Memorizing the Kanji
Mindframes Flashcards started out as a tool to help students of Japanese memorize the Kanji characters.
Remembering the Kanji is the main obstacle that students without prior knowledge of Chinese characters must overcome to become proficient in Japanese.
Without knowledge of the Kanji, it is not possible to read Japanese, and students who are unable to read - even if they live in Japan - will find it difficult to make progress beyond a conversational level.
This page contains tips for memorizing the Kanji that worked well in my own Japanese study, and that other students may find helpful.
- First learn how to write. At the beginning of your study, devote your time to learning how to write each Kanji character. Hold off studying Kanji readings (i.e. pronunciations) until you can write all, or at least most, of the Jōyō Kanji from memory. Do not try to study writing and reading at the same time.
- To practice writing, review from English keyword to Kanji.
When learning to write the Kanji, flashcards should always be reviewed
from English keyword to Kanji character. Look at the keyword and try to
write out the character from memory, preferably using pencil and paper.
The best way to practice the shapes of the Kanji is to review a keyword prompt, recall the character and write it down. Writing each character out on paper (or at least with your finger in the palm of your hand) ensures that you engage both your visual and your motor memory during review. There is no point using flashcards to practice recognizing the Kanji when you encounter them since you will develop this ability automatically by practicing writing, and you will have plenty of opportunities to practice recognition once you start reading Japanese texts.
- Recall the Kanji by reconstructing them from their radicals.
Systematically assign a unique English keyword to each Kanji, and a
meaning to each of the radicals of which the Kanji characters are
composed. When trying to remember a Kanji based on a keyword prompt,
first try to recall the radicals contained in it. Then try to remember
how the radicals are put together to reconstruct the shape of the Kanji
in your mind.
For example, suppose you are presented with the keyword "bright" and want to remember the corresponding Kanji. As a first step, you will have to recall that the Kanji for "bright" is composed of the radicals for "day" and "moon". You then need to recall that these radicals are written 日 and 月. As a third step, you must recall that, in "bright", the radical for "day" appears to the left of that for "moon", so that you can then remember that the Kanji for "bright" is written 明.
To give another example, suppose you want to recall the Kanji for "crowded". You will first have to remember that "crowded" is composed of the radicals for "road" and "enter". You then have to recall that these radicals are written ⻌ and 入. Finally, you need to recall that, in "crowded", the radical for "enter" appears above that for "road", so that you can then remember that "crowded" is written 込. - Learn to write the Jōyō Kanji within a short timeframe. If
your schedule allows it, try to become proficient with writing the 2,136
Jōyō Kanji within a short period of time. For example, if you can study
full-time, you may be able to study 35-50 new characters per day, which
may allow you to complete this stage of your study in less than 2
months.
Unlike Japanese children who study the Kanji in school over the course of many years, foreign students who begin their study of the Kanji as adults should, if possible, try to become proficient with writing the Kanji on a compressed schedule. The reason is that the best way to retain Kanji in memory is through practice reading real Japanese texts, but trying to read will be frustrating unless you have already learned to recognize some minimum "critical mass" of the Jōyō Kanji to provide you with a foundation on which to build reading skills. If you add new characters to your study regimen on a slow schedule (e.g. 2 new Kanji per day), then by the time you memorize a significant number of new Kanji you will likely have forgotten many of those you studied earlier. This can result in a cycle of memorizing and forgetting in which you never hold a large enough number of Kanji in memory at the same time to be able to advance to the next level of proficiency at which you can read well enough to "organically" refresh your memory of the Kanji by simply reading texts in which they occur.
- To practice reading, review from Kanji to pronunciation. In
learning how to read the Kanji out aloud, flashcards should always be
reviewed from Kanji character to on'yomi or kun'yomi readings (i.e.
pronunciations). To the extent possible, try to recall entire words that
utilize the relevant reading of the character.
If you already know vocabulary that contains the Kanji you are studying, the best way to memorize readings is to try to recall words that utilize these readings. For example, when presented with the character 食, try to recall the words 食べる (たべる), 食う (くう), 朝食 (ちょうしょく) and 断食 (だんじき), if you have previously studied them. There is usually no point reviewing flashcards from reading to Kanji character, given that the same reading is often shared by multiple Kanji characters and, as a result, it is impossible when presented with a given reading to identify a unique Kanji associated with it.
- In learning to read the Kanji, combine flashcard study with sustained practice reading Japanese texts.
The study of Kanji readings should be approached as a long-term project
that requires not just flashcard practice, but intensive and sustained
engagement with real Japanese texts.
Kanji readings are difficult to remember due to their unfamiliarity, the fact that each Kanji typically has multiple readings, and that different Kanji often share the same or phonetically similar readings. Flashcard practice of the readings is important but should not be undertaken in isolation. It should be combined with intensive, sustained practice reading real Japanese texts such as newspapers and books, which will force you to recognize and differentiate the Kanji characters and remember their readings in the real-life context in which they are used.
Knowing how to write the Kanji and being able to read them out aloud are distinct abilities that are best developed through different study methods. One of the most important steps you can take to make your approach to studying the Kanji more efficient is to first immerse yourself in practicing to recall the shapes of the Kanji and write them out, without distracting yourself by trying to simultaneously memorize Kanji readings. Attempting to study writing and readings at the same time will likely lead to information overload and diminish your ability to retain what you have studied.