Looking for advice on learning kanji and any other teens stu

[sakura_joshin]

I'm 14, and I certainly seem to be the only person studying japanese in junior high. I'm also really having trouble grasping kanji (2000 characters!) I've almost mastered hiragana and katana, though.

[ebear215]

Your not the only one. Im 13. I gave up on Kanji. But I should probabily learn Hiragana and Katakana first. That would probabily help. He He He. But Im lazy (is that how u spell Lazy?) so who cares.

[sakura_joshin]

Cool. And yeah, it is useful to know hiragana and katakana first. I was kinda suprised with hiragana- It's no harder than learning the english alphabet.

[battousai]

I have to say I always find it odd that people think Kanji is that amazingly more difficult than Kana. Yes, there are a multitude more, they can be up to 20+ strokes, and there are groups of them that look literally all alike. BUT, in the end they're also all just like Kana in that they are all a symbol with a sound and meaning. The same way you learned Hiragana you can apply to a set of Kanji because they're both the same thing, just a symbol with a set of strokes. There are 46 Hiragana and it usually takes people a few days to a week to learn all of them. Unless you're in a rush to become fluent, move to Japan, and start a company there by next month, there's no reason why you can't learn Kanji in a similar number of groups in the similar amount of time. Now obviously, it will take months and yes even years to master, but that applies to mastering anything in this world.

I'd say people think Kana is much easier than Kanji because it is used a lot in beginner lessons/books/examples and can be read instantly. If someone put an entire Japanese novel into Hiragana, a person who has studied Kana for a week could at least read it phonetically. So yes, because people are exposed to Hiragana so much in the beginning it becomes easier to memorize. But finding a piece of reading that has only Kanji you know or will know isn't as easy. You can't just pick up a newspaper and find an article with only Kanji you know. This is why Kanji textbooks and supplements are necessary because they can give you reading passages only with Kanji you've learned. And, just like you did with Hiragana, you have to read and read and practice.

Anyway, don't give up is the best piece of advice. There is a good number of Kanji that are difficult, and there is a good number of Kanji that are even easier than Kana. No matter what though, tackle Kanji the same way you did Kana because if you end up thinking it is something more difficult, it will be.

[Kates]

I'm with battousai: DON'T GIVE UP. I mean, yeah it's hard, but it's not impossible. About a billion Japanese people did it--why can't you? ^_^ And there is NO way you are going to make any progress with Japanese if you DON'T learn kanji. It's true.

The kana are easier because the readings of them never change. か　is always read KA--that's the wonderful thing about them. ^_^ But kanji can have several readings and (usually) are more complicated to write. Don't let that discourage you! Start with one or two a day (especially if you are teaching yourself)--and DON'T start until you're confident with your kana skills. Don't try tackling the WHOLE langauge all at once!!

Really, when you start learning them, the kanji will be fun--if you let them! Kanji were one of the draws I had to Japanese, and I'm sure some of you are the same. (C'mon! They just look so cool!) Keep trying--and you'll find you enjoy studying Japanese!

GANBATTE! (Do your best!)

[sakura_joshin]

Thanks- I guess you're right, kanji isn't that different from kana, or any other alphabet for that matter (and some of them do look pretty cool). Although I still think I'm going to learn katakana first.

[Akutabai_Gamma]

But those On and Kun readings can be a killer and i agree with what everyone else says, besides, Japanese is only hard if you let it be but that goes for pretty much anything really.

[Kates]

On and Kun readings aren't that hard if you learn vocab with them. I tell you, I'd probably totally forget the ON readings for 読 and 書, if I didn't know the word 読書　(どくしょ - dokusho) meant "reading". (As in 'Reading is my hobby.'... sounds more adult than "I like reading.")

That's my advice for remembering the readings. Find a word for all the readings of a kanji and that will help you remember it, as well as improving your vocabulary. ^_^

[Supergrunch]

I am also a teenager learning Japanese- I'm 16. I'm not learning at school, however, I'm just self-studying. I don't let Japanese become difficult because I'm very motivated to learn it; I learnt the kana in a couple of days, and although I haven't properly started learning kanji yet I'm picking the odd one up every now and then.

Just keep at it.

[Sacari]

I'm in junior high and learning japanese, I'm 13 years old, so you're your not alone.
Something helpful for learning the kana and kanji are mnemonics. If you have a really good mnemonic for a kanji you'll probably find it super easy to remember that one. There's a great article on this site on mnemonics... http://www.thejapanesepage.com/readarti ... cle_id=168 . Because of that article I'll never forget 心, 中 and 忠.
Don't give up!

[AaRoN]

sakura_joshin wrote:
I'm 14, and I certainly seem to be the only person studying japanese in junior high. I'm also really having trouble grasping kanji (2000 characters!) I've almost mastered hiragana and katana, though.

I'm 14 and no1 i no is studying Japnese so ur not alone. If u start to study japanese now u will be able to speak sooner than most people.

[Sachi]

I'm 12! (Well, turning 13 in a few weeks!). Kanji really aren't that hard; I think they're actually VERY helpful (if you know them!). Because there are no word breaks in a Japanese sentence, it's very hard (for me) to decipher the meaning. Kanji are so useful! Know the character, and it helps a LOT in getting the meaning in a sentence, even if you don't know all the words there. So don't give up! (I know I won't! Go motivation! )

Edit: Wow, this is a pretty old post A buncha typos, though.... Haha!

[JoshMac]

I'm 13 and I am trying to learn Japanese, I dream to oneday leave this boring island to move onto Japan:D

[faan-san]

I'm 16 and in a class. I don't have the luxury of having a teacher teach me kanji. If I want to learn it, I have to venture out on my own. And, I will only use kanji that I learned from reliable sources. ^_^

[shikamarufoo]

Wow you young ones are lucky. I wish I could have started learning Japanese at 13 or 12 instead of starting last year at 15. I also dream to get outta the US and go to Japan. I hope you guys don't give up on learning Kanji. I just started learning it (already learned all kanas) and must say it's not as hard as you might think, but just requires an ample amount of time to study. Good luck...