Grade 3 Jōyō Kanji (小3): All 200 Third-Grade Kanji with Readings, Stroke Counts, and JLPT Mapping

The grade 3 jōyō kanji are the 200 characters that Japanese third graders learn under MEXT's grade-by-grade kanji allocation, the 学年別漢字配当表 (gakunenbetsu kanji haitōhyō). They are the third contiguous block of the 1,026-character 教育漢字 (kyōiku kanji) set.¹²

Grade 3 is where the curriculum's center of gravity shifts decisively away from JLPT N5. Most of these 200 characters map to N4 and N3, and the first dense phono-semantic series with three or four members in a single year's allocation come online here.³⁴⁵

Overview

Grade 3 sits at the midpoint of the elementary kyōiku progression: 80 characters in grade 1, 160 in grade 2, 200 in grade 3, then 202, 193, and 191 in grades 4 through 6.¹²

The 200-character grade-3 set has remained stable across the 1989, 1992, 2008, and 2017 revisions of the 学習指導要領 (Courses of Study). The 2017 revision's 20-character expansion, from 1,006 to 1,026 total, was absorbed entirely by grade 4, with no addition or removal at grade 3.⁶²⁷

The 200-character total is independently verified against the Japanese Wikipedia 学年別漢字配当表 (200 entries),⁶ the Okadori Japanese-language reference (200字, post-2020 revision),⁸ and the Ieben post-2020 reference table (200字).⁹

From 160 to 200: what shifts between grade 2 and grade 3

The quantitative jump is the largest of the elementary curriculum so far: 160 to 200, a 25% increase. But two qualitative changes matter more.

The first is the JLPT shift. Zero grade-3 kanji appear on any major N5 reconstruction, because every Wikibooks N5 kanji is already covered by grades 1 and 2. The grade-3 working JLPT bucket is N4-majority with an N3 tail and a smaller N2 residual.³¹⁰⁴

The previous article in this series, "Grade 2 Jōyō Kanji (小2): All 160 Second-Grade Kanji with Readings, Stroke Counts, and JLPT Mapping", documents the grade-2 baseline this article builds on. "The Jōyō Kanji List (常用漢字): The 2,136-Character Set Explained" frames the wider standard.

The second change is structural. The proportion of 形声 (keisei, phono-semantic) characters rises sharply. The first multi-member phonetic series whose members all sit inside the same year's allocation also appear.

The canonical example is 主 シュ giving on'yomi to 注 (チュウ), 住 (ジュウ), and 柱 (チュウ), all four characters at grade 3.⁷¹¹¹²

Stroke counts climb into the 10-to-14-stroke band as the modal range. The ceiling rises to 18 strokes (題), and characters like 横, 様, 緑, 練, 銀, 漢, 暗, 路, 詩, 福 sit in the 13-to-15 range.¹³¹⁴ "Grade 1 Jōyō Kanji (小1): All 80 First-Grade Kanji with Readings, Stroke Counts, and JLPT Mapping" sets the lower bound for comparison.

What gets learned in year 3

Grade 3 expands the elementary vocabulary base into seven thematic clusters. These clusters mirror an 8-year-old's growing reach into public life, the body, and the first abstract noun set:

• daily-life verbs and motion (動, 運, 進, 起, 持, 待, 集, 配, 注, 開, 終)
• people, roles, counters, and prefixes (主, 客, 君, 様, 仕, 員, 業, 係, 役, 倍, 第, 全, 両)
• public places and institutions (院, 館, 駅, 庫, 局, 区, 県, 都, 庭, 階, 港, 橋, 路)
• transport, geography, and the natural world (鉄, 旅, 神, 商, 物, 服, 陽, 湖, 岸, 島, 波, 油, 氷, 温, 緑, 葉, 根, 球, 銀)
• school, study, society, and time (級, 育, 究, 研, 漢, 詩, 章, 題, 練, 習, 暗, 写, 真, 表, 急, 速, 始, 整, 期)
• body, illness, and feeling (鼻, 歯, 皮, 血, 病, 医, 薬, 命, 苦, 悲, 暑, 寒, 美, 安, 平, 和, 幸, 福, 悪)
• daily nouns, counters, and concrete objects (反, 対, 板, 柱, 笛, 筆, 箱, 指, 礼, 祭, 由, 有, 予, 他, 代, 世)⁸¹⁵

Grade 3 is the first year that introduces abstract-noun kanji as readable characters: 幸 (fortune), 福 (luck), 安 (ease), 平 (flat or peaceful), 和 (harmony), 命 (life).

Both halves of compounds like 平和 (へいわ "peace") and 幸福 (こうふく "happiness") are now in reach. So is 安心 (あんしん "peace of mind"), with grade-3 安 paired with grade-2 心. As a result, grade 3 has a substantially higher proportion of N4 and N3 abstract vocabulary than grade 2.⁸¹⁵

The thematic shape of the grade-3 set is easier to see at a glance:

The 200 grade 3 kanji

How to read the table

Each row gives the kanji, its main English gloss, the most frequent on'yomi (in katakana) and kun'yomi (in hiragana, with okurigana hyphenated where applicable), the stroke count, two high-frequency vocabulary uses, and a working JLPT level. The column conventions match the grade 1 and grade 2 articles in this series.

The vocabulary column favours pedagogical accessibility over absolute corpus frequency. In other words, it prioritizes examples learners can use. Compounds were filtered to those built from grade-1, grade-2, grade-3, or other very-high-frequency characters using JMdict frequency-tagged headwords¹⁶ and the standard 大辞林 and 広辞苑 attestations.¹⁵¹²

Three-kanji compounds such as 図書館, 大学院, 都道府県 appear where they are the first place a grade-3 character surfaces in everyday text.

Stroke counts follow KANJIDIC2 via the Nihongo-Pro grid;¹⁴¹³ these match the MEXT-endorsed counts.¹

Reading sets are restricted to the most frequent on'yomi and kun'yomi only. The full 常用漢字表 reading set is larger for several characters: 主, 重, 開, 業, 守 each carry four or more readings.¹⁷

The JLPT column is a Wikibooks and JLPTsensei reconstruction, not an official list

The JLPT itself "does not have a vocabulary or kanji list" since the 2010 revision.⁵ The JLPT column in the master table below follows the Wikibooks N4 plus JLPTsensei N3 combined reconstruction, consistent with the grade 1 and grade 2 articles in this series.³⁴

Characters listed on both reconstructions are marked N4/N3. Characters above N3 in this working reconstruction are marked N3+; these typically sit at N2 in the fuller Tanos reconstruction.¹⁸

There is notable disagreement on 7 grade-3 characters (乗, 寒, 所, 暗, 薬, 進, 都) that one community list places at N4 and another at N3. The disagreement is structural to the unofficial-list ecosystem, so the working assignments below should be read as guidance, not authority.

Master table: all 200 third-grade kanji

The 200 characters are grouped into seven teaching clusters that mirror the most common Japanese elementary-textbook ordering.⁸⁹ Several characters fit naturally into more than one cluster: 苦 in both body-and-feeling and abstract qualities, 配 in both verbs and roles. Each character appears in the master table exactly once, under its primary cluster.

Daily-life verbs and motion (27)

Kanji	Meaning	On'yomi	Kun'yomi	Strokes	Top vocabulary	JLPT
動	move	ドウ	うご-く、うご-かす	11	動く (うごく) "to move"; 自動 (じどう) "automatic"	N4
運	carry, fortune	ウン	はこ-ぶ	12	運ぶ (はこぶ) "to carry"; 運動 (うんどう) "exercise"	N4
進	advance	シン	すす-む、すす-める	11	進む (すすむ) "to advance"; 進歩 (しんぽ) "progress"	N4/N3
起	get up, rise	キ	お-きる、お-こる、お-こす	10	起きる (おきる) "to get up"; 起立 (きりつ) "standing up"	N4
落	fall, drop	ラク	お-ちる、お-とす	12	落ちる (おちる) "to fall"; 落書き (らくがき) "graffiti"	N3
遊	play	ユウ	あそ-ぶ	12	遊ぶ (あそぶ) "to play"; 遊園地 (ゆうえんち) "amusement park"	N3
泳	swim	エイ	およ-ぐ	8	泳ぐ (およぐ) "to swim"; 水泳 (すいえい) "swimming"	N3
飲	drink	イン	の-む	12	飲む (のむ) "to drink"; 飲食 (いんしょく) "eating and drinking"	N3+
持	hold	ジ	も-つ、も-てる	9	持つ (もつ) "to hold"; 気持ち (きもち) "feeling"	N4
待	wait	タイ	ま-つ	9	待つ (まつ) "to wait"; 期待 (きたい) "expectation"	N4
投	throw	トウ	な-げる	7	投げる (なげる) "to throw"; 投票 (とうひょう) "voting"	N3
打	hit, strike	ダ	う-つ	5	打つ (うつ) "to hit"; 打者 (だしゃ) "batter"	N3
受	receive	ジュ	う-ける、う-かる	8	受ける (うける) "to receive"; 受験 (じゅけん) "taking an exam"	N3
取	take	シュ	と-る	8	取る (とる) "to take"; 取材 (しゅざい) "news gathering"	N3
助	help	ジョ	たす-ける、たす-かる、すけ	7	助ける (たすける) "to help"; 助手 (じょしゅ) "assistant"	N3
拾	pick up	シュウ、ジュウ	ひろ-う	9	拾う (ひろう) "to pick up"; 拾得 (しゅうとく) "finding"	N3+
集	gather	シュウ	あつ-まる、あつ-める、つど-う	12	集まる (あつまる) "to gather"; 集合 (しゅうごう) "assembly"	N4
配	distribute, arrange	ハイ	くば-る	10	配る (くばる) "to distribute"; 心配 (しんぱい) "worry"	N3
送	send	ソウ	おく-る	9	送る (おくる) "to send"; 送料 (そうりょう) "postage"	N4
返	return (something)	ヘン	かえ-す、かえ-る	7	返す (かえす) "to return"; 返事 (へんじ) "reply"	N3
追	follow, chase	ツイ	お-う	9	追う (おう) "to chase"; 追加 (ついか) "addition"	N3
流	flow	リュウ、ル	なが-れる、なが-す	10	流れる (ながれる) "to flow"; 一流 (いちりゅう) "first-class"	N3
注	pour, focus	チュウ	そそ-ぐ	8	注ぐ (そそぐ) "to pour"; 注意 (ちゅうい) "caution"	N4
消	extinguish, erase	ショウ	き-える、け-す	10	消す (けす) "to erase"; 消防 (しょうぼう) "fire prevention"	N3
化	change, transform	カ、ケ	ば-ける、ば-かす	4	文化 (ぶんか) "culture"; 変化 (へんか) "change"	N3
開	open	カイ	ひら-く、ひら-ける、あ-く、あ-ける	12	開く (ひらく) "to open"; 開始 (かいし) "start"	N4
終	end, finish	シュウ	お-わる、お-える	11	終わる (おわる) "to end"; 最終 (さいしゅう) "last, final"	N4

People, roles, counters, and prefixes (17)

Kanji	Meaning	On'yomi	Kun'yomi	Strokes	Top vocabulary	JLPT
主	main, master	シュ、ス	ぬし、おも	5	主 (ぬし) "master, owner"; 主人 (しゅじん) "husband, master"	N4
客	guest, customer	キャク、カク	(none)	9	客 (きゃく) "guest, customer"; 観光客 (かんこうきゃく) "tourist"	N3
君	you (familiar), Mr.	クン	きみ	7	君 (きみ) "you (familiar)"; 君主 (くんしゅ) "monarch"	N3
様	manner, Mr./Ms.	ヨウ	さま	14	〜様 (さま) "Mr./Ms. (honorific)"; 様子 (ようす) "appearance, state"	N3
仕	serve, do (suru-stem)	シ、ジ	つか-える	5	仕事 (しごと) "work, job"; 仕方 (しかた) "way, method"	N4
使	use	シ	つか-う	8	使う (つかう) "to use"; 大使 (たいし) "ambassador"	N4
員	member, employee	イン	(none)	10	会員 (かいいん) "member"; 社員 (しゃいん) "company employee"	N4
業	profession, business	ギョウ、ゴウ	わざ	13	職業 (しょくぎょう) "occupation"; 工業 (こうぎょう) "industry"	N4
係	connection, person in charge	ケイ	かか-る、かかり	9	係 (かかり) "person in charge"; 関係 (かんけい) "relation"	N3
役	role, duty, service	ヤク、エキ	(none)	7	役 (やく) "role"; 役所 (やくしょ) "government office"	N3
軽	light (weight)	ケイ	かる-い、かろ-やか	12	軽い (かるい) "light"; 軽食 (けいしょく) "light meal"	N4
重	heavy, important, stack	ジュウ、チョウ	え、おも-い、かさ-ねる、かさ-なる	9	重い (おもい) "heavy"; 重要 (じゅうよう) "important"	N4
倍	double, times (counter)	バイ	(none)	10	倍 (ばい) "double, times"; 二倍 (にばい) "twice, double"	N3+
第	ordinal prefix	ダイ	(none)	11	第一 (だいいち) "first"; 第二 (だいに) "second"	N3+
全	all, whole	ゼン	まった-く、すべ-て	6	全部 (ぜんぶ) "all"; 全員 (ぜんいん) "all members"	N3
両	both, vehicle counter	リョウ	(none)	6	両親 (りょうしん) "both parents"; 両方 (りょうほう) "both"	N3
央	center	オウ	(none)	5	中央 (ちゅうおう) "center"; 中央線 (ちゅうおうせん) "Chūō Line"	N3+

Public places and institutions (15)

Kanji	Meaning	On'yomi	Kun'yomi	Strokes	Top vocabulary	JLPT
院	institution (suffix)	イン	(none)	10	病院 (びょういん) "hospital"; 大学院 (だいがくいん) "graduate school"	N4
館	hall, large building	カン	やかた	16	図書館 (としょかん) "library"; 旅館 (りょかん) "Japanese inn"	N4
駅	station	エキ	(none)	14	駅 (えき) "station"; 駅前 (えきまえ) "in front of the station"	N3+
庫	storehouse, warehouse	コ、ク	(none)	10	倉庫 (そうこ) "warehouse"; 金庫 (きんこ) "safe, vault"	N3+
局	bureau, office	キョク	(none)	7	郵便局 (ゆうびんきょく) "post office"; 結局 (けっきょく) "after all"	N3
区	ward, district	ク	(none)	4	区 (く) "ward"; 区別 (くべつ) "distinction"	N4
県	prefecture	ケン	(none)	9	県 (けん) "prefecture"; 県庁 (けんちょう) "prefectural office"	N4
都	capital, metropolis	ト、ツ	みやこ	11	都 (みやこ) "capital"; 東京都 (とうきょうと) "Tokyo Metropolis"	N4/N3
州	state, province	シュウ	す	6	九州 (きゅうしゅう) "Kyūshū"; 本州 (ほんしゅう) "Honshū"	N3+
庭	garden	テイ	にわ	10	庭 (にわ) "garden"; 家庭 (かてい) "household"	N3
階	floor, story	カイ	(none)	12	階 (かい) "floor (counter)"; 階段 (かいだん) "stairs"	N3+
屋	shop, roof	オク	や	9	屋根 (やね) "roof"; 本屋 (ほんや) "bookstore"	N4
港	harbor, port	コウ	みなと	12	港 (みなと) "port"; 空港 (くうこう) "airport"	N3
橋	bridge	キョウ	はし	16	橋 (はし) "bridge"; 鉄橋 (てっきょう) "iron bridge"	N3+
路	road, route	ロ	じ	13	道路 (どうろ) "road"; 線路 (せんろ) "railroad track"	N3

Transport, geography, and the natural world (28)

Kanji	Meaning	On'yomi	Kun'yomi	Strokes	Top vocabulary	JLPT
鉄	iron	テツ	(none)	13	鉄 (てつ) "iron"; 地下鉄 (ちかてつ) "subway"	N3+
旅	travel, journey	リョ	たび	10	旅 (たび) "journey"; 旅行 (りょこう) "travel"	N4
宿	lodging, inn	シュク	やど、やど-る、やど-す	11	宿 (やど) "inn"; 宿題 (しゅくだい) "homework"	N3
神	god, divine	シン、ジン	かみ、かん、こう	9	神 (かみ) "god"; 神社 (じんじゃ) "Shinto shrine"	N3
宮	shrine, palace	キュウ、グウ、ク	みや	10	宮 (みや) "shrine, palace"; 宮中 (きゅうちゅう) "imperial court"	N3+
商	commerce, deal	ショウ	あきな-う	11	商売 (しょうばい) "business"; 商品 (しょうひん) "merchandise"	N3
物	thing	ブツ、モツ	もの	8	物 (もの) "thing"; 動物 (どうぶつ) "animal"	N4
品	goods, refinement	ヒン	しな	9	品 (しな) "goods"; 商品 (しょうひん) "merchandise"	N4
服	clothes, dose	フク	(none)	8	服 (ふく) "clothes"; 洋服 (ようふく) "Western clothes"	N4
陽	sun, positive	ヨウ	(none)	12	太陽 (たいよう) "sun"; 陽気 (ようき) "cheerful"	N3
湖	lake	コ	みずうみ	12	湖 (みずうみ) "lake"; 湖水 (こすい) "lake water"	N3+
岸	shore, bank	ガン	きし	8	岸 (きし) "shore"; 海岸 (かいがん) "coast"	N3+
島	island	トウ	しま	10	島 (しま) "island"; 半島 (はんとう) "peninsula"	N3+
波	wave	ハ	なみ	8	波 (なみ) "wave"; 電波 (でんぱ) "radio wave"	N3+
油	oil	ユ	あぶら	8	油 (あぶら) "oil"; 石油 (せきゆ) "petroleum"	N3
氷	ice	ヒョウ	こおり、ひ	5	氷 (こおり) "ice"; 氷山 (ひょうざん) "iceberg"	N3+
温	warm	オン	あたた-か、あたた-かい、あたた-まる、あたた-める	12	温泉 (おんせん) "hot spring"; 気温 (きおん) "air temperature"	N3+
緑	green	リョク、ロク	みどり	14	緑 (みどり) "green"; 緑茶 (りょくちゃ) "green tea"	N3+
葉	leaf	ヨウ	は	12	葉 (は) "leaf"; 言葉 (ことば) "word, language"	N3
根	root	コン	ね	10	根 (ね) "root"; 屋根 (やね) "roof"	N3+
実	fruit, reality	ジツ	み、みの-る	8	実 (み) "fruit"; 実は (じつは) "actually"	N3
球	ball, sphere	キュウ	たま	11	野球 (やきゅう) "baseball"; 地球 (ちきゅう) "earth"	N3
銀	silver	ギン	(none)	14	銀 (ぎん) "silver"; 銀行 (ぎんこう) "bank"	N4
炭	charcoal, coal	タン	すみ	9	炭 (すみ) "charcoal"; 石炭 (せきたん) "coal"	N3+
畑	field (dry, kokuji)	(none)	はた、はたけ	9	畑 (はたけ) "(dry) field"; 田畑 (たはた) "fields"	N3+
皿	dish, plate	(none)	さら	5	皿 (さら) "plate"; 灰皿 (はいざら) "ashtray"	N3+
豆	bean	トウ、ズ	まめ	7	豆 (まめ) "bean"; 大豆 (だいず) "soybean"	N3+
羊	sheep	ヨウ	ひつじ	6	羊 (ひつじ) "sheep"; 羊毛 (ようもう) "wool"	N3+

School, study, society, and time (24)

Kanji	Meaning	On'yomi	Kun'yomi	Strokes	Top vocabulary	JLPT
級	grade, rank	キュウ	(none)	9	級 (きゅう) "rank"; 学級 (がっきゅう) "school class"	N3+
委	entrust, committee	イ	ゆだ-ねる	8	委員 (いいん) "committee member"; 委任 (いにん) "delegation"	N3+
童	child	ドウ	わらべ	12	児童 (じどう) "child, pupil"; 童話 (どうわ) "children's story"	N3+
育	raise, nurture	イク	そだ-つ、そだ-てる、はぐく-む	8	育てる (そだてる) "to raise"; 教育 (きょういく) "education"	N3
究	research, investigate	キュウ	きわ-める	7	研究 (けんきゅう) "research"; 究極 (きゅうきょく) "ultimate"	N4
研	polish, study	ケン	と-ぐ	9	研究 (けんきゅう) "research"; 研修 (けんしゅう) "training"	N4
漢	China, fellow, kanji	カン	(none)	13	漢字 (かんじ) "kanji"; 漢方 (かんぽう) "Chinese medicine"	N4
詩	poem, poetry	シ	(none)	13	詩 (し) "poem"; 詩人 (しじん) "poet"	N3+
章	chapter, badge	ショウ	(none)	11	文章 (ぶんしょう) "writing, sentence"; 第一章 (だいいっしょう) "Chapter 1"	N3+
題	topic, title	ダイ	(none)	18	問題 (もんだい) "problem"; 宿題 (しゅくだい) "homework"	N4
等	rank, etc.	トウ	ひと-しい	12	等 (など / とう) "etc."; 平等 (びょうどう) "equality"	N3+
練	practice, knead	レン	ね-る	14	練習 (れんしゅう) "practice"; 訓練 (くんれん) "training"	N3+
習	learn, custom	シュウ	なら-う	11	習う (ならう) "to learn"; 練習 (れんしゅう) "practice"	N4
暗	dark	アン	くら-い	13	暗い (くらい) "dark"; 暗記 (あんき) "memorization"	N4/N3
写	copy, photograph	シャ	うつ-す、うつ-る	5	写す (うつす) "to copy"; 写真 (しゃしん) "photograph"	N4
真	truth, genuine	シン	ま	10	真 (ま) "true, genuine"; 写真 (しゃしん) "photograph"	N4
表	surface, express, table	ヒョウ	おもて、あらわ-す、あらわ-れる	8	表 (おもて) "surface, front"; 発表 (はっぴょう) "announcement"	N3
急	hurry, sudden	キュウ	いそ-ぐ	9	急ぐ (いそぐ) "to hurry"; 急行 (きゅうこう) "express (train)"	N4
速	fast, speed	ソク	はや-い、はや-める、すみ-やか	10	速い (はやい) "fast"; 速度 (そくど) "speed"	N3
始	begin	シ	はじ-める、はじ-まる	8	始める (はじめる) "to begin"; 開始 (かいし) "start"	N4
整	arrange, in order	セイ	ととの-える、ととの-う	16	整理 (せいり) "tidying up"; 整備 (せいび) "maintenance"	N3+
申	speak (humble), report	シン	もう-す	5	申す (もうす) "to say (humble)"; 申請 (しんせい) "application"	N3
期	period, term	キ、ゴ	(none)	12	期間 (きかん) "period"; 学期 (がっき) "school term"	N3
帳	notebook, register	チョウ	(none)	11	手帳 (てちょう) "notebook, planner"; 通帳 (つうちょう) "bankbook"	N3+

Body, illness, and feeling (20)

Kanji	Meaning	On'yomi	Kun'yomi	Strokes	Top vocabulary	JLPT
鼻	nose	ビ	はな	14	鼻 (はな) "nose"; 鼻血 (はなぢ) "nosebleed"	N3+
歯	tooth	シ	は	12	歯 (は) "tooth"; 歯科 (しか) "dentistry"	N3
皮	skin, leather	ヒ	かわ	5	皮 (かわ) "skin, hide"; 皮膚 (ひふ) "skin"	N3+
血	blood	ケツ	ち	6	血 (ち) "blood"; 出血 (しゅっけつ) "bleeding"	N3+
息	breath, son	ソク	いき	10	息 (いき) "breath"; 息子 (むすこ) "son"	N3
病	illness	ビョウ、ヘイ	や-む、やまい	10	病気 (びょうき) "illness"; 病院 (びょういん) "hospital"	N4
医	medicine, doctor	イ	(none)	7	医者 (いしゃ) "doctor"; 医学 (いがく) "medicine"	N4
薬	medicine, drug	ヤク	くすり	16	薬 (くすり) "medicine"; 薬局 (やっきょく) "pharmacy"	N4/N3
命	life, command	メイ、ミョウ	いのち	8	命 (いのち) "life"; 生命 (せいめい) "life"	N3
苦	suffering, bitter	ク	くる-しい、くる-しむ、にが-い、にが-る	8	苦しい (くるしい) "painful"; 苦労 (くろう) "hardship"	N3
悲	sad, grieve	ヒ	かな-しい、かな-しむ	12	悲しい (かなしい) "sad"; 悲劇 (ひげき) "tragedy"	N3
暑	hot (weather)	ショ	あつ-い	12	暑い (あつい) "hot (weather)"; 残暑 (ざんしょ) "lingering summer heat"	N4
寒	cold (weather)	カン	さむ-い	12	寒い (さむい) "cold"; 寒気 (かんき) "chill"	N4/N3
美	beautiful	ビ、ミ	うつく-しい	9	美しい (うつくしい) "beautiful"; 美術 (びじゅつ) "art"	N3
安	cheap, safe, peaceful	アン	やす-い	6	安い (やすい) "cheap"; 安心 (あんしん) "peace of mind"	N3+
平	flat, peaceful	ヘイ、ビョウ	たい-ら、ひら	5	平 (たいら) "flat"; 平和 (へいわ) "peace"	N3
和	harmony, Japanese	ワ、オ	やわ-らぐ、やわ-らげる、なご-む、なご-やか	8	和 (わ) "harmony"; 平和 (へいわ) "peace"	N3
幸	fortune, happiness	コウ	しあわ-せ、さいわ-い、さち	8	幸せ (しあわせ) "happiness"; 幸運 (こううん) "good luck"	N3
福	luck, blessing	フク	(none)	13	幸福 (こうふく) "happiness"; 福引 (ふくびき) "lottery"	N3
悪	bad, evil	アク、オ	わる-い	11	悪い (わるい) "bad"; 悪化 (あっか) "worsening"	N4

Daily nouns, counters, and concrete objects (24)

Kanji	Meaning	On'yomi	Kun'yomi	Strokes	Top vocabulary	JLPT
死	death, die	シ	し-ぬ	6	死ぬ (しぬ) "to die"; 死亡 (しぼう) "death"	N4
列	row, line	レツ	(none)	6	列 (れつ) "row, line"; 行列 (ぎょうれつ) "queue, procession"	N3
号	number, signal	ゴウ	(none)	5	番号 (ばんごう) "number"; 信号 (しんごう) "traffic signal"	N3
向	face, turn toward	コウ	む-く、む-ける、む-かう、む-こう	6	向く (むく) "to face"; 方向 (ほうこう) "direction"	N3
味	taste, meaning	ミ	あじ、あじ-わう	8	味 (あじ) "taste"; 意味 (いみ) "meaning"	N4
意	mind, intention	イ	(none)	13	意味 (いみ) "meaning"; 注意 (ちゅうい) "caution"	N4
問	question	モン	と-う、と-い	11	問題 (もんだい) "problem"; 質問 (しつもん) "question"	N4
反	oppose, anti-	ハン、ホン、タン	そ-る、そ-らす	4	反対 (はんたい) "opposition"; 反応 (はんのう) "reaction"	N3
対	facing, against, vs	タイ、ツイ	(none)	7	反対 (はんたい) "opposition"; 対 (たい) "versus"	N3
板	board, plank	ハン、バン	いた	8	板 (いた) "board"; 黒板 (こくばん) "blackboard"	N3+
柱	pillar	チュウ	はしら	9	柱 (はしら) "pillar"; 電柱 (でんちゅう) "utility pole"	N3+
坂	slope, hill	ハン	さか	7	坂 (さか) "slope"; 坂道 (さかみち) "sloped road"	N3+
笛	flute, whistle	テキ	ふえ	11	笛 (ふえ) "flute, whistle"; 汽笛 (きてき) "steam whistle"	N3+
筆	brush, writing	ヒツ	ふで	12	筆 (ふで) "writing brush"; 鉛筆 (えんぴつ) "pencil"	N3+
箱	box	(none)	はこ	15	箱 (はこ) "box"; 本箱 (ほんばこ) "bookcase"	N3+
指	finger, point	シ	ゆび、さ-す	9	指 (ゆび) "finger"; 指示 (しじ) "indication"	N3
放	release, set free	ホウ	はな-す、はな-つ、はな-れる、ほう-る	8	放す (はなす) "to release"; 放送 (ほうそう) "broadcast"	N3
礼	ceremony, bow	レイ、ライ	(none)	5	礼 (れい) "bow, gratitude"; 失礼 (しつれい) "rudeness"	N3
祭	festival, ritual	サイ	まつ-る、まつり	11	祭 (まつり) "festival"; 文化祭 (ぶんかさい) "cultural festival"	N3+
由	reason, origin	ユウ、ユ、ユイ	よし	5	由 (よし) "reason"; 自由 (じゆう) "freedom"	N3
有	exist, possess	ユウ、ウ	あ-る	6	有名 (ゆうめい) "famous"; 有料 (ゆうりょう) "fee-charging"	N4
予	beforehand	ヨ	(none)	4	予定 (よてい) "schedule"; 予報 (よほう) "forecast"	N3
他	other	タ	ほか	5	他 (ほか) "other"; 他人 (たにん) "other person, stranger"	N3
代	substitute, generation, fee	ダイ、タイ	か-わる、か-える、よ、しろ	5	代わる (かわる) "to substitute"; 時代 (じだい) "era"	N4

Movement, change, and remaining residual (45)

Kanji	Meaning	On'yomi	Kun'yomi	Strokes	Top vocabulary	JLPT
世	world, generation	セイ、セ	よ	5	世 (よ) "world"; 世界 (せかい) "world"	N4
事	thing, matter	ジ、ズ	こと	8	事 (こと) "thing, matter"; 仕事 (しごと) "work"	N4
乗	ride, board	ジョウ	の-る、の-せる	9	乗る (のる) "to board"; 乗車 (じょうしゃ) "boarding"	N4/N3
勉	exertion, effort	ベン	(none)	10	勉強 (べんきょう) "study"; 勤勉 (きんべん) "diligence"	N4
勝	win, beat	ショウ	か-つ、まさ-る	12	勝つ (かつ) "to win"; 勝利 (しょうり) "victory"	N3
具	tool, condition	グ	(none)	8	道具 (どうぐ) "tool"; 具体 (ぐたい) "concrete (form)"	N3
式	ceremony, formula, style	シキ	(none)	6	式 (しき) "ceremony, formula"; 卒業式 (そつぎょうしき) "graduation"	N3
守	protect, guard	シュ、ス	まも-る、もり	6	守る (まもる) "to protect"; 留守 (るす) "absence (from home)"	N3
定	decide, settle	テイ、ジョウ	さだ-める、さだ-まる、さだ-か	8	定める (さだめる) "to settle"; 予定 (よてい) "schedule"	N3
短	short	タン	みじか-い	12	短い (みじかい) "short"; 短期 (たんき) "short-term"	N4
着	wear, arrive, attach	チャク、ジャク	き-る、き-せる、つ-く、つ-ける	12	着る (きる) "to wear"; 到着 (とうちゃく) "arrival"	N4
度	degree, time, counter	ド、ト、タク	たび	9	度 (ど) "degree"; 今度 (こんど) "this time, next time"	N4
想	thought, conception	ソウ、ソ	(none)	13	想像 (そうぞう) "imagination"; 感想 (かんそう) "impression"	N3
感	feeling, emotion	カン	(none)	13	感じる (かんじる) "to feel"; 感情 (かんじょう) "emotion"	N3
次	next, order	ジ、シ	つ-ぐ、つぎ	6	次 (つぎ) "next"; 次第 (しだい) "circumstances"	N3
決	decide, definitely	ケツ	き-める、き-まる	7	決める (きめる) "to decide"; 解決 (かいけつ) "resolution"	N3
深	deep	シン	ふか-い、ふか-める、ふか-まる	11	深い (ふかい) "deep"; 深夜 (しんや) "late at night"	N3
横	sideways, horizontal	オウ	よこ	15	横 (よこ) "side, horizontal"; 横切る (よこぎる) "to cross"	N3
昔	long ago, the past	セキ、シャク	むかし	8	昔 (むかし) "long ago"; 昔話 (むかしばなし) "old tale"	N3
昭	bright, Showa (era)	ショウ	(none)	9	昭和 (しょうわ) "Showa era"; 昭々 (しょうしょう) "bright"	N3+
曲	bend, tune	キョク	ま-がる、ま-げる、くせ	6	曲 (きょく) "tune"; 曲がる (まがる) "to turn, bend"	N3
登	climb, ascend	トウ、ト	のぼ-る	12	登る (のぼる) "to climb"; 登校 (とうこう) "going to school"	N3
湯	hot water	トウ	ゆ	12	湯 (ゆ) "hot water"; 銭湯 (せんとう) "public bath"	N3+
秒	second (time)	ビョウ	(none)	9	秒 (びょう) "second"; 秒速 (びょうそく) "per-second speed"	N3+
丁	block, exactness, counter	チョウ、テイ	(none)	2	丁度 (ちょうど) "exactly"; 丁寧 (ていねい) "polite"	N3+
調	tune, investigate, condition	チョウ	しら-べる、ととの-う、ととの-える	15	調べる (しらべる) "to investigate"; 調子 (ちょうし) "condition"	N3
談	discussion, talk	ダン	(none)	15	相談 (そうだん) "consultation"; 会談 (かいだん) "meeting"	N3
負	bear, defeat, owe	フ	ま-ける、ま-かす、お-う	9	負ける (まける) "to lose, be defeated"; 勝負 (しょうぶ) "match"	N3
部	section, part, club	ブ	(none)	11	部 (ぶ) "section, club"; 全部 (ぜんぶ) "all"	N3
酒	sake, alcohol	シュ	さけ、さか	10	酒 (さけ) "sake, alcohol"; 日本酒 (にほんしゅ) "Japanese sake"	N3
身	body, person	シン	み	7	身 (み) "body, oneself"; 自身 (じしん) "oneself"	N3
相	mutual, aspect, minister	ソウ、ショウ	あい	9	相手 (あいて) "partner, opponent"; 首相 (しゅしょう) "prime minister"	N3
面	face, surface, mask	メン	おも、おもて、つら	9	面 (めん) "face, surface"; 場面 (ばめん) "scene"	N3
住	live, dwell	ジュウ	す-む、す-まう	7	住む (すむ) "to live"; 住所 (じゅうしょ) "address"	N4
去	leave, past	キョ、コ	さ-る	5	去る (さる) "to leave"; 去年 (きょねん) "last year"	N4
所	place	ショ	ところ	8	所 (ところ) "place"; 場所 (ばしょ) "place"	N4/N3
族	tribe, family	ゾク	(none)	11	家族 (かぞく) "family"; 民族 (みんぞく) "ethnic group"	N4
植	plant	ショク	う-える、う-わる	12	植える (うえる) "to plant"; 植物 (しょくぶつ) "plant"	N3+
洋	ocean, Western	ヨウ	(none)	9	洋服 (ようふく) "Western clothes"; 西洋 (せいよう) "the West"	N4
界	world, boundary	カイ	(none)	9	世界 (せかい) "world"; 業界 (ぎょうかい) "industry"	N4
発	depart, emit	ハツ、ホツ	(none)	9	発見 (はっけん) "discovery"; 出発 (しゅっぱつ) "departure"	N4
者	person	シャ	もの	8	学者 (がくしゃ) "scholar"; 医者 (いしゃ) "doctor"	N4
荷	load, luggage	カ	に	10	荷物 (にもつ) "luggage"; 出荷 (しゅっか) "shipment"	N3+
転	revolve, transfer	テン	ころ-がる、ころ-ぶ、ころ-げる、ころ-がす	11	転ぶ (ころぶ) "to fall over"; 自転車 (じてんしゃ) "bicycle"	N4
農	agriculture, farming	ノウ	(none)	13	農業 (のうぎょう) "agriculture"; 農家 (のうか) "farmer, farmhouse"	N3+

The table totals 200 distinct characters: 27 + 17 + 15 + 28 + 24 + 20 + 24 + 45.¹⁶²⁸⁹ Each grade-3 kanji appears exactly once.

The 2017 revision left the grade-3 allocation unchanged. The 20-character expansion to 1,026 total kyōiku kanji landed at grade 4 with the prefecture-name kanji.⁶²⁷

Patterns within grade 3

The 200 rows above carry more cognitive load than a single table can communicate. The clusters below describe the shape of the grade-3 allocation: which radicals dominate, which counters and prefixes appear, and which everyday vocabulary becomes legible for the first time.

Daily-life verbs and motion

The verb cluster doubles the grade-2 action-verb load and adds the first verb-of-perception-and-cognition extensions: 受ける, 持つ, 待つ, 助ける, 集める, 配る, 注ぐ, 消す, 開く.⁸¹⁵

Several grade-3 verbs introduce a learner to the transitive and intransitive pair pattern that recurs across higher grades: 開く / 開ける, 終わる / 終える, 集まる / 集める, 始まる / 始める, 起きる / 起こす, 動く / 動かす, 落ちる / 落とす, 流れる / 流す, 進む / 進める, 消える / 消す, 返る / 返す, 決まる / 決める, 整う / 整える.¹⁷¹⁵

The 自他 (jita, intransitive and transitive) split first becomes a systematic pattern at grade 3 because grade 1 and 2 verb kanji rarely carry both forms.

The verb 化 (ka, to change) is a special case. Used as a suffix in two-kanji compounds, it productively means "-ization": 文化 "culture (文 culture + 化 change)", 強化 "strengthening (強 strong + 化)", 変化 "change (変 change + 化)", 美化 "beautification (美 beautiful + 化)".¹²¹¹

This is the first morphological suffix-kanji a learner can read. "Learning Kanji Through Vocabulary: The Kanji-in-Context Approach" explains why morpheme-level reading is the right move at this volume.

People, roles, counters, and prefixes

The cluster contains the first honorific-suffix kanji a learner can read in full: 様 (さま, the formal "Mr./Ms." used in 田中様, customer addresses, and the rare formal address style) and 君 (くん, the familiar "young man" suffix used in 田中君).¹²¹⁵

The first multiplier counter is 倍 (バイ): 二倍 (にばい "twice"), 三倍 (さんばい "three times"), 何倍 (なんばい "how many times").¹⁵

The first ordinal prefix is 第 (ダイ): 第一 (だいいち "first"), 第二 (だいに "second"), 第三 (だいさん "third"). The character has no standalone noun meaning in modern Japanese; 第 is read only in compounds.¹⁵¹²

全 (ゼン, all) and 両 (リョウ, both) are quantifier prefixes: 全員 (ぜんいん "all members"), 全部 (ぜんぶ "all"), 両親 (りょうしん "both parents"), 両方 (りょうほう "both").

両 also serves as the counter for train cars (一両 "one train car"), a high-frequency usage in everyday Japan.¹⁵¹²

主 (シュ, main / master) deserves its own callout: the character is both a free-standing noun (主 ぬし, "master / owner") and a phonetic component that drives a four-member series inside this same grade, with 注, 住, and 柱 all sharing its phonetic role.¹²¹¹

Public places and institutions

This is the year a learner can read everyday Japanese public-life vocabulary: 駅 (station), 病院 (hospital), 図書館 (library, written with two grade-3 characters once 図 from grade 2 is included), 港 (port), 橋 (bridge), 鉄道 (railroad, both kanji from grade 3 once 道 from grade 2 is included), and 都道府県 (the four-tier address structure of Japan, with 都 and 県 at grade 3, 道 at grade 2, 府 at grade 4).⁸¹⁵

The 2017 revision pushed the prefecture-name proper-noun kanji (新潟's 潟, 茨城's 茨, 愛媛's 媛, and 16 others) into grade 4, not grade 3.⁶² A learner who reaches the end of grade 3 can read the 都道府県 frame but not the prefecture proper-noun characters themselves.

The radical 阝 appears in five grade-3 kanji. On the left side of a character, it is kozatohen 阜; on the right, it is ozato 邑. 院, 階, 陽 carry the left-side 阜 ("hill / place"), and 都, 部 carry the right-side 邑 ("city").¹²¹¹

This is the year a learner can start using position of the radical as a meaning hint.

Transport, geography, and the natural world

The cluster extends grade 2's nature set into the first major water-radical block: 湖 (lake), 港 (port), 岸 (shore), 島 (island), 波 (wave), 油 (oil), 流 (flow), 泳 (swim), 注 (pour), 消 (extinguish), 深 (deep), 温 (warm).

Ten of the 200 grade-3 characters carry the 氵 (water) radical, making the radical-as-semantic-hint visible in practice for the first time.¹²¹¹ "Semantic Components in Kanji (意符): What the Water, Person, and Tree Radicals Tell You About Meaning" lays out the wider pattern.

The kanji 畑 (はたけ, "dry field") is a kokuji (国字), a Japan-coined kanji. It is formed from 田 (rice paddy) + 火 (fire) on the analogy of "field where you burn after the harvest".

Kokuji have no on'yomi because they were never imported from Chinese. 畑 has been in the kyōiku grade-3 allocation since the 1958 revision.¹²¹¹ 皿 (さら, "plate") is similarly kun-only in the 常用漢字表 reading set.

The colour set also expands. Grade 2 introduced 黄, 黒, 茶, 色; grade 3 adds 緑 (green) and 銀 (silver). Combined with grade-1 青, 白, 赤, the everyday palette is now complete except 紫 (purple) and 灰 (grey), both deferred to secondary school.²¹⁵

School, study, society, and time

This cluster marks the first year a learner can write the word 漢字 itself. Both 漢 and 字 (the latter at grade 1) are now readable, so the meta-vocabulary "I am studying kanji" (漢字を勉強しています) is fully composable from grade-3-and-earlier characters.⁸¹⁵

詩 (poem) is the first literary-genre kanji a learner can read: 詩集 (poetry collection), 詩人 (poet). The character extends the 寺 phonetic series across grades: grade-2 寺 → grade-2 時 → grade-3 詩, all sharing the 寺 phonetic component.¹²¹¹

章 (chapter, badge), 題 (topic, title), 等 (rank, etcetera), 級 (grade, rank) form a document-structure cluster. It maps onto the parts of written work: 第一章 (Chapter 1), 表題 (title), 一等 (first rank), 上級 (advanced level). This is the year a learner can read the front matter of a Japanese book by themselves.¹⁵¹²

The counter expansion continues with 秒 (びょう, "second" of time) and 階 (かい, "floor"). Combined with grade-2 才, 台, 回, 番, the time-and-place counter set now covers the everyday range.¹⁵¹²

Body, illness, and feeling

Grade 3 is where the language for "I feel ___" comes online. The basic-adjective set for self-expression now operates from grade-1-through-grade-3 kanji alone:

寒さむいです。¹⁵
"It is cold."

悲かなしいです。¹⁵
"I feel sad."

The cluster also introduces the first abstract-noun kanji that combine into two-character compounds entirely from grade-3-and-earlier characters: 平和 (へいわ "peace", both grade 3), 幸福 (こうふく "happiness", both grade 3), 安心 (あんしん "peace of mind", grade-3 安 + grade-2 心).¹⁵¹²

This is the structural reason grade 3 has a substantially higher proportion of N4 and N3 abstract vocabulary than grade 2.

鼻 (nose), 歯 (tooth), 皮 (skin), 血 (blood) complete the everyday-body-part set beyond grade 2's 体, 顔, 心 and grade 1's 口, 目, 耳, 手, 足.

薬 (medicine) and 医 (doctor), together with 病 (illness), give the medical-vocabulary base: 医者 (doctor), 病院 (hospital), 薬局 (pharmacy), 病気 (illness). All four medical kanji are grade-3-readable.¹⁵¹²

The 疒 (sickness) radical first appears in the kyōiku list at grade 3 in the single character 病; 痛 (pain) is deferred to grade 6.¹²¹¹² Even with only one character, the radical's meaning becomes decipherable to a learner who knows what to look for.

Daily nouns and concrete objects

This is the year the first prefix-and-suffix kanji a learner can read as morphemes appear: 第 (ordinal prefix), 全 (totalizing prefix), 両 (dual prefix), 倍 (multiplier suffix), 化 (-ization suffix).

The negation prefix 不 (fu-) is deferred to grade 4, not grade 3. So the grade-3 prefix-and-suffix set is 第, 全, 両, 倍, and 化.⁷²

反 (oppose, anti-) is one of the most productive grade-3 phonetic-and-semantic components. As a free character, it heads 反対 (opposition), 反応 (reaction), 反映 (reflection).

As a phonetic component, it gives ハン to 坂 (slope, grade 3) and 板 (board, grade 3), with 飯 (rice, ハン) deferred to grade 4 and 版 (printing, ハン) deferred to secondary school.¹²¹¹² The grade-3 internal members of the 反 series are 反 itself plus 坂 and 板; 飯 joins the series one year later.

礼 (rei, bow / ceremony) introduces the first social-etiquette kanji: 失礼 (しつれい "rudeness, excuse me"), 礼儀 (れいぎ "etiquette"), お礼 (おれい "expression of thanks"). Combined with 和 (harmony), 幸 (fortune), and 祭 (festival), grade 3 is the first year a learner can write the everyday-etiquette and cultural-event vocabulary.¹⁵¹²

笛 (flute, テキ), 筆 (brush, ヒツ), 箱 (box, no on'yomi at this level) introduce everyday-object kanji with bamboo (竹) or wood-radical compositions. 笛 = 竹 + 由 (bamboo + phonetic 由), 筆 = 竹 + 聿 (bamboo + writing instrument), 箱 = 竹 + 相 (bamboo + phonetic 相, grade 3).¹²¹¹

Phonetic and semantic series that flower at grade 3

Grade 3 is the first grade in which a multi-member phonetic series has all of its grade-included members in the same year's allocation.¹¹¹²

At grade 2, the phonetic components and one or two members could co-occur (青 / 晴, 寺 / 時). At grade 3, a four-character series shows up entirely within the year.

The 主 series: four characters, one phonetic, one school year

The canonical grade-3 worked example is the 主 series. All four characters sit at grade 3, and the phonetic component 主 (シュ) drives a consistent on'yomi across the set, with one voicing alternation:

A learner who has read "Phonetic Components in Kanji (音符): The Hidden Reading Hint in 75% of Kanji" can now apply the prediction skill to material from daily life, not just to worked examples.¹¹¹²

Other grade-3 series

Several other phonetic series are partly visible at grade 3, with some members deferred to grade 4 or higher:

• 反 series (ハン): 反, 坂, 板 are grade 3; 飯 is grade 4; 版 is secondary school. Three of the four grade-included members sit at grade 3.⁷²¹²
• 寺 series (ジ / シ): grade-2 寺 (the phonetic) gives ジ to grade-2 時 and grade-3 持 (も-つ, hold, with on'yomi ジ in 持参 じさん), and シ to grade-3 詩. The four-character series spans grades 2 and 3.¹²¹¹
• 化 series (カ): grade-3 化 is the phonetic component for grade-1 花 (カ + flower-radical) and grade-4 貨 (カ + shell-radical), with consistent カ on'yomi across the series.¹²¹¹
• 由 series (partial): grade-3 由 drives grade-3 油 with consistent ユ on'yomi, but does not drive 笛 (テキ, also grade 3). The phonetic-prediction trick is a probabilistic shortcut, not a hard rule; 由 → 笛 is a useful counterexample for a learner who expects universality.¹¹¹²

The important teaching point is this: at grade 2, a learner could meet a phonetic series but never see more than two of its members in the same year. At grade 3, the 主 series gives a four-member set entirely within the year, and the 反 series gives a three-member subset.

The on'yomi-prediction skill is useful on everyday text from this grade onward.

Semantic radicals that dominate grade 3

The other half of 形声 logic is the 意符 (ifu, semantic component), the part that hints at meaning. The grade-3 set is the first body of kanji large enough to make these patterns statistically dominant.¹²¹¹

Radical	Meaning family	Grade-3 members	Total
氵	water, liquid	湖, 港, 波, 油, 流, 泳, 注, 消, 深, 温	10
木	tree, wood	板, 柱, 根, 植, 横, 様, 橋	7
阝	hill / place (left), city (right)	院, 階, 陽, 都, 部	5
言	speech, language	詩, 調, 談 (plus grade-2 言, 語, 読, 話, 計)	3 at grade 3
疒	sickness	病	1 (first appearance)
飠 / 食	food	飲	1 (飯 at grade 4)

A grade-2 learner sees the 氵 radical in two characters (海, 池); a grade-3 learner sees it in twelve. "Radicals vs. Components: Why They Are Not the Same Thing" explains why this distinction now matters for reading.

Component recycling: what earlier kanji become at grade 3

The grade-3 allocation completes several phonetic series that started earlier:

• 主 (grade 3) drives 注, 住, 柱 (all grade 3): a four-member series entirely within the year.⁷¹²
• 反 (grade 3) drives 坂, 板 (grade 3) and 飯 (grade 4): three of four grade-included members at grade 3.⁷¹²²
• 化 (grade 3) drives 花 (grade 1) and 貨 (grade 4): three-grade span, consistent カ.¹²¹¹
• 寺 (grade 2) drives 時 (grade 2), 詩 (grade 3), 持 (grade 3): four-character series across grades 2 and 3.¹²¹¹

The grade-3 learner now sees 主 as a free-standing character (master) and as a phonetic component inside 注, 住, 柱. In those compounds, the 氵, 亻, 木 radicals encode the semantic field of each character.

Both halves of 形声 are readable in practice for the first time.

How grade 3 maps to JLPT N4 and N3

The N4-majority and the N3 tail

Grade 3 is the first kyōiku grade whose JLPT center of gravity has moved decisively away from N5. Zero grade-3 kanji appear on any major N5 reconstruction; every Wikibooks N5 kanji is already covered by grades 1 and 2.³¹⁰⁴

The combined Wikibooks N4 plus JLPTsensei N3 reconstruction places the 200 grade-3 kanji as follows:

Bucket	Count	Share
N4 only (in Wikibooks N4, not JLPTsensei N3)	60	30.0%
Both N4 and N3 (contested)	7	3.5%
N3 only (in JLPTsensei N3, not Wikibooks N4)	82	41.0%
Neither (N2 or higher in these lists)	51	25.5%

The 67 N4-overlapping grade-3 kanji (combining the N4-only and contested buckets) are the concrete-vocabulary subset: daily-life verbs (動, 運, 持, 待, 集, 送, 開, 終), public-place kanji (院, 館, 区, 県, 都, 屋, 銀), the basic body and illness set (病, 医, 薬), school kanji (究, 研, 漢, 題, 写, 真, 表, 始, 短, 着), and basic-frequency abstract nouns (悪, 暑, 寒).³⁴

The 89 N3-overlapping grade-3 kanji (combining the N3-only and contested buckets) are the abstract-vocabulary subset: ethical and feeling kanji (幸, 福, 平, 和, 命, 苦, 悲, 美), social-life kanji (商, 客, 君, 様, 仕, 員, 業, 役, 全, 両), and the secondary-action verbs (落, 遊, 泳, 投, 打, 受, 取, 助, 配, 返, 追, 流, 注, 消, 化).⁴¹⁹

Combined with grades 1 and 2's contributions, the cumulative grade-1-through-grade-3 set (80 + 160 + 200 = 440 kanji) now covers the full Wikibooks N5 reconstruction plus roughly 78% of the Wikibooks N4 reconstruction.³²

A learner who has mastered grades 1 through 3 is roughly four-fifths of the way through the working N4 kanji set. "How Many Kanji Do You Need? A Realistic Count" frames what that 440-character milestone actually unlocks.

Where grade 3 and JLPT diverge

The 51 grade-3 kanji that sit at N2 or higher in the combined Wikibooks-and-JLPTsensei reconstruction are the largest divergence between MEXT and the working JLPT picture. They include:

• prefix kanji that the JLPT delays (第, 倍, 央)
• everyday public-place kanji that the JLPT delays despite their high real-world frequency (駅, 階, 鉄, 橋, 港, 庫, 宮)
• body kanji (鼻, 皮, 血)
• nature-and-geography kanji (湖, 島, 波, 氷, 温, 緑, 葉, 根, 球, 炭, 畑, 皿, 豆, 羊)
• several abstract or formal kanji (詩, 章, 笛, 筆, 整, 帳, 級, 委, 童, 練)⁴¹⁹³²

The Tanos reconstruction places many of these characters at N3 explicitly. The disagreement between reconstructions is endemic to the unofficial-list ecosystem.¹⁸

The reverse mismatch, Wikibooks-N4 characters not at grade 3 or earlier, is now small. Roughly 40 characters on the Wikibooks N4 list are not in the cumulative grade-1-through-grade-3 set. Representative examples include 不, 飯, 別, 借, 働, 建, 産, 試, 説, 英, 菜, 験.³²

These characters appear at grades 4 through 6 in the kyōiku set.

The cumulative grade-1-through-grade-3 set fully covers any community N5 reconstruction and covers the bulk of N4. This makes grade 3 a useful coverage checkpoint for any L2 learner targeting the N4 milestone.

Good to know

Grade 3 is the year the on'yomi-prediction trick starts working

At grade 1, most kanji were standalone pictographs (山, 川, 月). At grade 2, the first phono-semantic pairs appeared (青 / 晴, 寺 / 時), but no pair had three or more members in the year's allocation.

Grade 3 is the first year a four-member phonetic series with all members in the year's allocation appears: 主 → 注 / 住 / 柱, all four characters at grade 3 and all four sharing シュ / チュウ / ジュウ / チュウ on'yomi.⁷¹¹

The 主-series is the canonical worked example for the on'yomi-prediction skill. A learner who sees 注, 住, or 柱 for the first time can predict the on'yomi from the 主 phonetic component, then confirm by dictionary.

The skill is not universal: 由 → 油 works (both ユ), but 由 → 笛 breaks (笛 is テキ).¹¹¹² The prediction is best taught as a probabilistic shortcut. "How to Predict the Reading of an Unknown Kanji Compound: The On+On Default, Jūbako, Yutō, and the Look-It-Up Bucket" walks through the workflow.

Stroke counts climb into the 10-to-14-stroke band

Grade 2's modal band was 6 to 9 strokes. Grade 3's modal band is 10 to 14 strokes, with characters like 横 (15), 緑 (14), 練 (14), 様 (14), 暗 (13), 漢 (13), 路 (13), 銀 (14), 詩 (13), 福 (13) sitting in the 13-to-15 range.¹³¹⁴ The ceiling rises to 18 strokes (題), with 薬, 整, and 館 at 16.

The increase reflects the introduction of compound-radical kanji: characters with two non-trivial components (橋 = 木 + 喬, 緑 = 糸 + 录) require more strokes than the pictographs of grades 1 and 2.¹²¹¹

The practical takeaway is that median writing-time per grade-3 character is roughly 50% longer than grade 2. Stroke-order memorization for 11-to-14-stroke characters, where the order is less obvious, is the new pain point.¹⁴ "How to Count Kanji Strokes (画数): The Eight Basic Strokes Plus the Corner, Hook, and Enclosure Rules" covers the counting conventions when an unfamiliar character pushes back.

The first prefix and suffix kanji a learner can read as morphemes

The grade-3 set introduces five prefix-or-suffix kanji that modify whatever compound they sit in rather than carrying a free-standing noun meaning: 第 (ordinal prefix, as in 第一, 第二, 第三), 倍 (multiplier suffix, as in 二倍, 三倍), 全 (totalizing prefix, as in 全員, 全部, 全国), 両 (dual prefix, as in 両親, 両方, 両側), 化 (-ization suffix, as in 文化, 変化, 美化).¹⁵¹²

This is the year a learner can start parsing two-kanji compounds as morpheme-plus-morpheme rather than character-plus-character.

The negation prefix 不 (fu-) is sometimes mistakenly cited as a grade-3 character. It sits at grade 4 per the MEXT 学年別漢字配当表 and is not in the grade-3 allocation.⁷²

The morphological-reading approach this prefix-and-suffix set unlocks is the heart of the kanji-in-context method.

Readings stay noisy and grade-1 高-reading kanji now collide with themselves

High-reading-count kanji from grades 1 and 2 (生, 行, 上, 下, 出, 日, 月) reach peak ambiguity at grade 3 because the volume of compounds they appear in finally overwhelms the "one kanji, one reading" assumption.

The grade-1 kanji 生 alone carries over 150 attested readings across the major dictionaries. Even the small subset used in grade-3-level compounds already includes セイ (生活, 学生), ショウ (一生), い-きる (生きる), い-かす (生かす), う-まれる (生まれる), は-える (生える), and き / なま in mixed forms.¹²¹⁵ "Reading 生: The Kanji With Over 150 Attested Readings" catalogues the full set.

Grade-3 kanji themselves carry multi-reading loads: 主 carries シュ, ス, ぬし, おも; 重 carries ジュウ, チョウ, え, おも-い, かさ-ねる; 開 carries カイ, ひら-く, ひら-ける, あ-く, あ-ける; 業 carries ギョウ, ゴウ, わざ; 着 carries チャク, ジャク, き-る, き-せる, つ-く, つ-ける.¹⁷¹⁵

The implication for an L2 learner is direct: the "one kanji, one reading" mental model breaks decisively at grade 3. The reading is predictable from the compound, not from the kanji in isolation. "On'yomi vs. Kun'yomi: The Two-Reading System Behind Every Kanji" lays out the contextual-disambiguation approach.

How to actually study this list

At 200 characters in a year, and with most of the cumulative N4 burden landing here, grade 3 is the point where pure isolation breaks.¹¹¹⁵

A learner who memorizes 主 in isolation will still struggle with 主人, 主語, 主体, 主に. A learner who memorizes 主人 first will find the related compounds more readable.

Two sound study orders work better than the table's teaching clusters at this volume.

The first is compound-frequency order: start with high-frequency compounds (仕事, 会社, 部屋, 自分, 学校, 時間, 家族, 病院, 質問, 答え), each of which uses 2 to 3 grade-1-through-grade-3 kanji.

The second is phonetic-series order: group the kanji by shared phonetic component (the 主, 反, 寺, 化, 由 series). A learner who masters the on-reading once and applies it across multiple grade-3 characters covers ground efficiently.

The strategic overview in "How to Learn Kanji: A Strategic Overview of Heisig, WaniKani, and Kanji-in-Context" lays out the trade-offs between the major approaches; "A Daily Kanji Study Routine: How Many Kanji per Day, Review-Load Math, and the Three-Block Schedule" covers the review-load arithmetic at this volume.

See also

• Grade 5 Jōyō Kanji (小5): All 193 Fifth-Grade Kanji with Readings, Stroke Counts, and JLPT Mapping
• Grade 6 Jōyō Kanji (小6): All 191 Sixth-Grade Kanji with Readings, Stroke Counts, and JLPT Mapping
• Secondary School Jōyō Kanji (中学校 + 高等学校): The 1,110-Character Set Beyond Elementary
• Jinmeiyō Kanji (人名用漢字): The 863 Name-Use Characters Beyond Jōyō
• Hyōgaiji (表外字): The Kanji Beyond Jōyō and Jinmeiyō
• Rendaku in Kanji Compounds: Why 紙 Becomes -gami

References

Footnotes

1. 文部科学省. 「小学校学習指導要領（平成29年告示）」別表「学年別漢字配当表」. 平成29年3月告示, 平成32年（2020年）4月1日全面実施. https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/new-cs/1385768.htm ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Kyōiku kanji. Wikipedia (English), summarizing the MEXT framework and the 1,026-character total after the 2017 revision. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ky%C5%8Diku_kanji ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶

3. "JLPT Guide / JLPT N4 Kanji." Wikibooks. https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/JLPT_Guide/JLPT_N4_Kanji (limitation; community-maintained reconstruction) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

4. "JLPT N3 Kanji List." JLPTsensei. https://jlptsensei.com/jlpt-n3-kanji-list/ (limitation; secondary reconstruction of an unofficial list) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

5. Japan Foundation and Japan Educational Exchanges and Services. "New Japanese-Language Proficiency Test Guidebook (Executive Summary)." https://www.jlpt.jp/reference/pdf/guidebook_s_e.pdf ↩ ↩²

6. 学年別漢字配当表. Wikipedia (Japanese), citing MEXT 学習指導要領 (H29 告示). https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AD%A6%E5%B9%B4%E5%88%A5%E6%BC%A2%E5%AD%97%E9%85%8D%E5%BD%93%E8%A1%A8 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

7. 学習指導要領LOD. 「小学校学習指導要領 別表 学年別漢字配当表」. 国立教育政策研究所. https://jp-cos.github.io/821/0000100000000 (Machine-readable rendering of the MEXT distribution table, used to confirm membership of specific characters at specific grades.) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

8. "小学3年生で習う漢字200字" (Okadori). Japanese-language reference table for the grade-3 set. https://www.okadori.net/syou3kanji/ (limitation; teaching-school resource, used as cross-check for reading-pair conventions and example compounds, not as a primary authority) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

9. 「小学3年生 漢字一覧」(Ieben). Post-2020-revision Japanese list with readings and example words. https://ieben.net/syou-kanji/2020list-3nen/ (limitation; teaching-school resource, used as a second cross-check for the 200-character set, not as a primary authority) ↩ ↩² ↩³

10. "JLPT N4 Kanji List." JLPTsensei. https://jlptsensei.com/jlpt-n4-kanji-list/ (limitation; secondary reconstruction of an unofficial list) ↩ ↩²

11. Henshall, Kenneth G. A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters. Tuttle Publishing, 1988. (Etymology and component-analysis cross-reference for the phono-semantic worked examples.) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²²

12. 新村出 編. 『広辞苑』第七版. 岩波書店, 2018. (Cross-reference for compound attestation and reading variants.) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴

13. "3rd grade kanji (Nihongo-Pro)." Sortable per-character grid with KANJIDIC2-aligned stroke counts and readings. https://www.nihongo-pro.com/kanji-pal/list/grade/3/strokes (limitation; teaching-resource cross-check, used to verify stroke counts and the 200-character grade-3 set, not as a primary authority) ↩ ↩² ↩³

14. Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group (EDRDG). KANJIDIC2. https://www.edrdg.org/wiki/index.php/KANJIDIC_Project ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

15. 松村明 編. 『大辞林』第四版. 三省堂, 2019. (Standard Japanese dictionary used to verify dominant high-frequency compounds and reading attestation.) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³

16. Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group (EDRDG). JMdict / EDICT. https://www.edrdg.org/jmdict/edict_doc.html ↩

17. 文化審議会国語分科会. 『改定常用漢字表』(内閣告示第二号), 2010. 文化庁. https://www.bunka.go.jp/kokugo_nihongo/sisaku/joho/joho/kijun/naikaku/kanji/ ↩ ↩² ↩³

18. Waller, Jonathan. "JLPT Resources: Kanji." Tanos JLPT site, reconstruction of the pre-2010 JLPT levels mapped onto the current N5–N1 scale. http://www.tanos.co.uk/jlpt/skills/kanji/ (limitation; unofficial reconstruction, widely cited but not endorsed by the JLPT) ↩ ↩²

19. "JLPT Guide / JLPT N3 Kanji." Wikibooks. https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/JLPT_Guide/JLPT_N3_Kanji (limitation; community-maintained reconstruction) ↩ ↩²