I'm having a bit of trouble learning kanji. Vocabulary is easy to learn,… - Feed Post by tetsuya21

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  AinurRifaA

  Kanji is the simplest of hanzi
  

  October 9, 2014 at 3:18pm
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  azza3695

  i just keep taking tests to memorize, tho im actually yet to learn hirigana :3

  October 9, 2014 at 4:11pm
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  tetsuya21

  Thanks azza3695, I'll give it a try.
  
  Thanks again taking the time to comment, I really appreciate.

  October 9, 2014 at 10:40pm
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  Kisame217

  I would recommend learning grammar and picking up kanji/vocab on the way.It's working for me.

  October 10, 2014 at 2:01am
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  tetsuya21

  Thanks Kisame217, I think using taking your advice and azza3695's will suit me best.
  
  Thank you both again for helping, I really appreciate it.
  
  Thanks again.

  October 10, 2014 at 5:33am
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  SamNatsumi

  Tae Kim's guide to learning Japanese is one that I like for studying kanji while learning grammar, hope it helps.

  October 10, 2014 at 5:58am
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  tetsuya21

  Thanks SamNatsumi, I researched your advice.
  
  I don't think it's for me, but it did give me a better understanding of why I need to learn kanji.
  
  Even though it's not for me, it did help me, and I understand more about kanji and why it's important.
  
  Thanks again SamNatsumi for taking the time to comment and help, I really appreciate it.
  
  

  October 10, 2014 at 8:13am
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  SamNatsumi

  not a problem, just glad I could help.

  October 10, 2014 at 8:31am
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  pekoegal

  I find that actually learning the stroke order of the kanji and writing them as I learn them helps me remember them better. Like, write the kanji, then write the readings and the meanings a few times on a piece of paper.

  October 10, 2014 at 11:20am
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  tetsuya21

  In the past I've never been someone to learn that way. I tried it with kana, and I could only remember one or two of them out of the first 15 after 2 days.
  
  However, despite that learning the language is something I'm passionate about, so I'll give it a try.
  
  Thanks for giving advice pekoegal. And thanks for taking out the time to help, I really appreciate it.

  October 10, 2014 at 11:59am
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  mog86uk

  Learning the smaller component parts which make up kanji is extremely important, especially the radicals:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_Japanese_kanji_radicals
  
  If you check out the table on that wiki page, click twice on the "frequency" column heading to sort it by most common in descending order. Although there are 214 radicals in the list, many of them are not very commonly used whilst others are extremely common, so focus on the most frequent ones.
  
  It helps a lot with telling apart all the similar looking complex kanji if you know the smaller components and their meanings. If you have a good, vivid imagination, the you should be able to come up with ways to help remember the meaning of each kanji by putting together the meanings of its components.
  
  This probably won't help so much with remembering the pronunciations of the kanji (it does a bit--the radical can indicate the sound too), however, if you can recognise the kanji easier, then you'll have an easier time with everything else. ^^

  October 10, 2014 at 1:54pm
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  tetsuya21

  Thanks, I've never seen this before. I'll try looking it over before doing lessons. Since the romaji is there I should be able to memorize it quickly.
  
  Thanks again for taking the time to help, I really appreciate it. I think this will the other advice I may learn them quicker.
  

  October 11, 2014 at 3:43am
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  Omusubi

  You will probably try out several methods before sticking with your favorite one(s). That`s what I did.
  For me the best way is through reading which happens to be something I really love doing in my own language and in Japanese. I always try to read things I am interested in, even if the kanji and vocab are hard to tackle. I don`t really care about that; on the contrary, I take the difficulty level as a challenge.
  I keep a small notebook with me where I jot down all the new words and kanji I stumble upon. Then I start writing those words / kanji several times and, while doing so, I try to really get a feel for those kanji. It`s not the same as rote memory..it`s more like familiarizing myself with those kanji which I am not randomly focusing on just because a pre-made list or textbook is telling me so, but they are actually vital parts of a text I am trying to read and decipher.
  This is also a great opportunity to review stroke order, especially with pesky characters where the order is hard to remember (at least for me. For example with kanji like 必 and 州 or lovely monsters such as 凸凹 the stroke order is always SO hard to remember).
  By learning kanji in context you give them more depth and definitely more staying power.
  Keep up the good work!

  October 12, 2014 at 11:48am
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  tetsuya21

  Thanks, I never thought about it in that way of only writing the one's I can't recognize.
  
  I've been trying everyone's advice to find a combination that fits for me. I will remember your advice and way of learning.
  
  Thanks again Omusubi for help and words of encouragement, I really appreciate it.

  October 12, 2014 at 11:33pm