If I misunderstand your question, I'm sorry.
Almost Japanese people recognize kanji as form 形(かたち).
I think It says the same thing in English. English country's people can speak a word, but sometime they don't know its spell.
Kanji is same! Japanese people can read a word without writing.
For example 恋をする。(Fall in love)
Some people can't write 恋, but they can understand the mean. Because they remember the form of 恋.
So, I recommend you to read many easy Japanese book.
Thank you for reading.