Kanji ... I just don't get it!
So most Kanji have an On and a Kun reading, right? And a good number of those have multiple readings for both? And then even multiple meanings, right?
Basically... what should I know? Should I study the On reading? When do I pernounce the On reading instead of the Kun reading? How many different readings for each Kanji should I learn at this point as a beginner?
Furthermore, how in the world do I look Kanji up? Are there Kanji dictionaries? How would you look up Kanji--by number of strokes and then stroke direction?
Then! When two Kanji are stuck next to each other, they mean something completely different than the Kanji that are by themselves. How do you know what it means?
ども ありがとう ございます！
Edit: Eh? I swear I posted this in the Kanji section, oops! Sorry!
I dont know a whole lot about kanji, but I feel your pain. kanji alone will get rid of those who are not serious about learning Japanese. What is really throwing me in a loop is when two kanji are together and means something totally different. I suppose, like everything else, this will come with practice...but ohh is it so confusing. Hopefully someone who knows what they are talking about can shed some light on this. :-]
I think practical usage really helps. Something that helps me is reading childrens books, those usually have the furigana beside the Kanji so since you know your hiragana you can at least read aloud seamlessly and then go back later and figure out what you couldn't get from context. I think seeing Kanji in context (even train station names!) helps, vs. trying to remember Kanji just by themselves from a textbook. Like if you read one Kanji, and beat it to death, know all its various readings, meanings, etc., what good is that if you still stumble over it in a book or article and you can't figure out what its supposed to MEAN right then and there. As cacawate pointed out, seeing the context and getting to know things through repetition is important much in the same way as it was learning English.
The only way to go is to start a little at a time. You can't expect to master the kanjis like you would hiragana and katakana. Although this comparison may not necessarily be valid, you can say that learning hiragana/katakana is like learning to write the ABCs in English--something you master by 1st grade. Learning kanji is like building your vocabulary in English--which continues on up to high school and further, as you pursue your studies.
So, be patient in learning kanji. You must accept and master both "on" and "kun' readings for each kanji you learn, though some characters may have only one reading and some have multiple readings (as a result of hybridization and evolution of the Japanese language).
Explaining this can go on and on, so I'd like to post a long comment on this topic made by Mr. Shinji Takasugi. This had been posted here in JREF in the past. Glad I had it bookmarked! :cool:
Why Use Kanji? (http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/japanese/message/jpnDwlWNqXkDwjfGuYF.html)
This school of thought will be your biggest hurdle in the learning of not only Kanji, but the language itself.
The words do not have multiple meanings unless you attempt to translate them into your own language, where they can be used in multiple instances and have to be translated as different words for each instance.
As I am obviously not good at explaining things let me give you an example:
【やさしい】 (adj) tender; kind; gentle; graceful; affectionate; amiable; suave; (P)
Not knowing the word, your first instinct would be to memorize all of the translations for it and then try to put it to use. You only have one word to memorize here, though. That word is やさしい. Find the contexts that it's used in and build from there. This is how you learned English, isn't it?
"That person over there just let me go in front of them at the market. They are very やさしい, aren't they?"
"That child over there doesn't hit the dog like the other kids, how やさしい."
This is the way I try to learn words, and I hope it works for you. Make it like you are learning a whole new word and I think it will be much easier for you.
I apologize for semi-derailing the thread. As you were.
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