Kanji that look alike, and how to tell them apart

At some point every learner reads 未 as 末, or 待 as 持, and gets a sentence completely wrong. It isn’t carelessness. Some kanji really do differ by a single stroke, or by which of two lines is longer. The fix is to know exactly where to look.

One line longer than the other

• 未 and 末. In 末 (matsu, end, as in 週末 shūmatsu, weekend) the top line is the longer one, as if the end sticks out. In 未 (mi, not yet, as in 未来 mirai, future) the top line is shorter.
• 土 and 士. 土 (tsuchi, earth, as in 土曜日 doyōbi, Saturday) has the longer line at the bottom, like the ground. 士 (shi, a gentleman or warrior, as in 武士 bushi and 弁護士 bengoshi, lawyer) has the longer line at the top.
• 人 and 入. In 人 (hito, person) the left-hand stroke is the long sweep. In 入 (hairu, enter, as in 入口 iriguchi, entrance) the right-hand stroke is the long one, and the left is short.

One small extra stroke

• 日, 目, 白 and 自. 日 (sun, day) has one line across the middle and 目 (eye) has two. Add a short stroke on top and 日 becomes 白 (shiro, white), and 目 becomes 自 (ji, self).
• 大, 太 and 犬. Add a dot inside at the bottom of 大 (big) and you get 太 (futoi, thick, as in 太陽 taiyō, the sun). Put the dot at the top right instead and you get 犬 (inu, dog).
• 王 and 玉. 玉 (tama, ball or jewel) is 王 (king) with a dot at the bottom right.
• 午 and 牛. In 牛 (ushi, cow) the vertical stroke pokes through the top. In 午 (go, noon, as in 午後 gogo, afternoon) it doesn’t.
• 見 and 貝. 見 (miru, see) ends in two legs. 貝 (kai, shellfish) ends in two short strokes.

Same shape, different component

These look alike because they share a part, and the other part tells you which is which. Components are worth learning for exactly this reason. There’s more on them in how to work out a kanji you don’t know.

• 待, 持 and 特. All three share 寺 on the right. The left side decides it: 彳, “going”, gives 待 (matsu, wait), 扌, “hand”, gives 持 (motsu, hold), and 牛, “cow”, gives 特 (toku, special).
• 休 and 体. Both start with 亻, person. A person leaning on a tree, 木, is 休 (yasumu, rest). With 本 instead, it’s 体 (karada, body).
• 間, 問 and 聞. All three sit inside 門, a gate. With 日, the sun, it’s 間 (aida, between). With 口, a mouth, it’s 問 (mon, question). With 耳, an ear, it’s 聞 (kiku, hear).
• 右 and 石. 右 (migi, right) has its first two strokes crossing, with 口 underneath. 石 (ishi, stone) has a flat line on top, with a slanted stroke hanging beneath it like a cliff.

How to make the difference stick

1. Learn them as pairs. Once you know 未 and 末 both exist, you start checking which one you’re looking at.
2. Name the difference out loud. “End is long on top” is easier to recall than a vague picture.
3. Learn them in words. 未来 and 週末 are hard to mix up once you know both words.
4. Watch how they’re written. Stroke order makes the difference physical. You feel which line is longer as you write it.

Practise with a detective’s eye

Kanji Detective asks you to notice exactly these details. One of the clues is a component the kanji contains, which is how 待 and 持 get told apart, and others give a word the kanji appears in and an example sentence. When the case closes, the case file shows the kanji’s stroke order step by step, alongside its readings and example words. The daily case is free, and the same for every player in the world.