Yesterday I started building my on-yomi deck.
I put int the kanji from Chapter 1 of the Genki Kanji book.
I already know these characters, but I still don't know all of their readings.
Everyday I plan to add 1 chapter of kanji into my deck.
I'm not sure if I should study kun-yomi reading at the same time.
I feel like I'll jumble them up if I do.
I reviewed radicals in Anki, and I was surprised to see that I enjoyed it!
The thought of learning radicals seemed like a bore, but I'm having fun learning what each radical means. Some I can see what they represent, but others not at all!
I'll be honest for a moment. I'm enjoying this challenge so much that I studied kanji instead of doing my assignments. ^^;; I forgot how much I enjoyed learning Kanji. I wanted to stay up late and keep studying. But I'm not a night person and I was nodding off. One of the best things to do for your study is to get a good nights sleep.
Today I worked a dreary shift. When I got into my car the first thought was, "I want to go study Kanji". This made me so happy. Usually I think about what show I want to watch. I am feeling quite exhausted but I didn't want to go to sleep without doing some studying.
First I reviewed radicals from the Textfugu deck. So many of them I recognized right away. It feels great when your mind brings back what you've learned. So my review was pretty quick. I then went to the other radical deck. I am now confused because some of the radicals in that deck have very different meanings. The radicals also have so many different ways of pronunciation. Is it important to know the names of the radicals? Should I bother learning them or just stick to knowing what they mean? I don't know.
I looked over my book and it explains that I only have to memorize the 16 radicals to know the kanji of that book. I will add these to my on-yomi deck as extra cards. They will be the main ones that I need to know, but I do not want to stop learning the rest of the radicals.
I added chapter 2 into my on-yomi deck. Radicals are definitively easier to learn ><. I'm wondering how one knows when to use on-yomi or kun-yomi when reading a new word. I vaguely remember Mattias from tias90 channel talking about it. I will have to re-watch his Kanji tips video. I remember taking notes. I'll have to find my notebook in my mess. ^^''
I haven't had time to use Ering's challenge site or write journal entries for my challenge. I'm not going to be hard on myself though. A part of these challenges is for me to learn how to juggle school, work, and Japanese. I have to pick and choose what learning materials will be best for that day.
That's all for today!
皆も頑張ってくださいね。
It's not necessary to study the kun-yomi of all the kanji which you learn. For example, everyone learns the on-yomi of 携 before they learn its kun-yomi 携（たずさ）える、携わる (I had to check its kun-yomi to be honest! I never use that verb), as the on-yomi would be around JLPT N3 but the kun-yomi N1 level. Basically, you just need to remember the kun-yomi of characters like 廃、清、商 etc. for the N2 and N1 exams (some of those readings are good to memorise, though).
ReplyDeleteInclude in your YouTube PM which radicals you don't understand. I had to do a ton of radical study for my Kanji exams in Japan, so I may be able to help you.
Yes, sleep is crucial, not only for one's studies but also for one's health. There's no point in studying if you're dozing off as your brain won't retain a significant portion of that information.
At your current level, I wouldn't bother with learning the names of radicals. Sure, you can learn a few like さんずい、にすい、てへん、にんべん etc. but don't bother with つくり radicals (i.e. the ones on the right, like 攵), にょう radicals (i.e. the ones which go under a Kanji, like in 送、返）. When I took my Kanji tests I could probably name at least forty radicals off the top of my head, but as I don't use that knowledge much anymore I can't recall nearly as many as I could 9-10 months ago. In short, don't waste too much time studying things which 1. you can't make good use of even if you're in Japan (I learned tons of difficult phrases for tests in Japan which I can't use as they are obsolete...now I'm forgetting them), and 2. you will forget eventually. If you plan on moving to Japan and doing research on kanji or something, you can learn the four main kinds of radicals, へん(left side),かしら(top),にょう(left/under) and つくり (right side) then. Otherwise, there are many more things relating to kanji which you could and should invest your limited time in.
Whether to use on-yomi or kun-yomi... in the majority of cases, a kanji compound is read by each kanji's respective on-yomi. However, there are many exceptions, such as 神様、重荷（おもにーBurden）、花園（はなぞのーFlower garden）、花火、焼き鳥, etc. When it comes to names, particularly place names of towns which have been around for ages, either one knows the reading or not, lol. In short, one gains a feel for whether a word should be read with on-yomi or kun-yomi after a while, but it takes time until one gets to that level, and even then one can make mistakes. Language learning is a never-ending journey!
It's good that you're not killing yourself over your challenge(s). It's much more important that you maintain a steady pace - no good going all out for two weeks and then only studying 1-2 hours a week for two months, for example. I remember my Sensei in Hokkaido telling me a story about a girl who got into Tokyo University. She didn't really study that hard until halfway through her 2nd year at senior high school, if I recall. How did she get into the number one uni in Japan? She studied every single day, i.e. she maintained a steady pace. Essentially, it's when people feel 'ah, I cbf with Japanese study today' that they absolutely must do Japanese study, as that consistent effort will produce results in the long run.
I apologise for the long comments. I haven't had an opportunity to get engaged about Japanese like this since I left Japan. これからも頑張れ！！ You can do it! Looking forward to your YouTube response :)
Mattias
Wah! So Kun-yomi is not that important huh? Glad o know I was doing the right thing sticking to On-yomi!^^ I'll definitively PM you about the radicals I don't know.
DeleteI see. So studying their names would be like useless school knowledge that isn't used in daily life. That stinks that you put so much work into learning them and now they're vanishing from your memory. ><
It is frustrating not knowing how to read something, but once I learn it I get so excited. It's like putting a puzzle piece into the bigger picture. Finding the pieces and putting it together is the fun part! (... I kinda want to do a puzzle now haha)
Not killing myself over my challenges is a big lesson I've learnt. I'm always too hard on myself. When ののちゃん studied in Uni with me she woke at 5am every day and studied before class, during the day, and before bed. She amazed me. She was a wonderful student. Not because she had a higher intellect but because she put so much hard work into it. (And organized.) Now she's been studying for over a year for the gov exams in JP. She and you inspire me a lot at the hard work you put in day after day.
Don't apologize! I'm sorry my replies are so short. T^T. Getting feedback is really helpful, and I enjoy reading the long comments. I like discussing things. ^^
I will, hopefully, finishing rep to your YT PM. (Yes I have been working on it^^v)