Got a good visualization for a kana?

[Buntaro]

Got a good visualization for a kana?

Everyone says that the best way to remember hiragana and katakana is to make up a little mental picture that hints as to how to pronounce it. All of us must have some great mental pictures that they can share. Please share!

 

[Buntaro]

The katakana "a"

I always use the word "akimbo." Yes, that is an English word. It means to put your hand on your hips, with your elbows pointed out. So, the katakana "a" is picture of a person doing "akimbo".

 

[Sailor Shadow]

The only thing I can think of right offhand is one of the first ones I didn't need to look up was the hiragana "te". I remembered that it looked kind of like the letter "T". *^^*

...and now that I realize it, they all kinda make me think of how the mouth is shaped when you say it... ta, chi, tsu, te, to... I can picture an anime mouth saying those... But it works for me. *^_^*

 

[Ewok85]

Ive forgotten how i remember kana, i think long sessions of flash cards and weekly tests did that. Kanji is a different matter, thats easier to remember....

Try doing 5 kana a week, write em out alot, find ones that look the same and work out how to tell them apart etc.

 

[Buntaro]

For the katakana "o" I use the astronomy constellation Orion. With its long vertical section, horizontal belt, and sword down at a 45 degree angle, it looks just like the katakana "o".

 

[SacredBlue]

Took me around two weeks to have the kana down. Just make up mneumonic devices for each kana until you don't need it anymore. If you have funny mnemonic that makes you laugh when you think of it I guarantee you won't forget that character. Since it was awhile ago I've mostly forgotten all my mnemonics, but here are some I remember:

と to(it's shaped like a 'toe)'
ラ ra(it looks like a mouth going 'RAA!!')
こ ko(it looks like a knocked out person's face, 'K.O.')
く ku(it 'coo' cuz it da easiest hiragana to draw!)
ち chi(the bottom half is a backwards 'C', Chi)
り ri(they looks like 'reeds')
ノ no(there are 'no' other strokes)
マ ma(it looks like the head of a 'martian')
ヒ hi(it looks like a person sitting and waving 'hi')
ム mu(this reminded me of a cows nose, cows go 'moo')
れ/レ re(these looks like 'rays' coming down)
て/テ te(these look like the letter 'T')

Yes I realize that these are very funny/odd mnemonics but they must have worked pretty well if I can still remember them
Also, a good suggestion is to make flashcards, and find sheets of romaji and translate them into Japanese. Hope I've been of some help!

 

[Golgo_13]

For Kanji I remember them the radicals that make up the character.

E.g., I remembered "Under a roof, one heart supported by friendship"

That's the kanji for "ai" (love). If you take a look at it you'll see what I mean.

 

[NekoPixan]

huh?

Kanji is easier to remember????


I am having a HARD time with those. I have studied for 5 years and kanji... I don't know that many.

 

[Glenn]

Re: huh?

Originally posted by NekoPixan
Kanji is easier to remember????


I am having a HARD time with those. I have studied for 5 years and kanji... I don't know that many.

If you can get a copy of James Heisig's Remembering the Kanji series I would recommend it (I believe by now there are French and Spanish translations of the book). The method is similar to what Golgo_13 mentioned; it builds kanji from "primitives" and other kanji by using the meanings to create stories. Since only meanings are targeted in the first book (only one keyword meaning for each kanji) it strips down the compexity of learning them immensely. Readings are not even touched until the second book, and the third book is an additional 1000 kanji for a grand total of 3000 (well, actually it is only 958, as the first and second books cover 2042). Anyway, I would highly recommend these books for learning the kanji.

 

[Elizabeth]

Originally posted by Golgo_13
For Kanji I remember them the radicals that make up the character.

E.g., I remembered "Under a roof, one heart supported by friendship"

That's the kanji for "ai" (love). If you take a look at it you'll see what I mean.

Or a hand reaching down to assist a crosslegged heart