Hello! I’ll be learning Japanese for next couple years in college. But I have free time until school, so I decided to start studying earlier. I’m a beginner and currently learning basic grammar rules and some Kanji (cuz it’s pretty much impossible to practice reading without it.) I learned 32 Kanji so far but I think I should speed up.
I’m writing every Kanji couple times with definition, then making flashcards for them. It’s really time consuming and I heard that it’s not very efficient. But thing is, I just love writing Kanji! I was so afraid of it back then, but now I really enjoy it and I kinda want to keep doing it.
I really want to practice writing Kanji, even though it’s not necessary nor recommended. Do you have less time consuming ways?
ありがとうございます！
6 comments
It’s really not whether you should, it’s whether it’s fun for you. If you enjoy it, then yes, if not, then no.
Writing the same character many times in a row is a waste of time when it comes to memorization. It’s a different story if you want to focus on calligraphy.
What is more time efficient is to use apps from learning kanji that incorporate spaced repetition system. One of the most popular is “Japanese Kanji Study”.
You can also buy a cheap pen tablet and practice writing on a PC as well, for example with Anki (I use Migaku kanji GOD add-on).
Once you know more kanji you can for example write a diary in google docs (it has handwriting input, checks the spelling, and some of the grammar). Eventually, when you’re more confident with your writing you can move to pen and paper and just verify if you wrote things correctly later on.
If your goal is to learn as much of the language as quickly as possible then writing is definitely gonna slow you down. But if you really enjoy the process of writing and its motivating for you then you dont really have to stop. Its just a choice between pure efficiency or enjoyment.
If you’re interested in writing, I wrote [Ringotan](http://www.ringotan.com) specifically to teach/practice kanji writing
ask yourself “what do I want to do”
Do you want to:
1. Fill out a form yourself
2. Write someone a note
3. Write on a whiteboard
4. Sign a card
If you don’t want to do any of that then ask yourself “Do I like writing by hand”
If the answer is NO to everything, then you should NOT do it.
If the answer is YES to everything then definitely do it.
If the answer is MIXED then think how much you want to do it and write down other things you want to do. See which one is the winner there.
I think it’s pretty much agreed that unless you plan to live in Japan, learning to write is not necessary and takes a lot of effort for a skill you’re unlikely to use much. HOWEVER, I have found that a little bit of writing practice does help me remember kanji better as it forces me to become familiar with *exactly* what a kanji looks like, instead of them living in my brain as vague approximations. I have really been enjoying the app Ringotan for this. Personally I use Wanikani to learn the kanji itself, and you can set Ringotan to follow WK’s lesson plan, so I try to keep them pretty much in tandem together. I feel that having to draw a kanji out on a periodic basis just helps it stick in my brain much better.