How to study Kanji - part 2

This is a second part of a number of posts on how to study Kanji.

I remember very well how overwhelmed I was when I decided to start studying Japanese: so many characters, so many different pronunciations. I remember I didn't even get why they needed different Kanji with identical pronunciations. Wouldn't things be much easier to use 1 Kanji for each pronunciations? These might be questions many people have at first.

I didn't even know where 1 Kanji stopped and another started. Now I can read books, novels, websites in Japanese with little help of a dictionary, and I should (according to my JLPT1 certificate) know more than 2000 Kanji...

The first book I bought on Kanji was "Let's Learn Kanji: An Introduction to Radicals, Components and 250 Very Basic Kanji". I have to admit I bought this book (and not another one) because this was all they had in the book shops where I lived. But, notice the title: in includes radicals and components. And, even though this is a book on learning Kanji, the word Kanji comes at the end, AFTER radicals and components.

I consider myself very lucky that I bought this book, along with my other first text book (Japanese for Busy People I). The reason is that it forced me to start my study with radicals and components, and not immediately with Kanji.

I have to admit (again) that I don't remember the exact difference between radicals and components. It seems I am not the only one, see wikipedia for the difference and confusion between radicals and components. The important thing is that I learned from the very start the kinds of radicals and their placement, and their meaning.

There are several types and placements of radicals. For example there are 偏 (Hen) type radicals which are positioned at the left of a Kanji (for example the 木 radical in 林, 板, 松, and so on). There are 脚 (Ashi) radicals which come at the bottom of Kanji (for example 心 in 志, 悪, 恩, and so on). Learning things like this helps you understand the construction of Kanji later on, and helps you remember them. Moreover, this is also the way Japanese themselves learn Kanji and also the way they use it to explain Kanji to each other.

Secondly, the meaning of the radicals can help you remember the meaning of Kanji containing them. See the example above for 木 in 松. 木 means "tree" , and 松 is "pine tree". I don't have to point out that a pine tree is a ... tree, do I? Likewise, a lot of words I can think of that have a meaning related to trees or wood tend to contain this 木 component: 植, 樹, 杉, 材, 棒, 桜, 桃, etc. Learn the meaning of radicals, and they will often give you a hint about the meaning of other Kanji. Not always, but often.

Finally, a thing that is often forgotten: components of Kanji can not only give you a hint about their meaning, but also about their pronunciation. An example: 高 has kun-yomi "taka(i)", and on-yomi "kou". Likewise, the on-yomi of 稿 (which contains 高) is "kou". 兆 "chou", and 挑 (which contains 兆) is also pronounced "chou". 義 "gi", and 議　儀 (which both contain 義) are both also pronounced "gi". This is not a coincidence: some Kanji contain components indicating their pronunciation.

There are the reasons why I recommend learning radicals and components BEFORE starting on Kanji. Studying Kanji requires a plan, a strategy, a systematic approach. Sure, you want to get started on "real" Kanji right away. But you didn't learn to run before you could walk, did you? Get the basics right first, get a firm foundation: learn radicals and components first. You will catch up with the impatient ones who started on Kanji immediately within a few weeks time, and leave them behind you forever.


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