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Kanji Readings, How to memorize? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| Matheus Senior Member Brazil Joined 5082 days ago 208 posts - 312 votes  Speaks: Portuguese* Studies: English, French | Message 1 of 8 02 July 2011 at 10:53am | IP Logged |
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Hi!
I'm thinking about studying Japanese. I don't worry about having to learn 2,000 Kanji, because I really want to learn a language which uses Chinese Characters, and I have a visual memory, I can remember the meaning without much problem. But here comes the problem, many Kanji have different readings, it is easy for me to learn the meaning, but what should I do to learn the different readings? When people (non-native speakers) are learning, they learn just the meaning with the most common pronunciation? Do they learn kanji as words, but knowing the meaning of individual characters? Do they learn a new character, then have to learn the different pronunciations plus meaning? I'm confused about that. I don't really want to study Chinese because I know I don't have a good ear for tonal languages. Or maybe I should give Mandarin a try? Mandarin has an easy grammar, but very difficult tones. Japanese has a difficult grammar, but free pronunciation for romance languages speakers. I really want to study the characters. I'm in love with them. Thanks in advance. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Nordlicht Triglot Groupie Germany Joined 6414 days ago 47 posts - 50 votes Speaks: German*, English, Latin Studies: Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto | Message 2 of 8 02 July 2011 at 12:00pm | IP Logged |
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What I'm doing is I learn vocabulary that use those Kanji. So if a Kanjji has three popular readings (not counting archaic ones), I make sure I pick at least three useful words that cover all readings.
For example, when I learned 力 (chikara), I didn't simple learn 'chikara' but also 風力 (fuuryoku) and 馬力 (bariki) to remember that the Kanji can be read ryoku and riki. Knowing the meaning of the Kanji itself sometimes helps me remember the vocabulary easier. It also makes it easier to guess what Kanji compounds that you haven't seen before could mean. (Like knowing that 風 is wind and 力 is power, it's easy to remember that 風力 is wind energy) 4 persons have voted this message useful | |
| galindo Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5208 days ago 142 posts - 248 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish*, Japanese Studies: Korean, Portuguese | Message 3 of 8 02 July 2011 at 7:25pm | IP Logged |
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Yeah, you basically just learn the readings as you acquire vocabulary. I think it's good to start out with single-character words, and learn both the English definition and the Japanese reading for those characters. Then you can learn some compound words that use those characters, and that's how you start remembering the Chinese readings.
You don't have to study a list of readings for each character; as you learn more and more words, you will naturally get used to the different readings and when to use them. Especially for the characters with many possible pronunciations, the only way to get a handle on them is to learn tons of different words they are used in. If you read a lot of manga with furigana, that can help a lot towards making the memorization process effortless. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| yirmeyahu23 Diglot Newbie United States Joined 5097 days ago 5 posts - 6 votes Studies: Biblical Hebrew, English*, Modern Hebrew Studies: Japanese | Message 4 of 8 04 July 2011 at 10:42am | IP Logged |
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Yea that's the thing with learning new Kanji. I'm having a hard time learning it the traditional way by knowing the kun, on readings, the Japanese contextual meaning plus the English definition. There has to be an easier way to learn these Kanji! I actually feel Japanese is a very easy language as far as vocabulary and grammar. If it weren't for the shear number of Kanji in the system, I'd be fluent by now. Sad I know
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| w1n73rmu7e Newbie United States Joined 5941 days ago 31 posts - 46 votes | Message 5 of 8 04 July 2011 at 12:02pm | IP Logged |
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Even better than learning just the words is to learn them in context (i.e., with sentences), aka the AJATT method.
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| allikamikaze Diglot Newbie United States Joined 6179 days ago 37 posts - 37 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: French, Russian | Message 6 of 8 05 July 2011 at 5:49pm | IP Logged |
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I agree with w1n73rmu7e.
I've been taking Japanese in college for three years and though our course (Japanese the Spoken Language/Japanese the Written Language) places more emphasis on speaking over writing, we generally learn one or two readings and/or meanings for a single kanji at a time. Then the book may introduce an additional reading for the kanji. When we read actual reading selections, I find that upon first reading through, I may read a kanji or kanji compound with one of it's readings only to get a little past it and realize it should be a different reading. I think understanding the context you find each reading of the kanji in is ultimately more helpful than simply memorizing the different readings. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| irrationale Tetraglot Senior Member China Joined 6051 days ago 669 posts - 1023 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog Studies: Ancient Greek, Japanese | Message 7 of 8 05 July 2011 at 9:34pm | IP Logged |
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I echo all those here who mentioned learning the Kanji by first learning words whole, not
individual kanji with all of their readings, meanings, and English translations. I couldn't imagine doing that and it seems like a huge waste of time and effort. I am nowhere near proficient, so I can only say what works for me. Also, I have already studied Chinese so the kanji are probably much less of a challenge. Still, this method of learning by words using audio flashcards (and also sentences in the cards) has seemed very efficient and effective. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Matheus Senior Member Brazil Joined 5082 days ago 208 posts - 312 votes Speaks: Portuguese* Studies: English, French | Message 8 of 8 08 July 2011 at 8:13pm | IP Logged |
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Thanks for the answers.
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