Reading original Japanese texts and the use of Japanese dictionaries can be quite time-consuming, especially because Japanese characters generally have one or more Chinese (on) readings (derived from the original Chinese characters and its reading) and native Japanese (kun) readings. Many Japanese characters contain a sound-indicating part ( a 'phonetic element') which is helpful in determining the Chinese (on) reading. A good knowledge of a selection of phonetic elements in Japanese characters will enable the student of Japanese as a second language to easier memorise and recognise the Chinese (on) reading of a character and to more quickly use (electronic) dictionaries. This will make the "jump" from reading textbooks to reading original Japanese texts easier. This book provides the user with a selection of 349 phonetic elements with example characters to illustrate the phonetic element. In addition, the book provides for each phonetic element, if available, a reference to such phonetic element in the Japanese-English Nelson dictionary, the Chinese-English Mathews dictionary and the list of Chinese phonetic elements in Chinese characters compiled by W E Soothill in 1914. These references will make the book useful for students and scholars who have an interest in Japanese phonology and the process by which the readings of Chinese characters were adapted to the Japanese phonetic system.