ive been thinking about this for years with different things. i used to use mnemonics a long time ago, but then it would be an extra step in my thinking that i dont have time when speaking or something. it worked for things like studying science for a test though. but there was a word here i kept getting wrong so i clicked view usage notes (i have disabled usage notes mnemnoics and pictures by default), and the first usage note was a really helpful mnemonic and now I know the word easily. maybe the mnemonic goes away after time and ill just remember the word?
what are ur opnions on this? do u use mnemonics, or instead try to just "memorize directly" without them? i know every word is still "connected" to a real thing and other ideas, so nothing is true isolated but idk
Think of mnemonics as training wheels, once you get comfortable enough you no longer need them. I don't bother with them unless I'm having a really hard time memorising something (usually on'yomi).
Do people consciously try to recall a mnemonic outside of a quiz? I feel like you should be able to just remember the word after you use the mnemonic a few times. At least that's how it's always worked for me.
Although, I've had many years of passive exposure to the language, so I'm probably not the best person to ask... I'm not sure how much engagement you're gonna get in General. You might want to consider reposting in "Questions about renshuu" or "Anything About Japanese". Fits either of 'em.
thank u both for the input, i think i will try to use them sparingly when i get stuck and then hope they "fall away" over time. and maybe see other opinion on it too
You should still be able to save them, they just won't be public. This is fairly common for the early-beginner words/kanji. Not sure what the exact cap is though.
As @ギョルギ九十三 mentioned, you really only need mnemonics for the short term. When I learnt hiragana and katakana, I only really needed the mnemonics for about 2-3 months before it sank into long term memory. Same goes for the kanji I have been learning. It also depends on how you learn. I am a visual learner so it helps when I have something to visualise to let it sink better into my brain cells. In the end, it's up to how you want to learn. Some of the hiragana and katakana characters that sank into my head was either repetition in writing or seeing it in text a lot.
To simplify my chunky explanation, mnemonics are temporary like training wheels there are other ways to learn the characters including exposure in text or writing it being a few (or go ahead and quiz yourself over and over with the schedules in renshuu or whatever)
Personally, I find that I get the most value out of mnemonics over the long term. As you may know, the theory behind spaced repetition is that memory degrades over time. When I’ve forgotten something, the mnemonic is a short cut to restoring my understanding.
mnemonics never worked for me. When i started it helped me a lot to know the origins of kanjis, like the fire kanji literally symbolizing a fire. For me its better than mnenomics and works the same way actually. but i think it works only with simple kanjis.
Personally, I find that I get the most value out of mnemonics over the long term. As you may know, the theory behind spaced repetition is that memory degrades over time. When I’ve forgotten something, the mnemonic is a short cut to restoring my understanding.
but wouldnt it be better to remember them by differentiate it from similar kanjis and assiciate them with related text were its usage is helpful??
like understanding what the first kanji for gyokuro means, the jewel kanji and knowing a similar kanji like king, thinking about those difference also creates cross references in the brain. or entire kanjis the kan in bijitsukan. if you have many lesson with kan kanjis in words you understand those systematically.
Also if you use words in many contexts, like many different sentences it also helps anchoring them.
for example today i wanted to look up 焚（た）く, and i renebered that hi o tsukeru is lighting a fire.
because of the association abd the more references you have in your brain, the more likely... since its the most natural inherit in the language, i cant fathom how generic mnenomics could be better??
for example today i wanted to look up 焚（た）く, and i renebered that hi o tsukeru is lighting a fire.
because of the association abd the more references you have in your brain, the more likely... since its the most natural inherit in the language, i cant fathom how generic mnenomics could be better??
basically, an mnemonic gives your brain something to make associations with if it doesn’t yet have enough other context. so of you’re just learning a list of kanji, an mnemonic can be really helpful. but if you’re reading a book and learn a new word, and it’s directly associated in your mind with the characters and events happening, and then you also learn the new kanji (or even just: a new reading for the kanji), then an mnemonic might well just be complicating things.
for the most part, i don’t use mnemonics. they’re clunky and complicated and slow. what you really want is all the little connections in your brain which you get from actually seeing and using the words.
that said, sometimes mnemonics are really useful, even essential. i struggle enormously with left and right; in casual conversation, i think it’s about 60:40 whether i’ll say the one i actually mean. i’m one of those people who’ll say “go left. i mean the other left!”. and usually that’s fine. but if i need to actually be sure that i’m correct, i mentally place myself upon a specific mountain, facing south, and then i know that the village on that side is on my left, and the village on the other side is on my right.
most people really don’t need that kind of mnemonic for distinguishing left and right. they just know. or they have something really simple: the hand i write with. and it’s the same with learning kana or kanji: most of the time, after a bit of practice, you’ll just know them. but for a few, you might always need a little story out something for when it’s important that you’ve got the right one.
