Home › Forums › The Japanese Language › I'm Stuck And Discouraged
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July 11, 2014 at 10:00 am #45757
On’yomi and Kun’yomi.
I’m about to lose my mind here.No matter how many times I go over the kanji on Wanikani I always get certain kanji wrong because they have specific differences in on’yomi and kun’yomi. No matter what I do, I can’t seem to make those differences stick.
I understand the basics between on and kun, where they came from, when they are used (but I really have to think about it sometimes).
But for some reason, knowing where they came from helps me ZERO in remembering which word is kun and on and I’m going a little bit crazy here over it. I’m still stuck at level 2 in Wanikani after using it for about 3 weeks, and I’m becoming disappointed in myself. I thought it would be a lot easier…Excalibuuuuur. Excalibuuuuur.July 11, 2014 at 12:02 pm #45762This was the main reason for me doing this the RTK way. I think it’s too much to learn the kanji writing, meaning, vocab, and readings all at the same time. Learning the writing and meanings together is fairly easy and only sometimes a bit challenging. That is, of course, only my view and subject to a lot of individual traits.
What I’m trying to say is don’t feel disappointed in yourself! You most certainly haven’t failed in any way. I don’t know if you take notes or anything, but I write everything down. EVERYTHING. Including how well I’ve understood something, what about it I’m having trouble with, etc. If you do anything like that, I find it really helps to go back to the beginning and look at how far you’ve come. Sometimes, you need to take a step back, gather a little perspective on your situation, and go back at it remembering that you’ve come this far and you’re not going to let some obstacle stop you from doing what you’re doing. If you’ve managed to get this far, you can keep going.
Whenever I get stuck, I stop learning and just keep going with Anki for a few days. Taking a break makes it easier to refocus, I find.
Another Textonian Fugunite shared this with me, and I will share it with you. It lives in my bookmark bar so it’s always there when I need it. Watch it 6 or 7 times to let the general silliness have less of an impact.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxGRhd_iWuEDon’t worry, you’ve got this. Just take your time with it :)
I haz a blog http://maninjapanchannel.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLQzB-1u-dgJuly 11, 2014 at 2:35 pm #45765You might want to try the heising method then. It will have you learn the meanings first and afterwards yoiu can learn the readings and the vocab. Personally I find it too much to learn kun, on, the meaning and the kanji all at the same time. It’s just demotivating and painfully slow.
http://bakagaijinlog.wordpress.comJuly 11, 2014 at 5:38 pm #45781This was the main reason for me doing this the RTK way. I think it’s too much to learn the kanji writing, meaning, vocab, and readings all at the same time. Learning the writing and meanings together is fairly easy and only sometimes a bit challenging. That is, of course, only my view and subject to a lot of individual traits.
What I’m trying to say is don’t feel disappointed in yourself! You most certainly haven’t failed in any way. I don’t know if you take notes or anything, but I write everything down. EVERYTHING. Including how well I’ve understood something, what about it I’m having trouble with, etc. If you do anything like that, I find it really helps to go back to the beginning and look at how far you’ve come. Sometimes, you need to take a step back, gather a little perspective on your situation, and go back at it remembering that you’ve come this far and you’re not going to let some obstacle stop you from doing what you’re doing. If you’ve managed to get this far, you can keep going.
Whenever I get stuck, I stop learning and just keep going with Anki for a few days. Taking a break makes it easier to refocus, I find.
Another Textonian Fugunite shared this with me, and I will share it with you. It lives in my bookmark bar so it’s always there when I need it. Watch it 6 or 7 times to let the general silliness have less of an impact.<br>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxGRhd_iWuEDon’t worry, you’ve got this. Just take your time with it :)
Firstly, thank you so much for replying!
Secondly, I have indeed bookmarked that video. It is so inspirational that it brought tears to my eyes. XD
Thirdly, RTK? I didn’t realize that there are other methods out there besides Wanikani. WK is very convenient, but I’m starting to feel overwhelmed with learning meanings+recognition+on vs kun+radicals+juguko+ vocabulary+AHHHH! I will check that out along with any other suggestions this thread gets.
I won’t be giving up, and I know I’ve come a longer way than most people I know would have. Some friends of mine who say that they want to learn Japanese haven’t even taken the first step to getting started, so…
How far along did you get with RTK and kanji?Excalibuuuuur. Excalibuuuuur.July 11, 2014 at 5:41 pm #45782You might want to try the heising method then. It will have you learn the meanings first and afterwards yoiu can learn the readings and the vocab. Personally I find it too much to learn kun, on, the meaning and the kanji all at the same time. It’s just demotivating and painfully slow.
Sounds like a method I might have a better time with. I grasp and recall meanings very well, and my recognition for kanji symbols in general is pretty good. It’s the readings that trip me up. So, if the Heising method does it a different way, I hope to try it out. Thank you!
Excalibuuuuur. Excalibuuuuur.July 11, 2014 at 6:42 pm #45783So, Heisig = RTK (Remembering the Kanji)
I’ve been at it for a bit over a month, and because of a variety of factors I haven’t been as productive as I’d like to be but I’m at exactly 400 right now. It’s very manageable to do 20 per day.
The book is like 50 or 60 bucks on Amazon, and then you just need some alone time. You can also download an Anki deck to study from. Or you can make your own cards. RTK is the basis for the WK method though, so it will be very familiar to you.
Always the fan of the occassional #shamelessplug I do have a video coming soon (possibly tonight, possibly tomorrow) about how I study kanji. My sig has a link to the very lovely teaser that I made.
I haz a blog http://maninjapanchannel.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLQzB-1u-dgJuly 11, 2014 at 9:16 pm #45785Oh, ok. Now I only need to look at reviews and such on one thing then (RTK). Two people have suggested it thus far.
I will be on the lookout for your video. I do enjoy discovering the experiences of other self-taught Japanese learners. Anything to gain a new perspective or way of doing things.Excalibuuuuur. Excalibuuuuur.July 12, 2014 at 12:15 pm #45821My personal thoughts were RTK didnt really teach me anything ( studied it for a bit and got through a few hundred kanji ) sure i could recognize single kanji… couldnt read them though, or even attempt to work out what alot of words meant. While WK may feel slower it lets you expose yourself to real japanese earlier which is always a massive bonus. Either way just my perspective, theres plenty of people that love the rtk method, i just found it to be too long before it had any solid use in practice.
July 12, 2014 at 12:29 pm #45822That’s the thing. RTK isn’t supposed to teach you anything but kanji+meaning. The readings have to be studied afterwards but it’s much easier to do when you’re not distracted by complicated kanji you can’t recognize. RTK is slower at first but it builds a really good foundation for future learning. I don’t think RTK is any slower, just different.
http://bakagaijinlog.wordpress.comJuly 12, 2014 at 10:23 pm #45832I think it largely just comes down to learning style. For me, personally, it’s easier to go in smaller chunks. I love Wani Kani and I think it’s great, but for me it’s just too much all at once. I’ve got too much of a scatterbrain for it.
And as michicachan said, it can bring you down pretty hard when you’re getting stuck on all those readings.
I haz a blog http://maninjapanchannel.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLQzB-1u-dgJuly 13, 2014 at 12:24 pm #45855Time for a shameless plug! My kanji video is up (link in my sig) if you wanted to check it out.
I haz a blog http://maninjapanchannel.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLQzB-1u-dgJuly 13, 2014 at 8:02 pm #45873Time for a shameless plug! My kanji video is up (link in my sig) if you wanted to check it out.
Just finished watching the video! I would like to say that it’s genuinely hilarious and filled with great information. I can’t wait for future vids.
I got the Heisig textbook and read through the introduction and all the stuff before the actual chapters. Then I glimpsed through the actual learning portion. I am pretty sure I’m going to abandon WaniKani for a while to go with your method, because it looks exactly like something that would work well for me. It’s actually quite genius 才! Also, I would absolutely cry with laughter if someone found my own kanji book, it filled with horrific mnemonics and the crazy ravings only a desperate kanji learner could conjure. Gah, long sentences @-@
Anyway! On the morrow I will get started on finding a new, empty textbook. Already have the highlighter and pens. :DExcalibuuuuur. Excalibuuuuur.July 13, 2014 at 10:19 pm #45874Aw thanks for the kind words! Glad it was helpful!
I actually meant to add (and totally forgot) that some of Heisig’s mnemonics that he gives you in the book are just completely effing stupid. He makes a lot of pop cultural references to things that are no longer relevant, like using song lyrics or referencing old TV shows. For some of that I recommend checking out http://kanji.koohii.com/ – they bridge the gap pretty well.
And when you don’t find anything good on koohii, and RTK has let you down, get smutty ;)
I haz a blog http://maninjapanchannel.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLQzB-1u-dgJuly 13, 2014 at 10:39 pm #45875- This reply was modified 10 years, 5 months ago by missingno15. Reason: forgot to add pick me up video
July 14, 2014 at 12:16 am #45878Oh god those surprise English lessons are some of the best videos out there… Good one ;)
I haz a blog http://maninjapanchannel.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLQzB-1u-dg -
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