Introduction to Japanese Kanji and How to Learn Kanji Quickly

Introduction to Japanese Kanji and How to Learn Kanji Quickly

If you are a beginner of Japanese ready to start learning kanji, this video will help you answer these questions.

What are Japanese kanji?
- Kanji make up the third part of the Japanese writing system after hiragana and katakana. Unlike the kana, kanji characters have both meaning and pronunciation (readings). The pronunciations are divided into two types: on yomi (On readings for sounds from Chinese) and kun yomi (Kun readings for native Japanese pronunciations)

How many kanji are there?
- No one really knows, but over 2,000 kanji are needed to be literate in Japan!

Why study kanji?!
- In Japan, kanji is everywhere. Kanji does a great job of giving meaning at a glance--it is easier to skim Japanese than English due to kanji characters. Kanji help differentiate homophones. And sometimes, by knowing kanji, you can figure out the meaning of words you have never encountered before!

How to learn kanji readings?
- The best way to learn the pronunciation of kanji is to learn vocabulary words and note the kanji in context.

How to learn kanji meanings?
- Enjoy your kanji journey. It truly is fascinating. Also, kanji are made up of radicals and kanji parts. Use mnemonic stories to "build" the kanji in your head. In this way, you'll remember not only the meaning of a kanji but how to write it too. If you can create a mnemonic story based on the meanings of these kanji parts, even seemingly complex kanji can be learned quickly.

How to study kanji?
- Use technology such as Anki flashcard software, Yomichan the Chrome extension, and kanji textbooks that use mnemonic stories such as Heisig's Remembering the Kanji and Kodansha's Kanji Learner's Course.

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