Kanji: Japanese Word Search

Kanji Search turns time with kanji into a puzzle you'll actually want to play — think classic Word Search, but with kanji.

Love Japanese, or learning it? It's a relaxing way to meet real kanji every day — and a satisfying brain-teaser if you just love puzzles.

HOW IT PLAYS
Every board gives you a set of target kanji and a grid of components. Swipe to connect the right pieces and complete each kanji — easy to pick up, satisfying to master. As you find one, you see its meaning and watch it drawn stroke by stroke, so you absorb real Japanese while you play.

WRITE IT, DON'T JUST FIND IT
Learn to write kanji — not just recognize them. Tap any kanji you've found to open the practice pad and trace it stroke by stroke over a guide, in the correct order and direction. Draw a stroke right in one clean pass and it locks in; miss and it resets — so the shape really sticks. Going from finding a word to writing it is where kanji start to feel like yours.

A QUICK EXAMPLE
森 "forest" = 木 + 木 + 木 (three trees). 休 "rest" = 亻 (person) + 木 (tree). Every kanji breaks into pieces like these — find them on the grid.

FOR ENTHUSIASTS & LEARNERS
• Real kanji with their meanings
• Stroke-by-stroke order for every kanji
• Spans JLPT levels, school grades, radicals and frequency

FOUR DIFFICULTIES
From breezy Easy boards to brain-bending Insane, there's a challenge for every level — whether you're prepping for the JLPT or just unwinding.

FEATURES
• Hundreds of kanji to discover
• Drag-to-find, word-search-style gameplay
• Trace-to-write practice — draw each kanji stroke by stroke, in order
• Meaning and stroke-order clue cards — toggle anytime
• Achievements and cloud save to track your progress
• Fully offline — no account, no internet needed
• Free to play, with an optional ad-free upgrade

Whether you're studying for the JLPT, brushing up your kanji, or simply after a calm, clever puzzle, Kanji Search makes every match a tiny lesson.

Download and start finding — and writing — kanji today.

Questions, ideas or bugs? Email us at [email protected]

Kanji stroke data from KanjiVG (© Ulrich Apel / the KanjiVG project), used under CC BY-SA 3.0.