This research examined whether participants formed an implicit or explicit preference for studied compound kanji words. First the participants ( N =30) studied five compound words. Second, they rated the studied and five not-studied compound words explicitly. Finally, the participants performed an Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) that combined a recognition judgment (old vs. new) and a valence judgment (pleasant vs. unpleasant). The results showed an implicit preference for studied words, but not an explicit preference.