Tae Kim has a great final post up on the “Remembering the Kanji” books. The best part isn’t when he discusses the merits of RTK but when he describes the process he went through in learning Kanji.
I may have mentioned this before but I never studied kanji; I studied the words that are made from kanji. For instance, I learned 「力」 as 「ちから」 but never as 「リョク」 or 「リキ」. I only learned the other on-yomi when I learned words like 「努力」 and 「怪力」. The key to learning these words is, of course, reading. Therefore, it’s very important to find reading material that is interesting and appropriate for your level, something that is a lot harder than it should be.
When learning a language we talk about context, context, context. Words must be seen in context to understand their full meaning. Expressions, idioms, clichés, slang - they all need context for you to grasp their full meaning.
But not Kanji. Get your flashcards out. Start memorizing readings and meanings. Yes, it’s soul-crushingly boring. Yes, you’re memorizing information in a format that you won’t use. But if you want to learn Japanese - you need to suck it up and start memorizing.
Why not learn Kanji in the context of words while at the same time learning words in the context of sentences?
Our brains think in patterns and stories, not lists and maps. By seeing the same Kanji in multiple words again and again, our brain will make the connection - It’s not studying, It’s inevitable.
Similarly, when we see the same word in multiple sentences we build a feel for its meaning. When we see the same grammatical pattern again and again, we build a feel for the language’s structure.
Context, Context, Context - except for Kanji. No context for Kanji.
Part of this comes from our strange desire to “know” things…right now. I want to know this Kanji right now. I want to look at it and “know” what it means.
Reciting the on and kun readings and the English meanings for any Kanji doesn’t mean you “know” it. You know about it.
If I give you a list of private information about any person on this planet - will you know them? Of course not. You must spend time with them. Interact with them and in time you’ll come to know them.
So it is with Kanji. See it used again and again and you will discover meaning over time. There won’t be a specific day or time when you can say you “learned” that Kanji, you’ll simply know it when you know it.
But which is faster? I want to know the Kanji now! Learning about a Kanji character will never lead you to knowing it. Eventually you’ll start reading in Japanese and inevitably you’ll run across it again and again on the road to truly knowing it.
When do you want to start knowing, Now or Later?
