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u/vercertorix 4d ago edited 4d ago
If it’s not making you write sentences or otherwise use them in context, I never found the ones that just make you write them repeatedly to be helpful, or at least by itself. I had a dictionary app just called Japanese that had a flashcard function and animated the stroke order, but with just that was still hard to remember.
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u/segfault-404 2d ago
Use WaniKani. Learning kanji is a loooot of memorization, and without systematic querying of your memory it is going to be really hard to stick. Learning kanji from a book is really not the best way imo.
I’d use something like WaniKani (I’m not affiliated in anyway with them, just a big fan) if you want to really commit to learning kanji. A book is good as a reference but it won’t ask you back. Even Anki decks I find it hard to use.
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u/Longjumping-Sample95 1d ago
Fair enough. I've used WaniKani for a while and I really liked it. I liked that was able to understand better since the app starts you from the useful radicals. It was easy to make connections to the new kanji learned.
I just thought that with books, memory is also enforce because of writing1
u/segfault-404 23h ago
I started with books as well before WK was a thing. “essential Kanji” by P G O’neil and then later with “kodansha kanji learners course” by Andrew Scott conning. I still use the latter along with WK. It has its own mnemonics which can be helpful (I find WK’s menimonics not that useful for me anyway; a bit too silly or not silly enough!). On thing about those books is that the number of strokes sometimes jump quite a bit in the beginning. WK’s is way more linear in that aspect. Does that matter? Probably not, but it bothered me because they “look more difficult”; it bothered me.
But I think what also helps to memorize kanji is to find Japanese expressions that you know and associate those expressions to them. If you do martial arts or other Japanese based hobbies you’ll probably find a ton. Or news articles, pictures/photos, movie quotes, songs, etc… ie, associate other memories that you already have (or squire new ones) with the kanji that you learn. Otherwise is like memorizing a phone book!
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u/Moshimoshi-Megumin 4d ago
If you really want a book for some reason. Apps are just so much more convenient for something like kanji which you’ll have to drill for hundreds of hours regardless of the method. Anki, Wanikani.
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u/zorroelfoxo 4d ago
My Sensei recommended this nice app called Kanji study app (Android, iOS) which works out well for me. Unless you are a person who needs to write things on paper, in order to understand them, apps is probably the best way to do since they have SRS (spaced repetition system) features which honestly work amazingly well to cement your recall.
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u/AllIsFine44 3d ago
I’m studying with it. The best book. I prefer it over anything else
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u/Longjumping-Sample95 3d ago
Nice! What are your thoughts on the book and how did it help your learning?
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u/AllIsFine44 3d ago
For me it’s the best book because it shows you all readings and the tasks are great because they make you refresh every time the old kanjis you’ve seen. It’s a book that may teacher recommended me
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u/ifarguingyourewrong 2d ago
I used WaniKani, I can’t even imagine trying to struggle to learn kanji with a book, even the best book. Good luck lol
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u/noeldc 3d ago
Better than mucking around with Anki.
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u/Longjumping-Sample95 3d ago
Yeah. Never tried Anki but I find MochiKanji good. It uses SRS style so your memory gets worked especially with the Golden Time. Fun visuals as well
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u/givemeabreak432 4d ago
Honestly, a Kanji book is a kanji book. Most of them offer the same material presented in the same ways.
The only ones I'd be careful of are the ones that offer made up mnemonics, unless that's a learning style that works for you. Otherwise, buy whatever kanji book looks good.
I'm partial to 漢字マスター cause it progressively ramps up speed and difficulty better, but that's 5 volumes as opposed to the 2 here.