How To Learn Japanese Kanji

This is for my fellow Japanese students.

If you've taken Japanese classes during high school, you probably remember getting tested on your hiragana.

Most of the language input given to us was watered down: words only in kana, simple grammar, no katakana.

And if you moved up the ranks, these elements start getting introduced.

For today's article, I'll solely focus on remembering kanji and not language learning as a whole.

And why me?

In my class, I am renowned for my kanji ability, particularly because of my understanding of it.

Although my Japanese teacher doesn't like my method, I find building on 'radicals' make me remember recall of over 300 kanji.

(And still growing.)

Terms To Know

Radicals

For each kanji, it can be broken down into radicals.

Like words in the English language, they can be broken down by letters.

For some kanji, they are the simplest form consisting of one radical, while others made by multiple.

Some radicals will not be its exact kanji, but a simplified version of it.

SRS (Space Repetition System)

Naturally with time, our ability to remember things will diminish.

We want these kanji to go from our short term, to long term memory. We do this by testing our ability to recall the information from our head.

(If you get into serious language learning, SRS's are a serious recommendation.)

So, the SRS creates a system of when you review your cards within a deck. A card consisting the front of it with a question, with the back having the correct answer. A deck is just the total cards for that specific area: for example I have a deck for class study, kanji study and vocabulary from a light novel I am reading.

Personally, I have been using Anki which is free on Windows and Android, but will cost money on iOS.

Reading

It's how the Kanji is pronounced. Depending on the context, it will sound different. Either because it is by itself or conjugated with another Kanji.

Immersion

Pure input of the language.

It's usually content in the native language, designed for natives, consumed by natives.

And when we say immersion, we mean as native English users consuming native Japanese content.

This is the path of acquisition, not learning the language. Because we can still use a language without knowing the specific grammar, syntax and inner workings of how the language arranges itself. This is usually the classroom method of learning, which will not benefit improving acquisition of language.

(Still, I attend Japanese classes to get a break from the rest of my classes.)

Where I Learned The Method

If you are serious, I'd recommend buying James Heisig's 'Remembering The Kanji 1'.

In this book, Heisig will teach you how to remember 2000 Kanji issued by the Japanese Department of Education to be considered literate in Japan.

He won't teach you how to remember the reading though.

His method of memorisation is to use the imagination. Simply, we are more likely to forget something that is abstract and does not have a vivid image in our head.

So to combat this, he creates stories for the reader to easily recall elements that make up the kanji. Because you see it visually in your imagination, you will have a better chance remembering.

The order you will progress in is in order meaning no random kanji is thrown your way. The knowledge you accumulate will build on itself so there is congruency in what you learn.

Alongside, use Anki to help review the kanji rather than making physical flash cards. Although Heisig recommends the latter, we want the process of learning to be easy and maximise our results. Anki will tell you when to review a card, and there is no guess work on your end.

And with reviewing, the default for Anki is usually 10 new cards a day. What I recommend in order to not mess up the system is to use only 'good' and 'again' as inputs when reviewing.

Also, do not miss a day of review!

The system works by assuming the user will review their cards without a day of break. If that does happen, you create more cards that need reviewing, and instead of spending 10 minutes on that day, you spend 20. And if you can't review 10 cards without feeling overwhelmed, dial it down. You have an option in the decks to reduce the amount of new cards introduced each day.

You must make reviewing kanji a daily habit. Hell, make language learning a daily habit if you are serious about getting better.

And do it outside of your Japanese classes. In his prereading, he argues the method you use of his cannot be learnt inside a classroom environment due to how self-driven it is.

If you're interested, you can download the deck of Heisig's 2000 here.

And what about the readings?

Immersion and context will be your friend.

It's good to have a foot in the door with having an idea on which kanji means. It is only when you start immersing yourself and putting it into context will you start acquiring how it is read.

Truly, you could be able to read native content, have perfect understanding of it, without knowing how to say it aloud.

Final Thoughts

If you hate kanji, I hope I have given you a method that can help improve your relationship with it.

I know from personal experience, I feel more confident with writing kanji and not constantly writing the kana.

It becomes reassuring when you're on your 300th kanji (which you'll be on in no time), and there is only 1700 more to go. You can make real progress in kanji abilities using Heisig's method.

I would even say it is my bible for kanji.

So, don't think you have to learn kanji. If you love the language as much as I do, you will understand it is something you get to do. And don't do it for the sake of school.

The process of learning language should be as fun as possible. That is where the most growth is attained.

Be consistent in your reviews, use the imagination and have fun.

Good luck with your kanji studies.

がんばってね