N5 kanji

A kanji is neither a letter nor a word: it is a sign with a meaning and, almost always, two readings. The Chinese one (on), used in compounds, and the Japanese one (kun), used when the kanji stands alone or takes kana after it. 月 reads つき when it is the moon and げつ in 月曜日, Monday. That is why a kanji is best learnt inside a word rather than in a list: 人 alone is “person”, but 一人 is ひとり and 日本人 is にほんじん. The hundred-odd of N5 are the ones on every sign: numbers, days, up, down, enter, exit.