Hi! I’ve been studying Japanese for almost three months. I have learned hiragana and katakana and now I want to start with the basic kanji. I’ve been taking Japanese classes and I got the tips to use anki.
I downloaded “Anki Pro” on my phone to start with. It’s easy and convenient to have in on my phone so I can practice when commuting to work or when I have a moment here and there.
But the problem I’m having is that there are a lot of complex translations. I know that kanji can mean a lot of different things, but my teacher said that you don’t have to learn all of them. E.g. I’ve practiced 上. To English it’s translated to above/up, and she said that that is what I should focus on, and that the other translations is more advanced.
**So to my question**, are there any decks that are simpler? Just to start with. There are a lot of other anki apps, so if anyone knows a better one the I can switch. But I haven’t found a simpler deck… or maybe if anyone know anther good app for learning kanji?
Maybe there is something I’ve missed about anki, I have just “researched”/tried it for a few days, but I feel a bit lost.
Thank you so much!
6 comments
> There are a lot of other anki apps
Maybe you mean there are other decks?
> Maybe there is something I’ve missed about anki, I have just “researched”/tried it for a few days, but I feel a bit lost.
Aha! You need to read the manual.
https://docs.ankiweb.net/
Not an app but I recommend the Kanji Look and Learn book! It gives one or sometimes two general meanings per kanji, and also gives actual words that the kanji character is used in.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7747767-kanji-look-and-learn
Anki Pro is a knockoff and not affiliated with the official Anki project. You will have no support from the Anki developer or anybody in the community who uses Anki, and will be unlikely to be able to sync with an AnkiWeb account. Please check the [official Anki homepage](https://apps.ankiweb.net/) to find a link for the official version for the device you are using.
I use wanikani. They don’t have an app but I use the browser version on my phone. The first three levels are free if you want to give it a shot
If you’re in it long term, I can recommend Wanikani having used it for a while. The only downside is the radicals they teach you are often wrong, but the characters are all pretty legit
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/learn-japanese-kanji/id1078107994 if you’re on iOS. It’s also on droid but I don’t have the link.