同文 · same script
You can already read half of it.
Chinese and Japanese are unrelated languages that share a writing system and thousands of words Japan borrowed from China, and that China borrowed back. Tongwen teaches each language to readers of the other through what they share, and is honest about where sharing ends.
472words, each tagged and sourced
196characters in three standard forms
10reading patterns, stated conservatively
Choose your direction
Five ways a word can cross
Same characters do not always mean the same thing. Every word says which of these it is.
- 41False friendSame characters, a different meaning. Learn these first.
- 54Shifted meaningSame characters, a related meaning that has drifted. Close, but check.
- 79Return loan (wasei-kango)Modern terms Japan coined or repurposed in kanji, which Chinese then borrowed back.
- 229Same wordSame characters, same core meaning. Free vocabulary.
- 69Different wordThe two languages use different words. Shared characters won't help here.
What's inside
- WordsSearch by characters, kana, pinyin or English. Filter false friends, return loans and words that simply differ.
- Characters发 發 発, 气 氣 気: the simplified, traditional and Japanese forms side by side, and the one-character traps.
- ReadingsWhy 学 is xué but gaku: the regular correspondences between Middle Chinese, Mandarin and on'yomi.
- PracticeSpaced review plus false-friend, reading-guess and form-matching quizzes, all direction-aware.