What is okurigana?

Okurigana (送り仮名) are the kana written right after a kanji to complete a word: the べる in 食べる, the しい in 新しい. They carry the parts of the word that change, such as verb endings, and they often tell you which reading the kanji takes.

What does okurigana do?

• Shows inflection. 食べる, 食べた, 食べない: the kanji stays, the kana changes.
• Picks the reading. 上 is あ in 上がる and のぼ in 上る. The kana tell you which word you’re looking at.
• Separates words. 生 alone could be many things; 生きる is いきる, 生まれる is うまれる.

Okurigana vs furigana

	Okurigana	Furigana
What	Part of the spelling	Reading aid
Where	After the kanji, same size	Small, above or beside
Example	新しい	新(あたら)しい

How do you remember where the kanji stops?

1. Learn the word, not the kanji. Memorise 新しい as one unit. See kanji compounds for the same idea with two-kanji words.
2. Verbs: the changing part is kana. 書く, 書かない, 書きます. The kanji covers the stem.
3. Adjectives in い: most keep い in kana, and many that end in しい keep しい (新しい, 楽しい).
4. Watch the pairs. 上がる / 上げる, 下がる / 下げる. Same kanji, different verb.

Rules have exceptions, and Japan’s official guideline allows some alternatives, so treat these as tips, not law.

Why does it matter on the JLPT?

Orthography questions, which appear from N5 to N2, ask you to pick the kanji spelling of a word. Options can differ in their kana. Details in how kanji are tested on the JLPT.

Kanji Mnemonics (my app, so weigh my opinion accordingly) covers N5 through N1 with one keyword, one story and one picture per kanji, readings and example words, a flashcard quiz in both directions and progress per level. It works offline. Lesson 1 is free; the rest needs Pro (weekly, monthly or yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase). See the app page, the App Store listing or all my apps. The app’s example words show each kanji in real words, which is where okurigana live.