If you are preparing for the JLPT N5, it is natural to ask whether you should spend time on writing Japanese by hand. Here is what the official sources say and what, in our view, is still worth it.
What the N5 tests
According to the official JLPT site, the N5 has three sections: Language Knowledge (Vocabulary), Language Knowledge (Grammar) and Reading, and Listening. It describes the level as the ability to read and understand typical expressions and sentences written in hiragana, katakana and basic kanji, and to follow short, slowly spoken everyday conversations. None of those sections is a handwriting section.
Is there an official kanji list?
No. The JLPT does not publish fixed kanji or vocabulary lists per level, which is why resources give different figures for the N5 (roughly 100 to 109). It is a good reason to study the most basic and frequent kanji instead of obsessing over one list: here is how to start.
So why write at all?
Even if the exam does not require writing:
- Recognizing a character well is part of reading it. If you have traced the shape, you tell look-alikes apart more easily (see similar-looking kana).
- It fixes memory. Writing a character from memory is a recall exercise, and that consolidates what you study.
- It helps outside the exam: forms, notes, messages, and traveling or living in Japan.
If your time is limited, it is reasonable to give more of it to reading, vocabulary and listening, and treat writing as support: short tracing sessions, not hours of copying.
A realistic N5 plan
- Hiragana and katakana, traced and from memory (hiragana plan).
- A handful of basic kanji per week, with their stroke order (rules).
- The rest of your time on vocabulary, grammar and listening.
With Kaku!
Kaku! covers the writing part of this plan: hiragana, katakana and N5-level kanji traced with your finger, with order and direction checks. Kanji unlock with a one-time purchase; hiragana and katakana are free. You can combine it with paper and phone however suits you.