Study Discipline

[Imposter253]

I've started my study of kanji and I'm using the Heisig method. I'm doing OK with it but I find I get bogged down because I'm just learning the meaning without the feeling of a payback (the readings). While I like the method over the standard dump of information on a flashcard (Hm, 当. I wonder what this could mean... *flip card* TOU, this, the said, that a(taru/teru) to hit, prove correct, be assigned, correspond to; make (something) hit (something), call on, expose, succeed... huh...) I'm getting a sense of grinding without benefit. What did you find help you gain discipline to study?

 

[Jericho Desu]

Well for me personally I can't stand learning the Kanji just "raw" without example compounds. What I do is just use Japanese text books that introduce the Kanji who just replace its Kana counter part after some time, because then I know what the word is and when to use it instead of guessing what the reading is.

 

[nekojita]

TOU, this, the said, that a(taru/teru) to hit, prove correct, be assigned, correspond to; make (something) hit (something), call on, expose, succeed

- what's the point in that? It won't help you to read words. It won't help with writing. If you have flashcards that use this format, burn them. (Or, okay, recycle them).

Don't be obsessed with having to know all the 常用漢字, either - they're about to change the list anyway. To read, you need to learn words, in context (and the grammar that surrounds them) - e.g., for '当' you could have:
弁当 (公園でお弁当を食べませんか)
本当 (彼の話は本当だった)
当たる (この部屋は良く日が当たる)

Then, you should be testing yourself kanji --> kana and kana --> kanji
公園でお弁当を食べませんか (answer: べんとう)
彼の話はほんとうだった (answer: 本当)
(add furigana over the other kanji words that you're not testing yourself on if you need to. English translation of the sentence to only be used if you really need it.)

This is the main way kanji is tested on the Kanji Kentei. Particularly for words like あつい where you must understand the context to know whether it's 厚,熱,暑 (or even 篤).
Examples, testing the ability to produce the correct kanji, might be something like:
1. その氷はとてもあつい
2. 日本では夏はあつい
3. このお茶はとてもあつい

Basically: vocab, vocab, vocab. grammar, grammar, grammar. The more you pick up, the more you'll start to recognise. You might enjoy something like iKnow - and there's also an JLPT based kanji-reading site (just covering JLPT vocab) called Read the Kanji Both have the advantage that they keep track of your progress for you, which can help with motivation.

I also use component breakdown to some extent - having learnt 夜, it's easy to write 液 (and the radical on the left hints at the meaning). Sometimes the right-hand side of a kanji is a clue to the on-yomi - i.e. 同 can be read 'dou'. So can 銅. Kanji with 長 as the right-hand radical often have the on-yomi "chou".

Try and do a bit every day - and if it starts feeling like a grind, stop and do something more interesting. Type 無料ゲーム into google, look at the Japanese wikipedia article on your favourite subject, try to follow a recipe in Japanese. I like 謎々 (riddles).

 

[Aurura]

Howdy, Imposter253 san: I'd like to ask do you already feel pretty confident in your 'ganas' (Hiragana/Katakana)?

Beside that, I agree with nekojita that a free program like iKnow! is a great way to learn Kanji one meaning at a time.

I have been searching for a tool to help me learn in baby-steps, one by one, and help to make sure I "get it" before moving me to the next thing. After months of this search, iKnow! has been the best online kanji program that I've found, with no downloading required. The link is:

http://www.iknow.co.jp/ Give it a shot!

Don't give up, but do take it easy; the end results are worth reaching.

 

[Amigo]

I'll tell you what I did:
1.- I learned KANA and 80 first kanjis in meaning and reading. Basic expresions.
2.- Basic grammar. others 160 kanjis in meaning and reading.
3.- Started the Heisig method book I (key meaning) Took 4 mounths.
4.- Higher level of grammar. Others 200 kanjis in meaning and reading.
5.- Make 1000 kanji cards (till official 6th level)
6.- Started Heisig method book II (reading) Took 6 mounths.
7.- Finished to 2000 kanji cards and focused in Heisig books. (The first one only for reference)
8.- Revised grammar points while reading proper Japanese texts.
I gathered such kanji knowledge from Heisig books that I could read Japanese in a way that I thought it would have taken me much more time (years and years).
It has worked wonderful for me. I recommend that method. Fast and effective.
Still very poor speaking skill though.

 

[Glenn]

I'm a fan of the Heisig books too. I used them after not really getting anywhere trying to learn all the stuff at once (kept rehashing about 400 of the characters, some of them not remembering the writings, some not remembering the readings, some not remembering the meanings), and it worked great for me. I'm up around 2500 characters now if you count variants (I like learning the traditional forms, and I've gotten accustomed to a fair amount of the simplified Chinese forms, too), and I don't think I would be where I am with them if it weren't for Heisig's books.

Of course the important thing to remember is that it's just an introduction to the characters, but once you've got writings and one keyword meaning for 2050 characters, adding readings and extra meanings isn't a big deal. The hard work you've already taken care of!

 

[foreevermore]

There are a lot of good graded readers that gradually introduce new kanji or have hiragana readings and translations on the next page. If you try these and make a point to read out loud over and over again, it will help with your passive recognition. I think you'll find it helps to be looking at the kanji in context rather than just a blank flash card.

Once I did research on teaching techniques for dyslexic children. They had different systems to keep kids from confusing letters that looked similar, like always drawing p and b in different colors, and things like that. You might want to try color-coding your flash-cards in a similar way, but by radical. Maybe it will help you differentiate between similar-looking kanji?

And writing, well, there's only one way to actively keep up writing kanji, and that's by writing them. There is a good kanji game for the DS that I use to randomly review characters. You can probably search for them on amazon japan (sorry I can't post links yet.)

There is also a good website called renshuu dot org for japanese tests that has matching kanji games etc, but I don't know what level you're on.