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Best way to learn kanji? What is working/worked for you?

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The_Brightest_Moon

PostPosted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 3:41 pm


I currently know about 300 kanji but I'm forgetting how to read them, fast. Which is a better way of learning kanji:

Write them over and over and over again with the readings and memorize them the old fashioned way (and review intensely every day, but then you'll know how to read them)

OR

Do the Heisig thingy where you memorize only the MEANINGS of the kanji with mnemonics, but then you don't actually know how to read them in Japanese, thus resulting in you having to learn vocabulary instead of being able to "sound things out" (with trial and error of readings)

both have a downside. The first one, you forget them easily. However you know how to read in Japanese. The second one, you remember them, but you can't actually read them. Which is better? Which worked for you?
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 7:35 am


I make pictures out of kanji when I review them/learn them. That seems to work, I'll write the kanji and use it to make a simple picture of it's meaning.

Mechanical Fetus


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 10:11 am


I do it the way I learned my first language:I write them down, and learn them one at a time. I figured how much time I have to learn them, (4 years) divide into how many I'm trying to get to in that amount of time, (2,000), and try and get the number to try to learn every day, +1. I review about once a week.
PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 9:47 am


I know very little kaniji, but I use the Anki program to help me remember. Would you like a link to the website, dear?

Ose_93

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The_Brightest_Moon

PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 11:00 am


Ose_93
I know very little kaniji, but I use the Anki program to help me remember. Would you like a link to the website, dear?


Oh, I use that. It's useful but I use it for mostly vocabulary (www.iknow.co.jp is great for vocabulary and I use anki for an extra review on the words I have trouble with). I tend not to use it for Kanji because then you don't learn how to write the kanji.
PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 12:53 pm


The_Brightest_Moon
Ose_93
I know very little kaniji, but I use the Anki program to help me remember. Would you like a link to the website, dear?


Oh, I use that. It's useful but I use it for mostly vocabulary (www.iknow.co.jp is great for vocabulary and I use anki for an extra review on the words I have trouble with). I tend not to use it for Kanji because then you don't learn how to write the kanji.

Yes, that is the downside to it. It helps me with recognizing them though.

Ose_93

Dedicated Friend


Little Balletgirl

PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 1:50 pm


I know 1000 Kanji. I used basically a combination of putting them into Anki and writing them out a lot. It also doesn't help to learn some words that have the Kanji in it.
PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 3:47 pm


I use NihongoUp. It's a computer game that allows for kanji recognition practice as well as applying it's pronunciations and meanings. You can download the trial version (over and over and over again) of this game here. So much fun. It's recomended for beginners and lower-level intermediate students, due to the fact that it only has kanji for JLPT levels 3&4. So my recommendation is to use this, downlod the free trial (again and again) or buy it for $4.99 (I'd assume USD).

OHAIITSCOBY

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