掲示板 Forums - How do properly know the kanji very well?

Hello!

i would like to hear suggestions about jow to learn kanji properly, i know hiragana very well, and i am going up with katagana. But i really would like to learn kanji very soon, because its very important, and i feel like its gonna be better if i start very soon into the journey.

I appreciate any help and feedback.

There’s no real benefit to getting into kanji earlier. Some people are curious and want to explore, and that’s fine, but don’t fall into the trap of thinking “I have to learn X kanji today.” Do some experimenting to find the right pace for you, and don’t be afraid to slow it considerably. Remember that Japanese students spend years learning kanji, one year for the first fifty alone.

​Thank you very much for your reply!

Maybe i will try learning a new word every day, and if i see i can remember it very well i will add more.

Thank you, i appreciate your response and your help!

try to learn more important or everyday use Kanji

Japaneses learn only 80 kanji for one year when they start.
They also spent 6 years learning the first thousand kanji (教育漢字, kanji taught in school).

A lot of people rush the kanji and that method have some pros and cons but you're free to not do that =p
Taking your time on those kanji in particular will be really helpful in the long term. Because they are the most productive ones (ie: they can produce a lot of words, so if you master them, each kanji will unlock at least one hundred words most of the time).
The 教育漢字 (きょういくかんじ, kyouiku kanji) does not correspond exactly to the JLPT tho (the order is different, for a few of them).

Speaking of which, there are quite a lot of different ways to learn kanji. Just on the order in which you learn kanji, you have:

• JLPT, focus on frequency of occurence. The worst imo because it's mainly useful for people that intend to study, live or work in japan. At the same time, if your goal/plan is to read a lot, it's probably the most useful... ?
• 教育漢字, around a thousand kanji, focus on easy kanji first. Like you will learn right, left, up, down kanji at the same time. Or the fire, water, wood, metal, earth kanji at the same time. It's not always like that but basically the goal is to make them more easy to learn rather than learning the useful one first. You also won't learn abstract kanji like privacy first.
• Kanji kentei (漢字検定), a exam, which focus on long term mastery. The order is similar to the 教育漢字 but the difference is that inside each level, the kanji kentei focus on reading amongst other things. Like you will often 4 to 9 kanji with the same readings.
• RTK (Remember The Kanji), focus on the meaning and the image of each kanji. You will learn kanji in a order that makes it easy to remember them (in a mnemonic way, I guess).
• Etc

It can be useful to take some time to think about that. Too much people go straight for the JLPT but I really think a lot people would had a far easier time if they took some time to think about that when they start. For example, I study with the kanji kentei and I don't live japan (or plan to). At the same time, I want to master the kanji and read complex japanese text in the long term. because of that, I choose that list instead. Unexpectedly, it was also useful for speaking and listening. Because it always throw homophones at me and I couldn't progress until I clearly remember that those 5 or 9 kanji had the same reading. And since, I end up speaking a lot with natives rather than reading, it was more useful for me.

Also, some people rush the kanji by only learning their meanings first. Some other don't rush the kanji and focus more on their speaking/listening ability first. Some others, like me, try to do both at the same time. Each methods have their pros and cons.
I feel slow and I'm slow compared to others. But I'm better than both when it comes to their weak points. That what I'm telling myself when I get frustrated by how slow I am

Ah and for each kanji, you have multiple readings too that are learn at different stage (小 -> Primary school, 中 -> Middle school, 高 -> High school and readings not taught in school). It's fine to study only the primary school at first.

Also, there are a few pattern by which kanji produce meanings in words. You don't need to know them or study but it's useful to pay attention to words from time to time. It help a lot to remember the meaning of words and kanji (because each feed each other kinda). Like

雨水 -> 雨 (rain) + 水 (water) -> Rain water
石化 -> 石 (stone) + 化 (transformation) -> Transformation into stone -> fossilization, petrification, mineralization, etc

That one is the most simple. Basically the kanji on the left modify the one on the right.

雨水 => Water, which kind of water? Rain water
石化 => Transformation, which kind of transformation? Transformation into stone

Etc.

Kanji are fun once you start to notice those things ^^

Anyway, just a few things to think until you're ready to start =p
Oh and remember how native japaneses learn. They takes their time and already know quite a lot before moving on to kanji. Other than that, good luck/have fun!
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