漢字Kanji
Whether you're just starting to learn Japanese or you have been studying for a while, you'll quickly find that it is crucial to be able to quickly read the Chinese characters that the written language uses to express many complex ideas: Kanji.
Especially if you're just beginning your Japanese journey, we recommend starting with our Reading and Writing in Japanese series to learn more about how Kanji functions and how it differs from the English alphabet you're reading this in right now.
Once you have the basics down, see below for some resources that will help you to memorize Kanji characters and practice their writing, sourced from Wikipedia and Japanese learning site ちびむすドリル.
Kyouiku Kanji List
In Japan, Kanji are learned according to the 教育漢字 (kyouiku kanji, education Kanji) list. The Kyouiku Kanji list is maintained by the Japanese Ministry of Education and describes which Kanji should be learned by Japanese schoolchildren at each grade level up to the sixth grade. In total, the list currently consists of 1,026 Kanji, which can seem intimidating, but becomes more manageable when you look at the list by grade level, and realize that by the time a Japanese child is 11 they have likely mastered all of those characters and more.
Here you can find the full list of Kyouiku Kanji hosted by Wikipedia, broken down by grade level and showing the characters' writing and pronounciations. It is not recommended to use this list for study, but it can be useful to orient yourself to the types of Kanji that are learned at each grade level in Japan.
Grade-Level Kanji Flashcards
Below you can find PDFs featuring flashcards for the Kyouiku Kanji, one for each grade level. As the target audience for these flashcards are Japanese schoolchildren, they are mostly focused around learning the meanings of each Kanji, using images and some contextual examples. The cards also feature the pronounciation of the characters written in Hiragana, however they may not be useful for that purpose for beginning Japanese students.
The flashcards:
Jyouyou Kanji List
Beyond the Kyouiku Kanji list, the Japanese Ministry of Education manages a list of 2,136 characters called the 常用漢字 (jyouyou kanji, standard use kanji). This list includes all of the Kyouiku Kanji as well as 1,110 additional characters taught in Japanese secondary school. Overall, this list consists of all characters that a graduate of Japanese compulsory education (through grade 9) should know, and include the vast majority of what you would need to read Japanese government documents and newspapers.
Here you can find the full list of Jyouyou Kanji hosted by Wikipedia, sortable by official number, grade level, and other aspects and showing the characters' writing and pronounciations.