【Summary】How to learn Kanji -fast & easy-

I think that kanji is a barrier to learning Japanese.

It's said that there are as many as about 50,000 or 60,000 Kanji characters.
However, most of them are not usually used.
In Japan, it's enough to know about 2,000 regular kanji learned at school in Japan.

However, I still think it's very difficult to memorize about 2,000 characters. If I were not Japanese, it would be daunting to have to memorize about 2000 complicated characters like kanji. I would not be motivated.

But I have enjoyed studying kanji since I was in elementary school, and have come to like them.
I would like to introduce that to you all.

Click here for a list of kanji

Breaking down Kanji

It's about breaking down and understanding kanji like a puzzle.

Radical

Kanji can be broken down into parts.
And the main part is called radical.
Each radical has its meaning.

And there are many kanji that are made up of combinations of the following.

• Parts that have meaning
• Parts that have sound

If you understand these two things, you can look at a kanji and know what kind of genre it is (from which you can associate the kunyomi (Japanese reading)), and what kind of sound it makes (onyomi).

Know the origin of Kanji

Types of Kanji

The origins of kanji can be divided into the following six types.

①Simple ideograms (Shi-ji mo-ji / 指示文字)

Kanji characters represent things that cannot be expressed in forms, such as numbers, names of things, and properties, using combinations of dots and lines.

e.g. 上・下・中・本・末・天・立・至・出 etc.

②Pictograms (Shou-kei moji / 象形文字)

Kanji formed in the shape of an object.

e.g. 山・日・月・川・魚・鳥・人 etc.

③Phono-semantic compound characters (Kei-sei Moji / 形声文字)

Kanji characters are created by combining letters that represent meanings and letters that represent sounds.
→These are more than 80%.

e.g. 銅・胴・洞 etc.

④Compound ideographs (Kai-i moji / 会意文字)

Kanji characters that combine two or more Pictograms or Phono-semantic compound characters into a single character with a new meaning.

e.g. 日+月→明，田+力→男，木+木→林，鳥+口→鳴 etc.

⑤Derivative cognates (Ten-chuu Moji /転注文字)

To turn from the original meaning of a kanji character and convert it to another meaning.

e.g. 楽・労 etc.

⑥Rebus (phonetic loan) characters (Ka-shaku Moji / 仮借文字)

A method of expressing other words by borrowing only the sounds of the Chinese character, regardless of its original meaning.

e.g. 豆・印(印度/India)・米(亜米利加/America) etc.

In other words, you can understand why most kanji are the way they are by knowing their origin.

Know the stroke order for Kanji

There is no correct, fixed stroke order, but there is a recommended stroke order.
From "handbook for teaching stroke order by Ministry of Education, Science and Culture"

※It depends on the period and country.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroke_order

If you write in the recommended stroke order, you will be able to write smoothly and easily memorize the shape of the characters.

The basic writing style is as follows

• Left to right.
• Top to Bottom

Understand how to read kanji

Onyomi (Chinese reading)

This is the reading that came from China.
There are multiple ways to read them because of the different periods and regions in which they were introduced from China to Japan.
Most of them are difficult to understand the meaning in Japanese just by listening to the sound.

Kunyomi (Japanese reading)

This is a way of applying Kanji to the Japanese language that was originally spoken.
In most cases, the meaning of the Kanji is the same as the meaning of the Japanese word.
So, you can understand the meaning of Japanese by listening to the sound.

There are many ways to read Kanji, but there is a bias towards some readings that are often used and others that are rarely used.
Knowing this, you can focus on the ones you use most often.
There is no need to force yourself to memorize the readings you rarely use. But, since the vocabulary is small, it will be easier to remember them.

Increase vocabulary by the association of Kanji character

Once you know the meaning of a Kanji, learn the words that use that Kanji.
Since many of the words are in the same genre, you can increase your vocabulary like a snowball effect.

For example, the Kanji character "地" means "ground".
And you can remember them in relation to "地上(aboveground)", "地下,地中(underground)", "地下鉄(subway)", "地価(land price), and so on.

This is similar to English.

Summary of how to learn Kanji

The JLPT and Joyo Kanji specify about 2,000 characters, but it is not necessary to be able to write all of them in daily life.
There are many Kanji that are fine if you can read them.
Even among Japanese people, there are very few who can write all of the characters unless they have studied them very hard or love them.

So, you don't need to memorize everything, just focus on the necessary Kanji.
In particular, the JLPT N1 specifies many characters that even Japanese people do not use.

And by breaking down the Kanji and knowing its origin, it becomes easier to understand.
In addition, you can increase your vocabulary like a snowball effect.

Let's have a wonderful Japanese life.

This blog will be updated sequentially, so please stay tuned.

↓Other kanji characters can be found in the list here↓

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