Why Kanji Is Your Secret Weapon for Mastering Japanese

[@ryo-kai8587]

I can attest to this, even though I'm still at a low level. Kanji used to feel impossible, but after studying for just a short while with an Anki 2k/6k deck, I'm starting to see the benefit of learning them from the start, as part of the word. I also use the Rikaikun browser add-on so I can learn about kanji and words by just hovering over them. The various definitions and forms listed also help with understanding kanji as "concepts" instead of just words. I'm just starting to have those little epiphanies learners talk about. I recently saw 玉子 and it just clicked because I knew "ball" was 玉「たま」, "child" was 子「こ」, and たまご meant "egg". It's kinda funny, but "ball child" makes sense, lol. I know this will happen more and more as my knowledge increases. The TL;DR is that if you associate them with words and concepts you're learning from the start, they actually can be helpful. You don't need to do long study sessions, but you have to be willing to learn consistently (preferably daily) over a very long time. _Bonus example of why kanji actually kinda make sense:_ 高い「たかい」"high/tall, expensive" 最高「さいこう」"the best" _(most + high)_ 高校「こうこう」"high school" _(high + school, just like in English)_

[@Tamagotochannel]

Hi. It's interesting, you are doing the same things I used to do. I also used rikaikun, and it was so helpful in the beginning, it helped me grasp the concepts of each kanji as you say, without having to over stress over also remembering their reading at the same time. Readings came with more experience from learning everyday. Like 玉子, I like the name of home appliances, like 冷蔵庫、れいぞうこ, fridge . 冷 is cold, 蔵　庫 both indicate a place where you store stuff, like a warehouse (their differences in meaning come from what was stored in each one in ancient times) . Or places in a house, like 車庫, しゃこ, garage, a combination of 'vehicle' and 'warehouse' . I could talk about that for hours , haha. Hope you continue to progress and enjoy kanji more and more too :)

[@ryo-kai8587]

@@Tamagotochannel Thanks! Yeah, I'm very thankful for Rikaikun for sure. It's a massive help. And as usual, I love to notice the overlap. I didn't know 車庫, but I realized I do know both くるま and しゃ as readings for "vehicle" from 電車 and 自転車. 庫 being the same storehouse kanji (and reading) as in 冷蔵庫 is certainly convenient! I look forward to noticing many more things like this.