{"id":11,"date":"2017-03-05T08:11:03","date_gmt":"2017-03-05T08:11:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/128.199.128.224\/?page_id=11"},"modified":"2019-10-14T10:26:14","modified_gmt":"2019-10-14T01:26:14","slug":"300-kanji-30-days","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/naganashi.com\/kanjiflow\/300-kanji-30-days\/","title":{"rendered":"300 Kanji in 30 Days"},"content":{"rendered":"

This guide is available along with a detailed appendix on the app’s options<\/a> and settings (1<\/a>\u30fb2)<\/a> on Apple Books (free):<\/p>\n

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The apps recommended in this guide are only available for iPhone and iPad.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Almost anyone can appreciate the aesthetic appeal of Japanese calligraphy.<\/p>\n

But, if you\u2019re studying the Japanese language, kanji can also be\u00a0terrifying<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Thousands of seemingly random combinations of lines; how will you ever remember them all?<\/p>\n

Well, they aren\u2019t random. Kanji is a writing system that has been developed and refined over thousands of years in China and further refined by the Japanese when they imported it to their language.<\/p>\n

Because the kanji are\u00a0systematic<\/strong>\u00a0in nature, you should study them in a systematic manner.<\/p>\n

This guide is for the\u00a0upper beginner to lower intermediate<\/strong>\u00a0student of Japanese. You should already know some Japanese words. You probably already know a few kanji. Perhaps you\u2019ve already forgotten a lot of the kanji that you studied in the past.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m gonna show you how to\u00a0stop forgetting<\/strong>\u00a0and study kanji\u00a0the easy way<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re even a just a casual student of Japanese, you\u2019ve probably heard of using\u00a0mnemonics<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0SRS<\/strong>\u00a0to help you study kanji. That\u2019s basically what this system is as well.<\/p>\n

So, the system itself isn\u2019t new but my implementation uses your iPhone to help you manage your studies and relies on studying in a\u00a0context<\/strong>ual manner. What I mean by context is that you really shouldn\u2019t just be studying kanji by themselves. Kanji is a system used for\u00a0conveying ideas<\/strong>\u00a0and so I think it\u2019s better if you study them within the context of conveying ideas.<\/p>\n

This method uses an app called\u00a0kanji Flow<\/strong>\u00a0which makes it very easy to study with context because it features a built-in\u00a0examples database<\/strong>. It will automatically show you the\u00a0most common words<\/strong>\u00a0for each kanji and\u00a0example sentences<\/strong>\u00a0for most Japanese words.<\/p>\n

This study system won\u2019t work for everyone<\/strong>, but if you already have at least some knowledge of Japanese and you can devote\u00a025 minutes a day<\/strong> for\u00a030 days<\/strong>, you\u2019ll\u00a0study 300 kanji<\/strong>\u00a0and be well on your way to 1000, 2000, even 3000 characters\u2026much more than the average Japanese person.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not familiar with using mnemonics to study kanji, basically you will\u00a0break kanji down<\/strong>\u00a0into smaller, less complex pieces, and create\u00a0your own, personalized reading system<\/strong>\u00a0in order to help you try to remember what they look like. When I say reading system, I actually mean\u00a0stories<\/strong>. You\u2019ll be reading the kanji by making up a story based on what it looks like. You\u2019ve probably already naturally done this as you\u2019ve been studying. I\u2019m gonna help you make that more systematic and ensure that every new kanji you study builds upon what you\u2019ve studied in the past.<\/p>\n

With kanji Flow, you\u2019ll\u00a0study the characters as they are used in words and sentences<\/strong> and not just by themselves in order to really understand what they mean and how to use them. And kanji Flow\u2019s SRS will manage your study schedule automatically so there will be\u00a0no wasted time<\/strong>\u00a0trying to figure out what to study when.<\/p>\n

The Secret<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Let me be clear right from the start that this method is\u00a0not magical<\/strong>. There is no effortless way to study kanji.<\/p>\n

There is no miraculous method to being good at anything. Whether it be baseball, piano, or Japanese; if you want to be good at something, you already know exactly how to do it:<\/p>\n

Work<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It will take time, energy, and effort to study Japanese\u00a0and kanji. Quite a lot of all three, in fact.<\/p>\n

However, there are certainly more and less efficient systems and methods available to you.<\/p>\n

This method simply aims to be\u00a0more efficient<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This method also aims to be\u00a0cost effective<\/strong>. The necessary book has a free sample version available on the web and that\u2019s all we\u2019ll need.\u00a0Both of the iPhone apps I\u2019m going to suggest are free to download. Neither of them have ads or in-app purchases.\u00a0I\u2019m also going to recommend a\u00a0website<\/a> which is completely free to use as well, although you will have to create an account.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t use an iPhone, I\u2019m sure there must be similar apps on Android and Windows Phone but you\u2019ll have to research what\u2019s available and learn to use them yourself. Also, they probably won\u2019t integrate together the way the iPhone apps do but, at worst, that\u2019ll just mean a bit of extra work on your part.<\/p>\n

Anyway, let\u2019s go over the basics and see how this method works.<\/p>\n

The Basics<\/h2>\n

We\u2019re going to be using\u00a0Remembering the Kanji<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0James W. Heisig<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While it wouldn\u2019t hurt to actually buy the book, (and I suppose I should encourage you to in appreciation of Mr. Heisig\u2019s work) you\u2019ll actually only need to\u00a0use the free sample edition<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Remembering the Kanji Sample, 6th Edition<\/a><\/p>\n

Save a local copy of the PDF so you\u2019ll have quick access to it later if necessary\u2026it\u2019ll probably be necessary.<\/p>\n

It would be best for you to\u00a0read the entire introduction<\/strong>\u00a0in order to get the best understanding of how this method works.<\/p>\n

It is a bit long though.<\/p>\n

You should at least read:<\/p>\n