How to practice with KanjiSteps
KanjiSteps lets you study the writing sequence of Japanese characters in a sentence you choose. Keep a pen and paper beside the screen so you can copy each character as its strokes appear.
Start with a short sentence
Paste Japanese text into the sentence box. The sentence and character list update as you type. Start with a few characters so you have time to notice the shape and direction of each stroke. Spaces and punctuation are skipped in practice.
Follow one stroke at a time
The red moving marker shows where the current stroke travels. Black lines are completed strokes, and pale lines show what is still to come. Replay a stroke when you want to watch its direction again. Use “Play whole character” to see the strokes in sequence, then copy the character on paper.
Use Left and Right to move between characters, Up and Down to move between strokes, and Space to replay the current stroke. Click outside the sentence box before using these shortcuts. The on-screen buttons work on phones and tablets too.
Use furigana for reading practice
Small hiragana readings appear above words containing kanji. Click one of those small blue characters to practice its shape. This opens a separate reading practice view, so the main sentence’s character list stays the same. Choose “Return to sentence practice” when you are ready to continue.
The readings are generated automatically. Japanese words can have several readings, and names or unusual words may be interpreted incorrectly. Open “Correct furigana readings” if you need to change a reading.
Listen, then write again
“Listen to sentence” uses a Japanese voice provided by your browser or device. Try the slow speed, follow the sentence, and then copy a few characters again. Voice availability depends on your device; you may need to enable or install a Japanese voice in its settings.
Know what the tool covers
The bundled stroke data covers 6,704 characters, including kanji, hiragana and katakana. If a character is missing, the page explains that and lets you continue. The tool demonstrates stroke order; it does not grade your handwriting or check pen input.