Which Kanji learning method out of these is the most effective?(Sorry if it’s difficult to understand)

5 comments

1. I personally would order them according to kanken levels because it roughly follows the order taught at schools but has a couple of extra levels dedicated to more obscure kanji. It goes from levels 10 to 1: everything from level 10 to 2 is the stuff Japanese children learn in school, while kanji beyond level 2 are not taught in school but you may run across a *few* of them in the wild (e.g. 掴む(grasp (a thing, a concept), grab), 嘘(lie), 噛む(bite)).

   Still, I wouldn’t pay too much attention to the order, and focus on stuff I find interesting within reason (i.e. avoid cramming extremely rare words/characters of limited use like 巉巌 if you haven’t learned more basic stuff like 情報).

2. There’s no objective answer. Different approaches work for different people. Whatever ordering you use, you need to reinforce it by encountering those kanji in media or conversation outside of it.

   Mnemonics method: I’ve found WaniKani most helpful, personally. As books go, I recommend KKLC or Henshall over RTK (I find them less convoluted and they fix problems I had with RTK).

   RTK & KKLC take the approach of teaching you groups of visually similar kanji together, so you learn to distinguish them (and use them as building blocks for more complex kanji). Henshall goes according to one of the Jouyou orders. I found the jouyou ordering way more relevant and interesting.

   WaniKani overlaps well with Jouyou ordering as well, and I find the vocab popping up in media I consume, so it’s a great fit for me

   Graded Readers:
   Kanji Learner’s Course + KKLC is a pretty great pairing, especially since their graded readers have grammar footnotes. Idk about other options.

   Anyway you’ve gotta try one and see what works for you.

3. I learnt kanji through text book (Minna no Nihongo), had little result. Switching to RTK and Kanji.Koohi mnemonics and those Kanji sticks. I only learnt the meanings, not readings. It’s not easy, it’s still hard but I had Kanji retained.

   It varied for each person, the environment you grew up and the resources you have. I think maybe try a little bit here and there to see what works best and stick with that method.

4. Another way missing there, by similar form:

   介 界 皆 階 楷 陛 戒 械 契 喫 潔 害 轄 割

   炎 淡 談 脱 説 鋭 悦 税 閲 意 憶 億 臆

5. Personally, I don’t thinking sticking to only one method is effective. Especially if you are a beginner. Here’s why: If you only stick with something like the school grades or one that aids memory such as remembering the kanji, it will take a long time before you get to the kanji that you need to progress in the textbook or whatever source you’re using for learning Japanese.

   If you start with a frequency list, you’ll have the same problem where it still might take a while to get to the Kanji that you need to know to progress.

   So my suggestion is to take a two-fold approach. Spend a couple days out of the week to study Kanji using a method that promotes memory. Spend the other days using apps like Anki or Renshuu to review the Kanji that you currently need to progress in your learning material.

   This will allow you to progress in your learning materials while also building up a foundation that will pay off down the road. Then once you have a good foundation you can go choose to tackle the elementary list or the frequency list.