Genkouyoushi Paper Printable: Free PDF to Download

You can download a free genkouyoushi paper printable right here as a PDF, and it works for kanji, hiragana, and katakana practice. Pick A4 or Letter, print it at full size, and you are ready to write in the next few minutes.

Below the download you will also find how to read the grid, where to put punctuation and small kana, and a few common mistakes to avoid. There is no single right way to practice. Do what feels right for you.

What is genkouyoushi paper

Genkouyoushi (原稿用紙) is Japanese manuscript paper. It is a grid of equal squares, and you write one character in each square. The grid keeps your kanji, hiragana, and katakana the same size and evenly spaced.

A traditional sheet has 400 squares, laid out as a 20x20 grid. Students in Japan use it for essays and writing assignments, and learners around the world use it to practice neat, balanced characters.

The idea is simple. One box, one character. When every character sits in its own square, your writing stays tidy and easy to read, which is exactly what you want while you are still building muscle memory.

Download our free genkouyoushi paper printable (PDF)

These PDFs are free to download and print. No email, no sign-up, no affiliate hoops. Print as many copies as you like.

Template	Grid	Best for
A4 portrait, 20x20	400 squares	Standard practice and essays
A4 portrait, 10x10	100 larger squares	Careful kanji and beginners
A4 landscape, 20x20	Wide layout	Horizontal writing practice
Letter portrait, 20x20	400 squares	United States and Canada printers
Letter portrait, 10x10	100 larger squares	Larger, slower handwriting
Letter landscape, 20x20	Wide layout	Horizontal writing practice

You can also grab matching kana and kanji sheets from our free printable writing practice sheets, which pair well with blank genkouyoushi for warming up before you write freely.

Which template to pick: A4 vs Letter, portrait vs landscape, grid sizes

The right template depends on your paper, your printer, and what you are practicing. Here is a quick way to choose.

• A4 vs Letter: Use A4 if you are in Japan, Europe, or most of the world. Use Letter if you are in the United States or Canada. The grid is the same; only the page size and margins differ.
• Portrait vs landscape: Choose portrait for traditional vertical writing. Choose landscape if you prefer horizontal lines that read left to right.
• Grid size: A 20x20 grid is the classic layout with smaller boxes and more characters per page. A 10x10 grid gives you larger boxes, which is friendlier when you are learning a character’s shape and stroke order.

If you are not sure, start with A4 (or Letter) portrait in a 10x10 grid. The bigger boxes make it easier to get proportions right, and you can move to 20x20 once your characters feel steady.

How to print genkouyoushi paper at home

Printing is quick, but two settings make the difference between even squares and a stretched grid.

1. Open the PDF in your usual reader.
2. In the print dialog, set scaling to Actual Size or 100 percent. Do not use Fit to Page, which can shrink or stretch the squares unevenly.
3. Check that margins are not cutting off the outer grid lines. A small preview usually shows this.
4. Choose your paper size to match the file, A4 with A4 and Letter with Letter.
5. Print one test page first, then run the rest once it looks right.

Plain white paper is fine. A slightly heavier paper feels nicer under a pen or pencil, but it is not required.

How to use genkouyoushi paper, step by step

Here is the simplest way to start writing, using the traditional vertical layout.

1. Hold the paper in portrait orientation.
2. Find the top box of the rightmost column. That is where your first character goes.
3. Write one character per square, moving down the column.
4. When you reach the bottom, move to the next column on the left and start again from the top.
5. Keep each character centered and balanced so it fills its box evenly.

This small diagram shows how the columns flow. Read each column top to bottom, then move left.

Column 3 (third)	Column 2 (second)	Column 1 (first, start here)
↓	↓	START → ↓
↓	↓	↓
↓	↓	↓

So the very first character sits in the top-right corner, and you work down and to the left from there.

A common beginner slip is starting in the top-left corner like English. On vertical genkouyoushi, you start on the right. You can see the strokes in motion with our animated stroke-order demo if you want a model before you write.

Writing direction: vertical (tategaki) and horizontal (yokogaki)

Genkouyoushi supports two directions, and both are correct.

• Tategaki (vertical): You write top to bottom, and columns move right to left. This is the traditional style for essays, letters, and literature.
• Yokogaki (horizontal): You write left to right, top to bottom, like English. This is common for textbooks, science, and anything with numbers or Latin letters.

Feature	Tategaki (vertical)	Yokogaki (horizontal)
Reading flow	Top to bottom	Left to right
Line order	Right to left	Top to bottom
First character	Top-right box	Top-left box
Common use	Essays, literature	Textbooks, mixed text

If you are practicing for a class in Japan, vertical is the usual default. For everyday note-taking, horizontal is perfectly fine. Pick the one that matches your goal.

Where punctuation, small kana, and furigana go

These details are easy to miss, so here are the rules most printable pages skip.

• Punctuation: A period (。) and comma (、) each take their own box. They do not share a square with a character. In vertical writing, place them toward the top-right of the box.
• Small kana: Small kana like っ, ゃ, ゅ, and ょ also take a full box. In vertical writing they sit toward the upper-right of the square. In horizontal writing they sit toward the lower-left.
• Long vowel mark: In katakana, the long vowel mark (ー) is a horizontal dash in yokogaki. In tategaki it rotates to a vertical line running down the box.
• Furigana: Small reading hints go to the right of the character in vertical writing, and above the character in horizontal writing. They are written smaller and do not take their own grid box.
• Small marks at line starts: Traditionally, a closing mark like 。should not begin a new column. If it would, you tuck it into the previous box’s corner instead.

A quick beginner checklist: one character per box, punctuation in its own box, small kana shifted to the corner, and the right starting corner for your direction.

Genkouyoushi for kanji vs hiragana and katakana practice

The same grid works for all three scripts, with small differences in feel.

Script	Characters to learn	How the grid helps
Hiragana	46 basic characters	Teaches balanced curves and spacing early
Katakana	46 basic characters	Keeps the sharper, straighter shapes even
Kanji	Hundreds to a few thousand	Keeps complex characters from crowding or shrinking

For kanji, the box is especially useful. Complex characters have many strokes, and the square reminds you to keep every part in proportion rather than letting one side run large.

For hiragana and katakana, the grid builds good habits before you start writing full sentences. Practicing kana in the same paper you will later use for kanji makes the move feel natural.

Common questions about genkouyoushi paper

Short answers to the things learners ask most.

• Why 400 squares? The 20x20 layout has been the standard for essays in Japan for a long time, so word counts are often given in pages of 400.
• Do I need special paper? No. Any printer paper works. Heavier paper just feels nicer.
• Can I write in pen? Yes. Pencil is forgiving while you learn, and pen is good once you feel confident.
• Is 10x10 or 20x20 better for beginners? The larger 10x10 boxes are easier at first. Move to 20x20 when your characters feel steady.

Practicing on screen when you are away from a printer

Sometimes you do not have a printer, or you just want to practice on the bus. Tracing characters on a screen is a fine way to keep going, and it pairs well with paper.

On a phone or tablet, you can follow stroke-order guides with your finger, get instant feedback, and pick up where you left off. Then, when you are back at a desk, blank genkouyoushi lets you write the same characters from memory. Both kinds of practice support each other.

You can learn more about scripts, stroke order, and study routines at our learn hub, or start from the home page.

How Kana Conbini can help

Kana Conbini is a free-to-start Japanese-learning app, and it is one friendly option among many for handwriting and reading practice.

• Write Kanji mode lets you trace all 46 hiragana, 46 katakana, and 2,126 kanji by hand in correct stroke order, with on-screen guides that fade as you improve.
• Conbini Run is a reading game where you recognize hiragana, katakana, and kanji to serve customers, so recognition and handwriting grow together.
• 10,000+ real vocabulary words across the full JLPT range, N5 to N1, each with native Japanese voice.
• Smart reviews bring each character and word back right before you would forget it, so practice sticks.
• Free to start, no subscription, on iPhone and Android, so you can pair it with your printed genkouyoushi whenever it suits you.