Any Tips on Kanji?

[JunkFoodForZombies]

I was wondering if anyone has any tips or steps I should take to help me remember my Kanji? Trying to simply memorize each and every one for every word I come across isn't exactly going well.... So I thought maybe there were set things I should learn first or better ways to go about it? I really want to use the kanji when it should be used, not write it out in hiragana/katakana.  

[kaitykawaii]

I personally find it easier to learn kanji while they are in words with other kanji first. That was you feel like you're actually making progress because you will actually be able to read them when they come up.

I find that studying each individual kanji, as well as all of the readings for it, isn't so helpful because if you are a beginner without much experience you won't exactly know what way to read the kanji.

I hope this helps!

(I study Japanese, and learning kanji is my favorite part.)  

[JunkFoodForZombies]

kaitykawaii

I personally find it easier to learn kanji while they are in words with other kanji first. That was you feel like you're actually making progress because you will actually be able to read them when they come up.

I find that studying each individual kanji, as well as all of the readings for it, isn't so helpful because if you are a beginner without much experience you won't exactly know what way to read the kanji.

I hope this helps!

(I study Japanese, and learning kanji is my favorite part.)

I definitely understand! I actually started doing that and it HAS helped to be able to actually read the parts and put it together to remember what it means.  

[Crystal Snowtiger]

Learn the first 300 kanji and you'll be able to play most otome games. While you are learning kanji, it is nice to look at radicals, as you'll be able to tell the meanings, but radicals can be random. Like moon actually also being the radical for meat. Is the moon meaty? But a lot of the kanji are fairly straightforward. Remember the readings. If it is a name, chances are that the readings are kun-yomi (japanese reading). Usually the first kanji in a word is usually read in kun-yomi and the second in On-yomi (chinese..or atleast the chinese sound for it when it was introduced to the Japanese system, since China constantly changed the readings throughout history). However, note that On-yomi is rarely used for names. Actually, just because you know the kanji doesn't mean you can spell someone's name seeing as you'd have to know the meaning of their name. Luckily, some names are just consistent, like Yamada, or Tanaka, Or Suzuki (the three most common last names in Japan I believe). For now, focus on the joyo kanji (the first 2000 or 2,500 kanji that most Japanese students learn completely upon completion of high school). I would suggest using Jlex or Jisho if you don't know a kanji. If you can find the radical, you can search up the kanji. Remember, practice, practice, and practice! If you understand enough, you can actually read the Japanese newspaper, since they publish for kids too. I would also use the JLPT reference, and go to Genki Self study room. http://life.ou.edu/stories/ is also fairly easy and simple, as most of the readings are written in furigana or shown later below each page, explaining how to say it and what it means in that context. There are lots of good resources out there, so don't be intimidated. If you are not just learning Japanese and are intermediate, I would suggest watching on youtube (because I'm sure you don't want to spend 90 dollars on an otome game if you are only in it for the kanji) Amnesia, and there should be videos with no subtitles. I think the easiest route to understand is either Toma or Ukyo (But maybe it is because I love Ukyo). Note:This is not "Amnesia: A dark descent". I think the first game in Amnesia is easiest (and it is one of the easiest games kanji wise). The best part is that there is voicing and the heroine's thoughts are voiced by another character so it is much easier to follow along with. I hope this helped.  

[Crystal Snowtiger]

Also, if you have Japanese friends and they are willing to help you, text away with them. You'll have fun and find yourself unable to avoid kanji. You should be able to use kanji in iOS. If you have no one, message me and I'll try my best to help.