Why can’t I find the kanji I am looking for?

The search function is picky, so if you don’t type a word exactly as it appears in KanjiHacks then you may have trouble finding it. Use this example to help you find what you need:

Let’s say I am looking for the kanji 新.

If you know how to do it, it is best to type in the kanji on its own (no okurigana).  This way is guaranteed to work! (If you don’t know how to do this, try the tutorial on typing in Japanese.)

If you don’t know how to type the kanji itself, type in just the hiragana or katakana. In this example, I would type “あたらしい” OR “シン” and I would get several search results.

If you are still having trouble, try changing from hiragana to katakana or vice versa, because you may have the “on” and “kun” readings backwards.

If none of the above work for you, try the English meaning, in this case, “new.” For some other words you may need to try variations of words (such as “stand” instead of “standing”), but you should be able to find it.

If you still have no luck, contact me and I will try to figure out what the problem is.

How do I type in Japanese?

Try this tutorial to learn how to type in Japanese.

I have other questions!

I will be adding more FAQs as they come in, so please don’t hesitate to ask questions either in the comments below, or through the contact page. Thanks!