LLearn Japanese

Is it really necessary to learn how to write all the kanji?

I understand that it’s necessary to learn how to recognize and understand the kanji, but is learning how to write it really necessary if you already know the kanji? With computers and everything in the digital age writing is becoming more and more obsolete. More computers and phones have systems that can recognize what you’re trying to type anyways and give you the correct kanji.

22 comments

  2. Writing is more a matter of learning to write all the simple components and kanji and then putting it all together for the complex ones. Nobody’s actually doing something like “learning” how to write every individual kanji or “memorizing” a stroke order for each one.

  3. Don’t think of it in terms of learning how to write “all” the kanji. Learn some, and learn the proper stroke order patterns so that when you have to write something by copying the kanji off your phone or whatever you can do it and the kanji will look right.

  4. I’d say memorising how to write all the kanji etc isn’t important (writing really isn’t) but it can help in remembering. I’d just say not to stress too much.

  5. If you don’t plan on living in Japan I would say don’t worry about it, as you progress it will likely come naturally anyway.

    If you do, then you will inevitably need to write at least some kanji (such as your address) and even then of course no one will stop you from using your phone to help recall radicals and whatnot. I’ve never once run into a situation where I didn’t know the stroke order or whatever and I was simply out of luck, there’s always a way these days.

  6. Personally, I’ve found that writing them really helps me remember them. At first I tried to save time by only learning to read, but really I’d say learning to write and read is actually faster than learning only to read.

  7. I know how to read 2300+ kanji. I don’t even know how to write them kanas. Take what you will from it.

  9. Learn how to write fundamental kanji
    Learn how to read all kanji
    Reading is more important than writing in this current world in my opinion. U read a lot on internet when you come to writing you generally write on computer and computer do all the writing for you. You just have to put hiragana in order.

  12. Technically no you only need to learn recognize the core meaning, its Onyomi and Kunyomi, most japanese you’ll write is gonna be through a Keyboard and a screen.

    BUT, learning how to write them + stroke order is helpful to remember them.

  13. I dunno, for me, if I only learn the meaning of the kanji and not how to write it, then I forget it pretty quickly. I learn how to write so that I retain them better in my brain.

  14. >is learning how to write it really necessary if you already know the kanji?

    No

    ​

    >is learning how to [recognize and understand the kanji] really necessary?

    No. Though it would limit the amount of authentic material you can use to study because you’ll need furigana.

  15. I never learned how to write Kanji, instead I was making sure that I am able to read them, so I fan type them

  16. No, but you will have to write stuff eventually if you want to live in Japan, so you shouldn’t suck at it.

  18. I learned stroke order and how to write a lot of the easier kanjis. But over time I kinda stopped learning how to write kanji as I don’t really see myself writing japanese on paper at all. Memorizing how they’re spelled so I can input them on a keyboard is really all you need.

  19. If you find that you’re mixing up similar looking kanji, practice writing those.

  20. Hard to say, but as one anecdote: I chose ~400 of the most useful kanji to learn how to write, and put them in a separate Anki deck (from my All in one RTK deck). For a few months I would write out a few kanji compounds for each one that came up in my Anki reviews. It didn’t feel much like it was helping at the time, but now I recognize, read, and distinguish those 400 kanji much more quickly and accurately than the other 1000 or so in my main Anki deck. I think it made a big difference, then, but not sure if the time involved was the most efficient way to do it. Definitely, for the ones you write, write a few compounds or words with okurigana, not just the kanji itself. And if you do write the kanji itself, don’t write the same one over and over. Choose 6-10 related kanji and write them across one line, then do that repeatedly while covering the previous line.

  22. I mean… nothing is ever necessary really. If your goal for example is mainly to speak Japanese, then you actually don’t need kanji at all for speaking.
    It all depends on your goals… if you’re going to be working for a Japanese company then learning to write is going to be a useful skill, if however you just want to read or be able to text with Japanese friends then it’s not necessary.
    So it’s variable.

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LLearn Japanese

僕の日本語書き方は理解できづらいなのかな？

ちょっと長くなってしまえば残念ですけど、最初にコンテクストを説明してみたいと思います。実は僕の日本語力はあんまり高くないので今も間違えてることが多いかもしれませんが、日常会話レベルの日本語ができます。でも普通に日本語を書いたり、読んだりしたことないです。書くときに、日本語のしゃべり方に比べたら文法と言葉の違いはたくさんあるんだと知ってますが、最近は単語とか漢字のレベルを増やすために時々日本についての動画を見たり、コメント読んでみたりしてます。 それより、ハーフなので日本語が全然完璧じゃなくてもよく聞かれたことがあって、文法の理解は日本語学んでる外国人の一般より高いと思ったんですけど、先の経験は僕を見直させました。その動画とコメントの話題は日本と中国の微妙な過去についてなので、ここで書かなくて方がいいと思います。コメントを書いた少し後でいくつかの答えを受けて、「何回読み返しても意味が分からないです。」とか「グーグルで翻訳してください」という返事がありました。それ以外に理解できながら答えててくれた人もいましたので、今「理解できにくいほど書きましたかな?]って考えてます。 話題のせいで返事は失礼なように馬鹿にする可能性があるんだと思うんですけど、ちょっと複雑なので、よく間違えた可能性もあります。普通に日本語で書くときは、言いたいことをちゃんと伝えるために使いたい言葉を調べて使うことがあります。辞書を使うことのせいで間違える確率は高くなってると思うんですけど、片言で理解できづらくなるほどかどうかわかりません。だからここまで書いてたことを読んで訂正してもらえば嬉しいです。英語か日本語かどっちでもいいですが、書き方や単語などについてアドバイスあればやさしくて教えてもらいたいです！ありがとうございます。 by fjgwey