Any tips for learning kanji?

Question

I'm learning Japanese, and while I found hiragana and katakana relatively easy to pick up, I'm struggling with kanji! Does anyone have any tips or advice, or can you point me in the direction of good online resources?

Answer 1

I've learned about 500 at this point, and for Japanese you only need to learn 2000. hehe, 'only.'

But I reccomend the Japanese for Busy People series of books. It introduces things at a reasonable rate.

Also, flashcards are good, but in my opinion, the only way to *really* learn a kanji is to practice writing it over and over and over. There are very subtle differences between certain kanjis that you won't notice unless you write them yourself. And besides, you'll need to write them anyway... may as well practice.

Good luck. Slow and steady wins the race.

Answer 2

I think the best way to learn kanji is to learn them in intervals AND with words that they are used in. Learning in intervals prevents you from becoming overwhelmed. If you are comfortable with 20 to start, then study them and learn them. Then, after you feel comfortable reading/writing those 20 kanji, add 15 or 20 more (or however many you choose). It's important to add these to what you have already studied so that you don't just move on and forget what you already learned. As you learn kanji, learn kanji compounds that the kanji you are learning are used in. These compounds will help a lot in remembering kanji. They're also extremely practical. To read, you need to know the compounds, so learning them as you learn the individual characters will benefit you and save time. The last thing to do is simply use them. At first, you won't be able to read much, but you can definitely write your own sentences or skim Japanese articles/texts/writings and look for the words and characters that you have studied. If possible, it's best to find writings that you are certain will have at least some characters that you've learned. (for example, if you learn the character for dog, an article about pets might be a good place to find it, and an article about galaxies and solar systems would probably not be very useful) Those are the only suggestions I have. At first, it will be mostly memorization and study, but eventually, you will begin to pick out words, phrases, and even sentences in texts that you will understand. Time, patience, and dedication are the key factors. Remember, the Japanese themselves take years to learn their own kanji, so don't be hard on yourself if it seems like you're learning them too slowly. It just takes time. Good luck!

Answer 3

Yours is the question that I have been waiting for. Ha ha. But, I see that you have already been given the advice I would give you: write them! You have to fall in love with them -- that's the charm of learning them. You have to write them so that a Japanese looking at them thinks a Japanese wrote them. I always get comments like my writing looks like their teacher wrote them. You know, that is something to overcome because a teacher's writing is very readable and safe.
I had books and books on how to write them. You need to see good examples. And, there are books on writing kanji with a pen. You have to think of each one as a work of art.
Then when you are not writing them (answering your pen pals in Japan... ) then you are reading them. Get yourself some books for kids to start -- I seem to find plenty at the second hand stores.
You will find that it gets easier and easier until it all makes perfect sense to you. I sit down in my favorite Tommy's burgers and write letters and practice my writing. I am not satisified with my kana either. I just get better and better.
Also it doesn't make a lot of sense to write them if you aren't going to speak Japanese. So I make sure that I know the pronounciation and how to use the word in a sentence.
On the internet I really have trouble because you aren't writing them actually but choosing them from a selection or a word in English (romaji). I am learning Chinese and I started that years ago when the current pinyin was not used because we did not recognize mainland China.
I read some of your other answers and you got some good advice here. I like "slow and steady..." and recognizing them as you would a face. Good Luck.

Answer 4

If you are trying to learn Japanese, and also like anime, there are 2 books which might help- Japanese In Mangaland and Kanji of Manga. Both books teach Japanese, including Kanji, by using panels of actual anime, including Sailor Moon, Neon Genesis Evangelion and loads of others, and also some original anime.
You could also try sticking kanji, and their meaning, around the house or in books to test yourself. Try three or four a day. When I was learning Greek, I placed different verbs in the pages of a book I was reading, an when I came across one I tried to tell which one it was. I soon learned!
Also, try and remember example sentences with the kanji in it, and then draw pictures to accompany them.

Answer 5

If you're also interested in Japanese culture, I will strongly recommend you to learn Japanese caligraphy. It surely helps you learn Kanji. If good materials are not available, try to write Kanji so big... as big as A4 paper. Write every stroke slowly, paying a lot of attention how you draw each line. We Japanese used to learn a lot of kanji through caligraphy.

At first, you don't have to try to be able to write so many kanji, but try to be able to 'READ' them. It is something like 'remembering people's faces'. The moment you see someone familiar to you, you can recall his name. Yes, face-and-name way of remembering works with kanji too.

You know, we Japanese cannot write even as half as many kanji we can read. So take it easy!!

Answer 6

the only way i've remembered kanji after ive learned it is a book called teach yourself beginers japanese script. I've tried many books including the kana/kanji de manga books teach yourself is the way to go.

Answer 7

No But well done for learning it - I reckon any language try that does not have letters like english is an achievement.

Answer 8

look up yamada language online. The University of Oregon has a free online program through their Yamada center. ^_^

Answer 9

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Answer 10

hey u migh be able 2 find websites lolz