DRAW KANJI · HANDWRITING LOOKUP · LOCAL RECOGNITION

Japanese Kanji Handwriting Recognition

Draw one Kanji you cannot read or type. The browser compares its shape with Japanese reference patterns and returns similar candidates linked to readings, radical data, and stroke order.

KANJI CANVAS / LOCAL MATCHING

Draw one Japanese Kanji

Draw one Kanji in the square

Drawing area

One character at a time

Fill the square and preserve the relative position of each stroke. Strict stroke order is not required, but clear separated strokes improve the result.

Kanji candidates

Select the closest character to open its Japanese dictionary details.

Draw one character and select Recognize to see candidates.

Select a candidate to review readings, radical, stroke count, and meanings.

Candidates are recognized locally with open-source Kanji Canvas / okanjirec; dictionary details use EDRDG KANJIDIC2. Recognition source and MIT licence

LOOK UP AN UNKNOWN KANJI BY DRAWING

Draw a Kanji when you can see it but cannot read it

Handwriting lookup works well for print books, signs, screenshots, and text you cannot copy. Confirm the shape from candidates, then continue to readings and Japanese writing order.

Flexible stroke matching

The recognizer compares stroke shapes and positions while tolerating some stroke-count and stroke-order differences.

Candidates with dictionary details

Selecting a candidate shows Japanese readings, radical, total strokes, and common English meanings.

Handwriting stays in your browser

Reference patterns load on demand from a pinned CDN file; your drawn points are not sent to a recognition API.

Kanji handwriting recognition questions

Must I use the correct stroke order?

Not exactly, although closer stroke direction, shape, and placement generally produce better candidates.

Why does the first recognition take longer?

The first drawing triggers a verified download of about 6.7 MB of Japanese reference patterns. Browser caching helps later visits.

Is my handwriting uploaded?

No. Strokes and matching remain in this browser. Only the pinned public pattern file is downloaded.