About Japanese Kanji Character

About Japanese Kanji Character
Japanese Kanji characters are originated in China, and come to Japan around the 5th century.

Each Kanji character represents several meanings, and commonly pronounced in several ways depending on the conbination and context.

Now many Kanji characters are different from the original ones from China, most of them have different pronunciation from Chinese ones, and some of those characters are simplified to be used in Japan. However, the meanings of each Kanji still remains the same as those in China, so most Japanese people can guess some Chinese words when they are written, even though they can not speak or listen.

There are around 50,000 Kanji characters. 1945 of them are defined as "common used Kanji" and 1006 of them are learned at elementary school.