So, I’ve been learning Japanese for several months now and I’m about 2/3rds into Genki I.
At first, I put most of my efforts into grammar and vocab, because i wanted to reach a point where i feel that i can somewhat fluently construct sentences, even with the limited vocab and grammar points i have. But in doing so, i neglected learning kanji in any structured way, because figured, with time, I would pickup some by mere repetitive exposure (which I have). Also, even though i read up on what Kanji is and how its constructed, notions of kunyomi and onyomi felt very foreign and abstract. Now that things have started to click a bit, i decided to focus on reading and so Kanji and started up with Wanikani, but it so far it appears to be somewhat counter productive.
I don’t understand why i have to learn radicals with these madeup names Wanikani gives them. I don’t understand how that’s applicable to understanding kanji at all. What’s more, I’ve merely reached level 2 and suddenly I’m presented with words like “population” and “artificial” just because they include a basic kanji “person”, which is fine and well in understanding how kanji works, but these are not words I will use any time soon given my level and they don’t contribute to what I’m learning in Genki, so it just ends up taking up brain power. On the other hand Genki doesn’t really teach kanji…
What would be a good way to both learn kanji in a more structured way but that also fits with a basic curriculum like Genki? Should i just learn kanji as vocab and that’s it?
3 comments
>What would be a good way to both learn kanji in a more structured way but that also fits with a basic curriculum like Genki?
That is much debated here. Personally I would start with RRTK (recognition-only RTK) for the top ~500 most frequent kanji. Not because it is hugely better than the alternatives, but because it is the most light-weight system I know of and will waste the least of your time if you don’t like it. It won’t teach you readings and it won’t teach you vocab, just a single keyword per kanji. You then pick any beginner vocab list you like (for instance the vocab from Genki) and learn it in parallel and if you find that knowing the RTK keyword helps you with learning actual vocab, you can always do more. By comparison, I found Wanikani to be the system that requires the most effort/commitment.
>I don’t understand why i have to learn radicals with these madeup names Wanikani gives them. I don’t understand how that’s applicable to understanding kanji at all.
These systems only aim for memorisation of kanji – no matter how – and don’t try to give you any deeper understanding. The idea is that the more vivid the stories, the more likely you are to remember them. You can absolutely look up the [traditional radicals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_kanji_radicals_by_frequency) and their actual meanings and use that as building blocks much like RTK or Wanikani do.
The best way to learn kanji is to read more and improve your language skills instead of focusing on “learning kanji”. The general loop of”learning kanji” looks like this:
1) You read for a month.
2) Acquire a word つゆ (dew).
3) Make an anki sentence card because you can’t read 露.
4) Continue reading and learn ろこつ.
5) Make an anki sentence card because you cant’ read 露骨 and realize this word has the same kanji as つゆ.
6) Now you know onyomi, kunyomi and how to read the kanji.
I’m a fan of solving “The Kanji Problem” in multiple ways, multiple times. Kind of like the Swiss Cheese model for safety or security, no single method helps me learn *all the things* about *all the kanji* in an order that meets *all my needs*. Learning by frequency of usage might be a good place to start, like with RRTK as another mentioned…
For me, it’s not so much that my goal is to “learn Japanese”, but my hobby is learn*ing* Japanese. With that said, here’s how I have and continue to tackle kanji myself…
First pass, I tried to learn the Kanji used in Japanese grade schools using materials designed for school children. Not knowing the vocabulary that a 5 year old knows, because it was more important for me to know the words for nuclear power plants than insects or animals, that was a little frustrating, but some stuck.
Then I discovered the Kanji Damage site and found that entertaining and it helped with the radicals (what is useful vs not useful). I lagged in grammar too far though because I was struggling with and hating Genki and again the alignment wasn’t there.
Then I decided to learn the N5 kanji for the JLPT, using White Rabbit Flashcards (yes, the physical paper ones). That went nicely, and I learned enough of the words that I was comfortable with the whole card. I finally aligned my gramar, vocab, and kanji together.
Then I started writing the kanji, practicing the sentences from Kodansha. That’s a different order, so again the alignment issue, but I liked how it got me using different structures for grammar – it was approaching doable “in the wild” kind of input. The misalignment eventually gets annoying so I pause that.
I hate digital flashcards, but I do like StickyStudy kanji cards organized by JLPT level (at least I’ve stuck with that) and started using that to practice actually writing more… not just recognizing, but stroke order and details. This is tedious but suits me sometimes.
Right now I’m working through the StickyStudy cards but in two weeks I’ll swap back to the White Rabbit physical cards for fall. Then I’ll probably start in with the sentences from Kodansha again, because that’s a nice winter-time cozy thing to do for me. It’s a cycle that works for me.
I also enjoy working through the Kanshudo site, that actually makes life easy when I remember to do it, I just click and it tells me what to practice. That’s more integrated, less kanji-specific, but gamifies things so it is sometimes easier to do than the others.
Each method something new sticks and something old is refreshed. I don’t stress about whether or not I’m picking up everything or learning efficiently … for me this is a marathon, not a sprint. I do what works for me at the moment and when it stops working I reflect and adjust my plan to keep moving forward.