Learning kanji

The kanji are part of the Japanese writing system. Because of the large number of characters, learning them is a major task for a foreign learner of Japanese. Different theories and methodologies for learning the characters abound.

The method used by Japanese schoolchildren is to learn the characters by repetition. Characters are repeatedly written out by hand until memorized. There is a fixed order of characters followed by all elementary schools.

Methods for foreign learners of Japanese vary from similar copying-based methods used by texts such as O'Neill, to the mnemonic-based methods seen in James Heisig's series of books Remembering the Kanji. Several other textbooks have their own unique methods, often based on the etymology of the characters, such as Mathias and Halbein's or Henshall's books. Pictorial mnemonics, as in the text "Kanji Pictografix", are also seen.

Number of characters that need to be learned

Learners may be confused about how many characters they need to learn in order to read Japanese fluently. The government-approved list of characters called the jōyō kanji is commonly referred to as a standard by kanji learning books such as Heisig, Henshall, and Mathias and Halbein. However, this list does not contain all the kanji one needs to read modern Japanese. There are a number of kanji not on the list that are very common, not even including ones in place names and personal names. In addition, there are a number of rare characters on the jōyō kanji list.

It is also not clear whether one must learn the entire jōyō kanji list in order to read a Japanese text. The most common characters show up far more frequently than the less common ones. In newspapers, for instance, the most common 500 characters account for 80% of the characters appearing in texts. Further, the jōyō kanji list has never been more than a set of suggestions or guidelines, mainly aimed at schoolchildren rather than adult users, and it is often ignored by writers and publishers when choosing which kanji are acceptable to be shown without furigana in printed form. Newspapers follow a modified version of it closely. The publishers of the bunkobon editions of literature usually follow it (or, in the past, the tōyō kanji list) closely as well.

Books on learning kanji

• Kanji ABC
• Remembering the Kanji by James Heisig

See also

• Kanji
• Kanji Kentei
• Jōyō kanji
• List of resources for learning Japanese

External links

• Kanjisite: Free kanji learning site
• Learn Kanji: Learn kanji with JLPT sheets
• Scott Alprin, Teaching Kanji with components: using an element-based approach in class
• Kanji Word Families: Study method based on thesis that kanji evolved from seven primordial concepts.
• 500 Print-friendly Kanji Flash Cards
• Office XP IME Required in order to use Japanese input method in Microsoft Office XP. Also necessary for those who want to enable Japanese font display but do not have a Windows XP install cd.
• a learning software for learning kanji (available in English and German)
• White Rabbit Press publishes a set of Japanese Kanji Flashcards specifically designed for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test
• Flash-card and story exchange site for those working with Heisig book