So last year I was learning words in hiragana because I was scared of kanji. Then I started learning invididual kanji and words that used them which was fine but there’s only like 30 words per 20 kanji I learn. By recommendation I’ve began trying to learn words written in kanji even if I don’t know the individual kanji.
It seemed I was able to do it in small amounts at a time but I have two problems. 1) I seem to forget how the words are read sometimes so I fail reviews more often, and 2. I sometimes mistake words that use the same kanji like 危険 and 保険.
2 comments
keep at it, there’s a lot of memorization, it just takes time
if you have trouble distinguishing similar kanji, give the [KKLC](https://smile.amazon.com/Kodansha-Kanji-Learners-Course-Step/dp/1568365268/) a try
but yeah, keep going, learning kanji as you learn vocab is the generally accepted most common route
Remembering the kanji keywords helps a lot. I did RTK which meant I can usually just read the compounds for a majority of new words and know the meaning, but there is a lot that just does not nicely link up
危険 -> Dangerous + Risky -> Dangerous/Hazard/Perilous
保険 -> Preserve + Risky -> Insurance/Guarantee (My thought goes: Preserve(against)Risky)
So it is not a perfect measure by any means, but by using RTK Kanji and making vocab tricks in much the same way you can help it stick. When possible I will use characters from games/anime to remember certain keywords just like how many RTKers associate 亻 with Mr.T or something else. My mental process starts with the whole word, then goes to the individual component meanings, then the radicals if I for some reason do not recognize the kanji. If I still cannot work it out I will have to look it up. When I drill flashcards I go with a 4 second rule for recognition or fail – I do not worry about the readings because I can get the reading without knowing the word a majority of the time. Sounds dumb, but happens to me a lot.