Practical choices for learners writing sentences, journals, and JLPT answers.
Japanese mixes three scripts on purpose. Knowing when to prefer kanji versus kana makes your writing readable and exam-safe.
**Prefer kanji** for content words you already studied (nouns, verb stems, i-adjectives). It reduces ambiguity: はし could be bridge, chopsticks, or edge — 橋 / 箸 / 端 disambiguate.
**Prefer kana** for particles (は, が, を), verb endings, and words normally taught in kana (ありがとう, きれい in many beginner texts). Over-kanji-ifying beginner prose looks unnatural.
**JLPT tip:** Reading sections assume standard orthography. If you only recognise a word in hiragana, drill the kanji form with stroke order so recognition flips both ways.
**Practice loop:** read a short sentence → convert with the furigana tool → rewrite it by hand with correct kanji from worksheets → check lookalikes if any character felt shaky.
Kanji carries meaning density; kana carries grammar. Balance both and your notes start looking like real Japanese instead of a romanisation crib.