# JFT-Basic Kanji Reading (1-3): the hiragana for the kanji

Category 1-3 underlines a kanji word and asks how to write it in hiragana. Why the wrong options differ by one sound, with three worked items covering long vowels and voicing.

## The short answer

Kanji Reading is category 1-3. A sentence appears with one kanji word underlined, and you choose the hiragana that spells how it is read. The Japan Foundation's purpose for it is to test the hiragana pronunciation of a word written in kanji. The options differ from each other by a single sound, so this category is decided by long vowels, small tsu and voicing marks rather than by whether you know the word.

## Key facts

- **Section:** Script and Vocabulary
- **Category number:** 1-3
- **What it tests:** The hiragana pronunciation of a word written in kanji
- **Questions in the section:** Around 12
- **Stimulus:** A sentence with one kanji word underlined
- **Review:** Allowed anywhere inside the section

Sections, categories and rules come from the Japan Foundation's JFT-Basic pages and its "About the JFT-Basic" deck, checked 27 September 2026.

## How it's scored

The meaning of the sentence rarely decides anything. You usually know which word is underlined; the question is whether you know its exact sounds. That makes this the most mechanical category in the test and the most fixable.

Three things produce almost every wrong option: a long vowel written short, a voiced sound written unvoiced, and a small tsu that is there or missing. Compound words add a fourth, where the second word's first sound becomes voiced.

> Say the word in your head and count the beats before you look. すいどう is four beats; すいど is three. Counting catches a long vowel faster than staring at the options does.

## Kanji Reading examples

Worked examples written for this page. Answer each one before you open the model response: memorizing a response is scored as an irrelevant answer in the real test.

**Example 1 -- the long vowel and the voicing together**

> 水道が こわれた ときは、ここに でんわして ください。

Prompt: How is the underlined word 水道 written in hiragana?

- A. すいどう
- B. すいとう
- C. ずいどう
Answer: A.

Model response: すいどう. 水 is すい and 道 is どう here, with a long vowel at the end.

Why it scores: Two traps in one item. すいとう loses the voicing on ど, and ずいどう moves the voicing to the front. Both are real possibilities if you have only ever seen the word written.

**Example 2 -- a compound where the second word voices**

> 工場の 入口は こちらです。

Prompt: How is the underlined word 入口 written in hiragana?

- A. いりくち
- B. いりぐち
- C. にゅうこう
Answer: B.

Model response: いりぐち. 口 is くち on its own, but in this compound it becomes ぐち.

Why it scores: This voicing at the join of two words catches almost everyone once. It is the same change in 出口 and in 人々 words generally, so learning it here pays elsewhere.

**Example 3 -- one kanji, more than one reading**

> この 荷物は 重いです。もって いけますか。

Prompt: How is the underlined word 重い written in hiragana?

- A. おおい
- B. あつい
- C. おもい
Answer: C.

Model response: おもい, heavy. The sentence is about a package someone has to carry, which confirms it.

Why it scores: おおい means many and あつい means hot or thick. This is the one place the sentence helps: when two readings are both real words, the context around the gap decides.

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## Common mistakes

| What costs marks | Do this instead |
| --- | --- |
| Writing a long vowel short. | Count the beats. こうじょう is five; こうじょ is four. Most wrong options in this category are one beat out. |
| Missing the voicing when two words join. | Learn 入口 as いりぐち, not as いり plus くち. The joined form is the word. |
| Reading the kanji with the wrong one of its readings. | Check the rest of the sentence when a kanji has a common on and kun reading. It is the only clue this category gives you. |
| Learning kanji by meaning only. | This category never asks what the kanji means. Learn the sounds alongside the shape from the beginning. |

**See how far 200 is** The JFT-Basic score checker turns a total on the 10-250 scale into its level band, says whether it clears A2, and works out what you still need. [Open the JFT-Basic score checker](/jft-basic/score-checker)

## How to practice

1. Drill with your hands, not your eyes: read a word aloud, write the hiragana, then check. Recognition alone does not test the sounds.
2. Keep a list of the compounds where the second word voices. It is short and it repeats across the test.
3. Practice the pairs that differ by one beat: おじさん and おじいさん, ここ and こうこう. The test is built on that distance.
4. Use the [hiragana chart](/jft-basic/hiragana-chart) to check dakuten and long-vowel spellings whenever an item surprises you.

## Common questions

### How much kanji do I need for the JFT-Basic?

Enough for everyday and workplace situations at A1 to A2. The Japan Foundation publishes no kanji list for the test, so treat any fixed number of characters you see elsewhere as somebody's estimate rather than a specification.

### Do JFT-Basic Kanji Reading questions test meaning?

No. Category 1-3 asks only how the word is pronounced. Meaning and usage of a kanji word are tested separately, in category 1-4.

### Why do the options look so similar?

Because the category is built on single sounds. A long vowel, a voicing mark or a small tsu is usually the only difference between the answer and the option next to it.

**Sources**
- [The Japan Foundation: About the JFT-Basic, test structure and categories (PDF)](https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/e/about/pdf/describing_en.pdf)
- [The Japan Foundation: about the JFT-Basic (checked 27 September 2026)](https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/e/about/index.html)

[Practice Kanji Reading free](https://testmigo.com/jft-basic)