Japanese

Heisig's Remembering the Kanji (RTK) 6th Edition

2,200cards
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one
一
One
In Chinese characters, the number one is laid on its side, unlike the Roman numeral I which stands upright. As you would expect, it is written from left to right.
* As a primitive element, the key-word meaning is discarded, and the single horizontal stroke takes on the meaning of floor or ceiling, depending on its position: if it stands above another primitive, it means ceiling; if below, floor.
一度 (いちど), 一座 (いちざ), 第一 (だいいち), 一 (ひと), 一つ (ひと.つ)
two
二
two
Like the Roman numeral II, which reduplicates the numeral I, the kanji for two is a simple reduplication of the horizontal stroke that means one. The order of writing goes from above to below, with the first stroke slightly shorter.
二 (ふた), 二つ (ふた.つ)
three
三
three
And like the Roman numeral III, which triples the numeral I, the kanji for three simply triples the single horizontal stroke. In writing it, think of "1 + 2 = 3" (一 + 二 = 三) in order to keep the middle stroke shorter.
三 (み), 三つ (み.つ), 三つ (みっ.つ)
four
四
four, pent in, human legs
This character is composed of two primitive elements, mouth and human legs, both of which we will meet in the coming lessons. Assuming that you already knew how to write this kanji, we will pass over the "story" connected with it until later. Note how the second stroke is written left-to-right and then top-to-bottom. This is consistent with what we have already seen in the first three numbers and leads us to a general principle that will be helpful when we come to more complic
四 (よ), 四つ (よ.つ), 四つ (よっ.つ), 四 (よん)
five
五
five
As with four, we shall postpone learning the primitive elements that make up this character. Note how the general principle we just learned in the preceding frame applies to the writing of the character for five.
五 (いつ), 五つ (いつ.つ)
six
六
six, top hat, animal legs
The primitives here are top hat and animal legs. Once again, we glide over them until later.
六 (む), 六つ (む.つ), 六つ (むっ.つ)

Description

This deck includes all 2200 kanji of the book Remembering the Kanji 1, 6th Edition, by James W. Heisig. It includes various details about the each kanji, including the book's stories.

Following the Heisig's method, the meaning is showed on the front side of the card. The idea is to require a full recall of the kanji instead of simple recognition. Trying to write each kanji during the reviews is a good approach.

Various fields are included the deck but not in the cards' layout. You may edit it to fit your preferences.

Author@Honto
PriceFree
Version1
Last updatedMay 20, 2026

Card fields

FieldExample
Keyword
one
Order
1
Kanji
一
Stroke diagram
Hint
Constituents
One
Strokes count
1
Lesson Number
1
Heisig story
In Chinese characters, the number one is laid on its side, unlike the Roman numeral I which stands upright. As you would expect, it is written from left to right.
Heisig comment
* As a primitive element, the key-word meaning is discarded, and the single horizontal stroke takes on the meaning of floor or ceiling, depending on its position: if it stands above another primitive, it means ceiling; if below, floor.
Koohii story 1
One down, 2041 to go. ;).
Koohii story 2
To learn this one kanji, I recommend (#2000) this story : Bambi is in a cave, eating a side-dish of salad when trying to learn the kanjis. As he succeed to learn the kanji for "one", you get jealous and decide to shoot him with a slingshot. At this moment you hear the police coming, so you hurriedly burn all the proofs into a fire (so you remove the key-words Bambi, slingshot and fire from recommend). So that when the police arrives, the only remaining clue is a single horizontal bar.
JLPT Level
5
On
イチ、イツ
Kun
ひと-、ひと.つ
Words
一々(いちいち): one by one, separately
一概に(いちがいに): unconditionally, as a rule
一言(いちげん): single word
一見(いちげん): unfamiliar, never before met
一日(いちじつ): one day, first of month
一定(いちじょう): fixed, settled, definite, uniform, regularized, defined, standardized, certain, prescribed
一同(いちどう): all present, all concerned, all of us
一人(いちにん): one person
一部(いちぶ): one copy e.g. of a document, a part, partly, some
一部分(いちぶぶん): a part
一別(いちべつ): parting
一面(いちめん): one side, one phase, fr
Reading examples
一度 (いちど), 一座 (いちざ), 第一 (だいいち), 一 (ひと), 一つ (ひと.つ)

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