Hey guys how’s it going today? Welcome to another insanely awesome Japanese lesson from the one and only Bondlingo. Today we are going to be look at how you can improve your kanji knowledge fast! We know the pain of the kanji, it is certainly a slow and painful process. We also know that it can be super rewarding and is also essential for your progression with Japanese comprehension.
With that in mind, today we are going to look at some awesome routines that you can adopt to ensure that you really learn how to improve your knowledge fast. We will also be talking about some of the best resources that are available for you to use and make work for you. So it’s time to start expanding your kanji knowledge at an incredible pace! Sit back and let Bondlingo guide you through this kanji knowledge journey.
Contents
It’s all about the routine
So, you’ve been studying Japanese for a while but find yourself frustrated with your kanji learning speed? We know how it feels. No matter how many times you look at the kanji the readings just won’t come to you. Maybe the Kanji looks too similar to another any you are getting confused?
Well, we’ve got the cure! It’s all about the routine. Routines are the day by day building blocks that create success inch by inch through both dedication and hard work. Without routine our lives fall apart, and we lose motivation, it’s the easiest way to fall into a rut.
So, with that being said, we are now going to introduce you to our favourite kanji routine that will ensure that you gain some real traction with your kanji knowledge, and fast!
We recommend that you split this routine up into 2 sections. It will take 40 minutes out of your day so dedicate 20 minutes in the morning and then the other 20 minutes when you get home form work or your studies.
Routine 1 – Create
So with the first routine you are going to want to first get yourself into a quiet study space where you can concentrate. You will need to choose 6 Kanji that you will be focusing on for each day. We will more about this in the recourses sections that is coming up shortly. From this, you are going to want to first analyse the radicals for each kanji. Look at the individual elements of each kanji and create a story that will help you remember both the On Yomi and Kun Yomi readings.
Once you have a crazy story made up for the kanji you are going to want to write them down next to the kanji too.
Take a look at this example for reference:
恥 we have the kanji here for 恥ずかしい Hazukashii. Within in this kanji we have 2 other kanjis, 心 kokoro heart and 耳 mimi ears. You have to make a story that includes both kanji. For example, imagine that your ears are a heart shape, you would be embarrassed walking around. That’s exactly the type of story you need to make for each Kanji.
That’s the first routine done and dusted, we are now going to move to the second routine which is the testing phase
Routine 2 – Use and Remember
Now after a few hours you are going to want to try the second routine. For this you are going to need a programme called “Anki”, a flash card based special repetition programme. Once you have downloaded the programme, input the 6 kanji into it from the earlier session. Make sure the kanji is at the front and both readings of the kanji on the back. You can also add a note with your creative story to help you remember them. Once that’s been done, you should run through them on every session as your amount of studied kanji builds. Next use those 6 kanji that you’ve learnt and write 6 sentences. This will really help with knowledge retention.
Doing this consistently over a month will ensure that you are consistently learning around 180 kanji to a high standard. Do this for a year and you will have sufficient kanji knowledge to tackle almost anything, Now we need to have a quick look at some resources that are available to you to ensure that you keep your stream of kanji coming through.
Let’s have a look at some epic resources
Some of the best recourses that you can use are online, simply run a google search for the 2The Jouyou Kanji” which is a list of the most commonly used 2100 Kanji out there. You can run down this list with our routine until you complete unit . You can also find a fantastic book called “remembering the kanji” by James W. Heisig that helps with creative stories too.
Thanks for reading today online Japanese article from Bondling.
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