• 天気 (TENKI) means “weather.” It uses 天 and 気.

4. 木 (tree) and 本 (book, origin)

本 is 木 with a short line across the bottom. The line marks the roots, so 本 first meant “root” or “origin.” Today it also means “book.”

• 日本 (NIHON, Japan) is the “origin of the sun,” the land where the sun rises.
• 木 also hides inside 休 (rest): a person (亻) resting by a tree. Watch the whole story in Why Does 休 Mean “Rest”?

5. 土 (soil) and 士 (warrior, gentleman)

Both are a cross with a line at the bottom. Look at which horizontal line is longer. In 土, the bottom line is longer, like wide, flat ground. In 士, the top line is longer, like a person standing with shoulders back.

• 士 is in 武士 (BUSHI), the samurai warrior. Gen would be proud.
• 土 is in 土曜日 (DOYOUBI), Saturday. See The 7 Kanji for the Days of the Week.

How to stop mixing them up

• Learn the pair together, not one by one. Say the difference out loud: “right has a mouth.”
• Write both, side by side, a few times. Your hand remembers the stroke order even when your eyes forget.
• Read them in words, not alone. 入口 and 人口 (JINKOU, population) look close, but you will rarely meet them in the same place.

Hiragana have look-alikes too

さ and ち, or ぬ and め, trip up many beginners. See Similar-Looking Hiragana.