常用漢字

• Reading: じょうようかんじ
• Romaji: jōyō kanji
• Kanji breakdown: 常用 (jōyō) — common use, everyday; 漢字 (kanji) — Chinese characters
• Pronunciation: /dʑoː.joː.ka.ɴ.dʑi/

Meaning

Jōyō kanji; the official list of commonly used Chinese characters in contemporary Japanese.

The list of 2136 kanji designated by the Japanese government for use in everyday written communication, including newspapers, official documents, and education. First established in 1946 as the 当用漢字 list and revised to the current 常用漢字 in 1981, with an updated list of 2136 characters issued in 2010. Mastery of 常用漢字 is a key benchmark for Japanese literacy.

Examples

1. 常用漢字は現代日本語で広く使われる漢字を国が定めた基準であり、現在2136字が指定されている。 The jōyō kanji are the government-designated standard of kanji widely used in modern Japanese, with 2136 characters currently designated.
2. 新聞やテレビのテロップには原則として常用漢字が使用される。 In principle, newspapers and television captions use only jōyō kanji.
3. JLPT N1を目指す学習者は、常用漢字の大部分をマスターすることが求められる。 Learners aiming for JLPT N1 are required to master the majority of the jōyō kanji.

Usage Guide

Context: education, linguistics, Japanese language policy

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

Compound of 常用 (jōyō, common use/everyday use) and 漢字 (kanji, Chinese characters). The list was first promulgated by the Japanese government in 1946 to standardise and rationalise kanji usage in the postwar era, replacing the prewar 標準漢字 and then the 当用漢字.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern (postwar)

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal