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Writing, by hand - by computer. Importance?

user64344

後輩
24 Dec 2014
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Hello everyone.

I'm wondering whether actually being able to write Japanese by hand is something of even remotely dramatic interest for me, a person studying Japanese. I can write Japanese by IME, I know all the kana characters in today's use and of course I'm developing my kanji abilities, but I get slightly amnesic when I attempt to write them by hand.

Of course I understand that handwriting might be of use/ be necessary when you find yourself, let's say, writing a letter, writing a form, taking a test, or even in some cases writing a CV, but since I gather that most of the written Japanese is carried out by computer I'm wondering whether I should practice the stroke order and such (of characters, as I said, I already recognize) at all.
 
The same ways and circumstances that you write things by hand in your own country. You still have pens and pencils there, don't you?
 
Mike Cash, did you think that my question was totally stupid?

Not totally.

Try to remember that Japanese people don't necessarily find writing Japanese by hand the same difficult and burdensome task that foreign learners do.

Whatever sorts of situations Swedes write Swedish by hand in daily life, you will find Japanese writing Japanese by hand in daily life.
 
Well then, thank you for minding to answer. I apologize that the question wasn't totally proper.
 
There was nothing wrong with your question.

You view Japan through a computer screen, so naturally you will mostly see only printed Japanese. It is quite natural to wonder where all the handwritten stuff is. If you come to Japan you will find plenty of handwritten Japanese.

Edit

Here's an example from just a couple of minutes ago

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1429511063.642768.jpg


And another I'm looking straight at right this minute

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1429511123.904384.jpg
 
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I'm developing my kanji abilities, but I get slightly amnesic when I attempt to write them by hand..
I think that's the point of handwriting Japanese. It helps you memorize kanji not only visually but also motorically. Personally i prefer to do my Japanese writing by hand, and only resort to keyboard when there are no writing implements at hand, lighting is insufficient or no appropriate writing surface is available. Also practicing handwriting might help you understand Japanese handwritten by others, which may be a daunting task otherwise.
 
handwriting is good retention practice. The advent of computers and cell phones have hobbled some Japanese youth, leaving them unable to write words in their own language (until they pull out their phone to remind them). It's like forgetting how to spell a word, but when you try to write it the result is just gibberish
 
It takes a fair amount of time and effort to learn to write them legibly. As you point out, a lot of things get done by computer. But if you live in Japan then you will find yourself writing a quick memo, a note to someone, a notice on a piece of paper, a form at the post office or city office etc. in Japanese. Imaging yourself writing things by hand in your home country. Japan doesn't really change, as Mike Cash pointed out.

As nice gaijin alludes to, there is a difference between Japanese people 'forgetting' their kanji and foreigners never knowing how to write them in the first place, don't confuse the two. If you've never learned to write, you will have a lot of trouble those moments when you try vs. quickly checking a radical or something like the Japanese do. I suspect you wouldn't even be able to look them up using conventional tools as most of those tools require a basic knowledge of stroke order and/or radical.
 
A few of the trains I took in Tokyo had no English component. While the huge bulk of them did, something like 95% of the trains, getting on the train buzzed from a night of karaoke with friends and then trying to figure out how to read Shinyurigaoka in Kanji/Kana is impossible.
 
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