Shopping Guide
Did you ever have difficulty studying kanji? Did you ever want to bypass the “kanji-wall”? Introducing to you the fourth article in our Beginner’s Guide to Japanese series: Mnemonic Kanji! In this article, we present to you some mnemonic kanji techniques to study and learn kanji characters used in Japanese easier and to have fun. Submit your own study techniques and stand to win TOM Points!
Onyoumi and Kunyoumi readings for Kanji
A note for those who are unfamiliar with kanji. You will see under the kanji the romaji (transcribed letters) writing of pronunciation. But why are some readings in capital letters?
That is because “On readings,” or the borrowed Chinese pronunciations of the character, are always indicated in capital letters to avoid confusion with the other group, the “Kun readings,” or the native Japanese way of pronouncing the kanji. Make note that both pronunciations are used, so it’s important to know both readings of any kanji.
Techniques for Kanji Study
Movement
Try moving your body in a fashion that reminds you of a character. For kanji studying, this method is preferred to use on easy kanji that do not have many strokes.
Example:
火
KA, hi
**fire**
Stand up and turn the palms of your hands upward, as if fire was burning in your palms.
Keyword Mnemonic
Keyword mnemonics are used to learn foreign words and vocabulary by relating new words with known words. To use this method, you find a word you want to learn and then find a similar-sounding word in your own language. Then you connect them visually.
Example:
空
KUU, sora, kara, aku
**sky, empty**
In Japanese, this kanji can be read as “**sora**” and means sky. Now when we repeat “**sora**” over and over, gradually getting faster, it sounds like soar (our keyword). Something that soars outside is likely to end up in the sky.
Pointing Out
With this method, you are able to analyze and make difficult kanji easy to understand. Difficult kanji are scary at first sight due to their overwhelming number of strokes. You point out each radical/element of the kanji and then come up with your own text mnemonic. Draw the radicals if it’s too difficult.
Example:
習
SHUU, narau
**train, learn**
On the top we have the character wings and on the bottom we have white. White wings can only mean that you need more training! If your white wings become grey, you have made progress.
Fictional Characters
Fictional characters can be used to memorize kanji easier and have fun because you create the characters. They can be used in explanations to fuel your learning process. Easily make up something you think might help you understand a kanji character easier and make it funny, too!
Example:
星
SEI, SHOO, hoshi
**star**
This kanji means star. If you look closely, you might think it is a person called Hoshi, a girl with a skirt. Yes, a person with limbs who resembles a star on stage holding a microphone in their left hand singing a song. But it isn’t that kind of star! It’s the star in the sky!
We hope these tips were useful to you! What techniques do you use to study Japanese? Submit your study techniques here and stand to win $5 in TOM Points! Let’s enjoy otaku life!
This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode Summer Ninja Academy 2014 original article
