On’yomi and kun’yomi: a field guide for real words
When compounds take Chinese-style readings — and when native kun wins.
Most learner frustration with readings comes from expecting one pronunciation per character.
**On’yomi** (音読み) are historically Chinese-derived. They dominate multi-kanji compounds: 日本語（にほんご）, 電車（でんしゃ）, 学生（がくせい）.
**Kun’yomi** (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, common for standalone words and verbs/adjectives with okurigana: 食べる, 高い, 水.
Rules of thumb:
- Two or more kanji glued together → try on first.
- Kanji + hiragana ending → try kun first.
- Names and place names break every rule — check a dictionary.
On KanjiStroke, each character page lists both reading sets. The furigana converter uses dictionary matches plus common compounds so you can paste a sentence and see ruby annotations quickly. Use it to audit study notes, not as a replacement for learning compounds in context.