The kanji methods war is broken up into several camps, which I will be naming the following:

• Repetition
• Vocabulary & Context
• Reading Reading Reading
• Heisig’s
• Mnemonics With Readings

As I go through each “Way Of The Kanji,” I’d like to look at the positives, negatives, and history of each (if possible). I should also note I have an incredible amount of bias towards the method I like the best, so I hope you enjoy your delicious bias served hot.

The “Repetition Is King” Camp

Also known as the “traditional way to learn kanji” this group loves paper with lots of square boxes on it (often with smaller, greyer boxes inside those boxes). Inside said boxes they write the same kanji over and over again until their hands ache like that of a jazz hands beginner. Oftentimes, the kanji they write come from a textbook that orders the kanji in the same order that Japanese schoolkids learn them.

I have several problems with this method, in case you haven’t guessed already.

First, after a certain point (and that point comes very quickly), repetition doesn’t actually help you to learn something. Memory comes from how often you pull something out of your mind. It’s also important to remember that the time distance between each pull out of your memory is important too. Your brain won’t think a kanji is important to store for easy access if it thinks you’re just going to pull it out of your short term memory over and over again, not to mention that most people just look at the previous kanji they wrote (which was based off the example written out by the teacher at the beginning of the first line), which means they aren’t doing any memory pulling at all.

Second, the ordering here is often bad. Japanese schoolkids learn kanji in an order that comes from the assumption that they’re already fluent in Japanese (they are). So, a much more complicated kanji (in terms of strokes) can appear much earlier on the ordering list than one that is quite simple but has a more difficult meaning. This is because they’re kids, and they need to learn things with simpler meanings first. As someone who’s not already fluent in Japanese, you should be learning kanji that have a simpler structure first. Then you can use these simpler structures and combine them into more complicated ones, which happens to be how the Heisig’s and Mnemonics With Readings camps operate.

Pros: Will keep you busy for a long time. Easy to assign to your students.
Cons: Quite inefficient for most people.
Resources: Most teachers who follow the “traditional” methods, which is most of them

The “Kanji Flashcards” Camp

This group of people lives and dies by their flashcards, which I can’t necessarily say is a bad thing! They study their cards and slowly learn a little more each day, whether it’s vocabulary or kanji. This method comes straight from the “repetition” method above, actually. Traditionally, if you wanted to learn kanji you wrote the kanji out a lot of times. Then, you used your flashcards later on to study them some more.

The trouble is, in my opinion, this isn’t so much a method as it is a helper. In addition to just about any other method, flashcards are a big help. Combine that with spaced repetition and you will begin to see your efficiency increase. Even physical flashcard users can do this by taking advantage of the Leitner System.

Even more effective than only using an SRS is learning with mnemonics in combination with flashcards. As I mentioned before, flashcards are just a helper, not a complete “method,” at least not on their own.

Pros: Keeps things organized. You can easily see what you know and don’t know. Combines well with other things.
Cons: Not a “method” on its own.
Resources: Anki, iKnow.co.jp, Memrise

The “Vocabulary & Experience” Camp

I used to share a tent with these guys, but have since moved on. In the “Vocabulary & Experience” camp, they believe that by learning vocabulary (with the kanji, of course) you will learn the kanji naturally. So for example, if you’ve learned the words 食べます (tabemasu) and 食堂 (shokudou), you will know that this kanji could be read as た (ta) or しょく (shoku). Through learning more vocabulary that use the kanji 食, you will begin to learn when to use what reading, and eventually be able to guess readings and understand the meaning via context. The more words you learn the easier this gets, and the more you will be able to read and understand.

I think I liked this method because it feels most like you’re “getting somewhere.” After a while, though, I realized that it eventually becomes less efficient. Let’s think about it this way… What are the things you learn in the order in which you learn them? We’ll continue to use 食べます as the example:

1. Vocabulary word 食べます (Ah ha! So you can read it as た!)
2. Vocabulary word 食堂 (Ah ha! So it can be read as しょく!)
3. Vocabulary word 食器 (Ah ha! しょく again, though it was shortened, be careful!)
4. Vocabulary word 食う (oh! This is kind of an exception?)
5. So now I know the readings しょく and た.
6. It seems like most of the meanings have to do with eating or food, so I’m going to associate that meaning with the kanji itself.

You can see the logic there, and why this actually does end up working. But, I’d like to argue that it’s better to go the other direction.

1. Learn the meaning of the kanji 食 is “eat” / “food” (now I know that all the words I learn with this kanji probably have something to do with that. Now I have something to hook all vocabulary word memories on in my mind).
2. Learn the readings of that kanji: しょく (on’yomi), た (kun’yomi), く(kun’yomi)
3. Now any word I see (so long as I know the basic rules of how readings work) can be read by me.
4. And, since I know the meanings of the kanji, I can guess the meanings of words I see too. 食べます is a verb that has the “eat” kanji on it, so I can safely guess it means “to eat.” 食堂 has two kanji, with the meaning “eat” and “hall” in it. This is an “eating hall” of some kind, which is a good guess considering the meaning is “dining hall” or “cafeteria” or something along those lines.

You end up with the same knowledge, but I think the opposite direction allows you to make more educated guesses, which is going to get you reading and understanding more quickly.

If you are very serious about this method, though, you can learn to read most kanji, especially the more common ones. This method becomes more weak when it comes to the less common kanji, I think (since vocab will naturally use more common kanji), but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Combined with flashcards, this method can work quite well for a lot of people.

Pros: Learn a lot of vocabulary, learning in context.
Cons: I think the order you learn things is slightly less efficient than the opposite direction, but it will depend on the person
Resources: Various Anki decks, any vocabulary deck, any vocabulary list

The “Reading Reading Reading” Camp

Allies with the previous camp, the “reading reading reading” camp just reads… a lot. Not a lot of people do this until the later part of their kanji learning careers. I’d say without somewhere between 700-1000 kanji under your belt, this is going to be a difficult method to swallow. In terms of solidifying and practicing kanji you already know, I really like this method. In terms of learning knew kanji? Sure, you’re going to learn some things, but I think it’s generally better to learn the kanji and readings separate and then apply that knowledge to all your reading practice.

Pros: Solidifies what you already know
Cons: Isn’t going to teach you a lot of kanji, unless you do this a lot, at which point it may be better to spend that time learning the kanji first, and then do this a lot later as it’s great review and practice.
Resources: Anywhere with a lot of Japanese text to read

Mnemonics Camp #1: Heisig’s

“Heisig’s Remembering The Kanji” is where the whole mnemonic camp got started. From there, as people discovered more efficient and effective ways to learn kanji using mnemonics, this camp became divided.

For the most part (unless you’re looking beyond the first book in the series… which you shouldn’t, because they’re not worth looking at) you are able to use radicals (basically littler kanji or parts of kanji that can be combined into bigger kanji) to learn the meaning of the Joyo kanji. By being able to identify the radicals in a kanji, you can then recall the story that was made up using those radicals, which will trigger the memory of the kanji’s meaning in your mind. If there’s one thing our brain is good at, it’s storing memories. If there’s one thing it’s not so good at, it’s recalling them. This mnemonic method allows you to recall those hidden memories from your head.

The problem with this method, though, is you end up learning the meanings of around 2,000 kanji really, really quickly… but that’s about it. You don’t know how to read anything. Sure, you can kind of guess what the meaning of a word is by looking at the kanji that made it up, but you still can’t read it.

A lot of people think Heisig’s is a good way to get started, though, and I see their point. You know the meanings of all these kanji, and that allows you to focus on reading (I think a lot of people use the “Vocabulary and Experience” method from here on out). Still, many people forget that the meaning of a kanji is only around 20% of what you eventually need to be able to do. The reading is where things get more difficult and requires more work.

Pros: Learn the meanings of the joyo kanji really, really quickly
Cons: You don’t learn the readings, and the meanings is the easiest part! Oh no, still the hard part to go…
Resources: Heisig’s Remembering The Kanji

Mnemonics Camp #2: “Kanji Meanings And Readings”

This is a step up from Heisig’s first book. Communities such as Kanji Koohii have stepped up to fill this void allowing Heisig readers to come up with reading mnemonics and share them. They use the meaning of the kanji (or the radicals) to trigger a memory of a story that leads to the reading of the kanji, so that way you now known both the reading and the meaning of the kanji, using mnemonics.

I think this is a really good way to do things. With these two pieces of information, as well as the method itself (using mnemonics really speeds up the learning time for you), you will be able to go out there and read things. But, I feel like learning the meaning and reading of a kanji can be a little shaky on its own. It feels like a Jenga tower with one too many pieces pulled out, who knows when it will fall. Using  vocabulary for context is what helps with this, I think, which brings us to the next Mnemonics camp.

Pros: Reading and meaning are both learned. Mnemonics allow for quick learning.
Cons: Without vocabulary, this things can get kind of shaky. Also, if you don’t know which readings to learn (sometimes there are a few options) you could end up learning very unimportant readings, wasting your time.
Resources: Kanji Koohii

Mnemonics Camp #3: “Kanji Meanings, Readings, And Vocab”

The final mnemonics camp is a combination of the first two, plus vocabulary. By adding in vocabulary, you are essentially solidifying what you learned in terms of kanji meaning and reading as well as learning vocabulary, which is the main currency of learning a new language. Sure, by learning all three things at the same time you’re spending more time on each kanji… that can’t be denied. But, I think overall you’re getting to the finish line first. You’ll feel behind for a little while (as people talk about how they “know” all the kanji in two months by going through Heisig’s), but after the first year you will have such a solid building of knowledge and be far, far ahead.

Pros: Everything reinforces everything else, meaning your memories are strong.Cons: Slower at first and requires you to spend more time per kanji. Also, if you don’t know what vocabulary to learn, you’re going to learn a lot of unnecessary vocabulary.
Resources: WaniKani, KanjiDamage

The Future Of Kanji Learning Methods

Surely someday soon, someone else will start another kanji-learning movement and the camps will be split even further still. I think it’s really funny how passionate people get about kanji learning methods, though. It becomes something that is so personal and so important to every Japanese learner that people get in long fights about what is best, myself included.

Hopefully the write-ups of the different methods above helped you to understand the camps (and didn’t just make you angrysauce). Maybe you will be the leader of some future-person kanji method. If you do, be sure to share it with me, I’m always interested!

Bonus Wallpapers!

[1280x800] ∙ [2560x1600]

…And posters!

Kanji by Repetition Poster: [700x906] ∙ [Printable 8.5x11 version]
Heisig Poster: [700x906] ∙ [Printable 8.5x11 version]
Learning Through Flashcards Poster: [700x906] ∙ [Printable 8.5x11 version]
Learn Vocab Poster: [700x906] ∙ [Printable 8.5x11 version]

In this post I want to take a look at the kanji that best represented Japan in 2013, starting with #1 and working my way down. There were actually way more than seven “top” kanji, but I thought things started getting a bit shaky so I stopped there. Alright, let’s start with the best. You already know what it is!

#1 輪 (Rin/Wa/Ring)

The kanji 輪 (りん・ring) received 9,518 votes making it this year’s kanji winner. There are a couple of reasons why it was chosen:

1. The five rings of the Olympic Games. Tokyo won the bid for the 2020 Olympics this year, so there’ll be a lot of rings all over the place for the next six years.
2. The hope for “circle/ring of support” expansion for those in recovery areas after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

So who chose this kanji to be Japan’s number one kanji of 2013? The award itself is actually put out by the Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society every year and has been going on for the last 19 years. Does the name of the society sound familiar? It should. They’re the ones who created the world’s most terrifying and ultimate kanji test: Kanji Kentei.

They don’t really make the decision, though. People send in votes on what they think the best kanji for the year is. That means there are runner-up kanji to look at. To me, this is a great way to look back on the year to see what happened… not only news, but emotions as well. Since one kanji can mean multiple things to different people based on context, it’s a fun way to take a trip through tiiimmmmmeeee~!

#2 楽 (Raku)

Although this kanji typically refers to concepts such as “ease” or “fun” or “enjoyment,” this time the kanji 楽 is referring to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, the Japanese baseball team that won the Nippon Professional Baseball League Championship, besting the evil Yomiuri Giants. It probably also helped that this was their first championship. If only the Mariners could take note. *sigh*

They also had ace Masahiro Tanaka on their team, who went an incredible 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA. He came in to close the final game of the championship series after pitching 160 pitches in a loss the day before. In case you’re not a baseball fan, I can tell you now… that’s nuts. So, a combination of Tanaka’s exploits along with being winners of the NPB Championship garnered enough votes for 楽 to come in 2nd place.

#3 倍 (Bai/Times)

If you read our post on the Japanese memes of 2013, you may notice something familiar… Meme #3, “__bai gaeshi da!” This comes from a very popular 2013 TV drama, Hanzawa Naoki. The main character (Hanzawa Naoki) works at the Tokyo Chuo Bank and climbs his way up the corporate ladder. On the way, he meets up with corruption, scandal, and nasty people. People do bad things to him… but, he has a way to deal with it. Anything that someone does to him he returns X amount of times.

yararetara yarikaesu, __baigaeshi da!
If I am wronged, I will return it X times!

This is a tagline all throughout the show. The amount of times he threatens to return the punishment goes up and up. 2x. 5x. 10x. 100x. The guy is nuts, to say the least, though this show did really, really well in Japan, which may explain how the kanji 倍 (which is a multiplier, i.e. 2x, 5x, and 10x) made it to third place.

I can’t imagine what this kanji will do next year for being wronged by only receiving third place.

#4 東 (Tou/Higashi/East)

A lot has happened in the “East” part of Japan. Tokyo (東京, the Eastern Capital) was chosen to host the 2020 Olympics. Also, the Touhoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (Touhoku means northeast) won the NPB championships. It was all about East Japan this year. None of that west Japan garbage. Eww. Gross.

#5 風 (Fuu/Kaze/Wind)

The kanji 風, aka “wind,” was voted into the #5 slot due to the large number of typhoons the country / world experienced. There were 31 total storms, 13 typhoons, and 5 super typhoons this year (worldwide). It was an unusually bad typhoon season, which I guess is why “wind” is on people’s minds this year.

#6 決 (Ketsu/Decision)

Wow, can’t stop thinking about the Olympics, can you people? The kanji 決 (decision) comes from the decision that Tokyo would host the 2020 Olympics. It also comes from making it into the World Cup, Mt. Fuji becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and various other decisions being made in or about Japan. If you ask me, voting for this kanji is a cop out, because seriously, there are always decisions being made.

#7 今 (Ima)

Another kanji that came from 2013′s best Japanese memes, 今 (ima/now) comes from 今でしょう and refers to Osamu Hayashi, a teacher who was in a commercial for Toshin High School, which is a cram school focused on preparing students for university entrance exams. In the commercial, Toshin High School shows actual teachers teaching. Osamu Hayashi struck a cord with all of Japan due to his catchphrase:

itsu yaru ka? Ima deshou!
When will you do it? Right now!

This got turned into all kinds of other things, including a commercial for Toyota.

It’s also a good message for people, I think. The idea is to get people off their lazy butts to go do something they should be doing. It’s a good message for any year’s kanji, I think.

Your Kanji Of 2013?

I feel like everybody has their own special kanji of 2013. Imagine you’re your own kanji-using country and inside of you is an entire Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society with a ton of blood vessels, organs, molecules, cells, and so on who vote for their kanji of the year, based off your own life and experiences. What would your kanji of 2013 be? I’ve made a list of Tofugu’s Kanji of the year.

#1 鰐 (Alligator)

WaniKani‘s 1 year anniversary took place at some point, and we finished the main 50 levels. A lot of new features have come to WaniKani too, including client-side reviews (which means near-instant answer validation), vacation mode, new lessons, custom notes, and so much more has been added. There’s a long way to go, but this was the year of the Crabigator for sure.

#2 蟹 (Crab)

Because you can’t have a Crabigator without the crab.

#3 豚 (Pig)

The Tofugu team went to the Philippines to meet up with another member of the Tofugu team, Aya (our incredible illustrator). We ate a ton of lechon, which is made from pig.

#4 熊 (Bear)

2013 introduced the EtoEto Bear, possibly also known as Kumaman, which is the mascot of a product we haven’t quite released yet. There was a crappy little test version of the site where we could get some feedback and try things out, but I think we’ll see 熊 rise in the ranks of Tofugu’s Kanji Of The Year awards in 2014 when he reveals his full form… which could get gross, considering his lack of pants. For now, you see him in a lot of post illustrations.

#5 所 (Place)

We got a place! Or, an office, but I couldn’t really think of a good kanji for “office.” Moving out of my apartment and into an actual place was one of the nicest things we did this year. Plus, giant whiteboard walls and a mural. Hard to beat that.

–

There you go, kind of boring but we’ll take what we can get. Now think about your own personal kanji of the year. What kanji best represents your year and why? Post the kanji, its meaning, and an explanation in the comments below.

Bonus Wallpapers!

[2560 x 1600] [1280 x 800]

Sources:

• 2013 Kanji Of The Year: “Rin” Takes The Ring
• Kanji Of The Year
• 2013 年「今年の漢字 年「今年の漢字®」第 1 位は 「輪」

Follow Japanese Profiles On Social Media

#Japanese

Usually social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook are the sworn enemies of productive study time, gently beckoning you from your browser’s corner tab, but using this trick you can turn their addictiveness to your advantage: Follow a few Japanese celebrities or news outlets so that Japanese writing appears on websites that you visit often.

The extent you take this is totally up to you, add one or two profiles for an unintrusive sprinkling of kanji, or go crazy and make half of your entire newsfeed Japanese. Just make sure each one is something you’re actually interested in, and don’t add so many that using your account is no longer fun/useful. If you do you’ll end up irritatedly scrolling through and only reading your native language.

Here’s a few suggestions to get you started: @asahi (the Asahi Shimbun), @matomenaver (news aggregator Naver Matome), @pamyurin (the weird and wonderful Kyary Pamyu Pamyu) and @55_Kumamon (Japan’s mascot king, Kumamon).

Take it further: If you don’t need to trick yourself into studying, you can set up a separate account specifically for this purpose.

Listen to Japanese Music

There’s more to Japanese music than this, I promise

Japanese music is available anywhere in the world, and even things like Spotify, Last.fm, and iTunes Radio will let you listen to it for free, so there’s no excuses not to try this one.

Studies have shown that listening to music performed in your target language can help facilitate learning by subconsciously training you to recognise patterns of speech and boundaries between words. In basic terms, this means music teaches your mind to break down chunks of syllables and learn where separate words begin and end. This happens to some extent when listening to regular speech, but if words are attached to notes our brains can compartmentalise them more effectively.

Of course, the more engaged you are, the more you’ll learn from listening to Japanese music, but even having it on in the background as you do something else is beneficial. Notch it up to Hardcore Mode by listening to Japanese radio while practicing writing kanji.

Take it further: Expand on this approach by repeating segments of songs and trying to note down the lyrics (the sounds alone if you’re a beginner, the actual kanji and meaning for more advanced levels), then performing an online search afterwards to check your accuracy. If you’re confident enough you could even break out a microphone and give it a shot at karaoke. Or, quietly, into a shampoo bottle, alone in the shower.

Set Your Phone to Japanese

I take no responsibility for phones flung at walls in kanji-induced frustration

Urgh. I know, this one’s tough. There’ll be moments when you’re so frustrated you’ll want to set your phone ablaze in a sacrificial ceremony to the almighty gods of Kanji. But it does pay off.

When I lived in China I used this method to learn the different characters associated with actions on my phone. This resulted in situations where I embarrassed myself by repeatedly failing to put a new contact’s details in my phone, as well as mornings when my alarm would go off and I was unable to differentiate between “snooze” and “off,” forcing me to get out of bed in a fit of snoozeless rage (the most furious of all types of rage). After a while, though, I began to recognise those characters not only on my phone, but elsewhere. I’d use my office computer and understand commands that I’d never noticed before; I didn’t know how to pronounce them at this point, but I’d already done the (arguably) most difficult part of learning the characters.

This is an incredibly frustrating thing to try but if you persevere the spaced repetition involved in regularly seeing the same characters really helps you to retain the information.

Take it further: If you’re a real masochist, you can also go about setting your other devices and software in Japanese. Just remember to write down where the language settings section is…

Label Items With Kanji Sticky Notes

If you’re struggling with vocabulary get yourself some sticky notes and begin labeling things in your home like a family-friendly version of the movie Memento. Either include the kanji and furigana to help you memorize both, or just the kanji in order to test yourself on the pronunciation each time.

Color-coding can be a useful way of organising the information, either by categorising types of words (e.g. on the shower you could have the noun “shower”, シャワー, in one colour and the verb “wash”, 洗う, in another) or the stage of your learning (e.g. green for words you usually remember, orange for words you can sometimes recall and red for those ones that just won’t stick).

Take it further: You could take the Memento comparison more literally and have those “code red” stickers tattooed all over your silly, forgetful face… But I’d suggest just air-writing the kanji with your finger each time you see them instead.

Think In Japanese

Next time you find yourself with nothing to do, be it in a car, a doctor’s waiting room or while attempting to look busy at the office, think to yourself in Japanese. Not having your textbook is no longer a valid excuse for not studying!

An “in-head” review of the last thing you learned is probably the most efficient use of this method but anything from simple sentences about the location of things in the room to complex monologues about current events will do.

Take it further: Memorize dialogues from your textbook, then later try to go through them word-for-word in your head.

Use the Japanese Menu at Japanese Restaurants

You have to earn this

I have to admit that when I used to eat out in Japan I would rely on other people to do the ordering, or simply go off the pictures provided. Even when I’d selected something I wouldn’t bother to read the name most of the time, not when a quick point and “Kore okudasai” (this please) would suffice.

This is a huge missed opportunity though, as food words are amongst the most important vocabulary you can learn. And the brilliant thing about studying by reading menus is that it works for all levels of Japanese, beginners can practice reading hiragana and katakana, while even the most fluent Japanese speaker is bound to get tripped up by dish names every once in a while (I’m occasionally baffled by dish names in English).

Take it further: Ask for a copy of the menu (or take a picture) and take it away with you. Translate the dishes at home then test yourself next time you’re eating there. Who knows, maybe you’ll even discover a new favourite dish.

BONUS TIPS FOR READERS LIVING IN JAPAN

I’ve also included two extra tips to help people living in Japan take advantage of their surroundings and sponge up all that Japanese overflowing everywhere.

Eavesdrop On Conversations

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to listen in on the Japanese conversations around you. If you’re in Japan, you’re literally surrounded by listening exercises far more authentic than in any textbook. Whether in a coffee shop, on public transport or even in the office, stop tuning out other people’s conversations as background noise and start trying to decipher them.

Listening to other people’s conversations even has a few advantages over holding your own. For example, people often talk slower with more simple language when talking to non-native speakers, but by listening to others you get to feel the rhythm of a more natural conversation. And that doesn’t necessarily make it more difficult: negating a need for a response means you can focus solely on listening rather than simultaneously piecing together a reply.

As well as improving your listening ability you’ll pick up new vocabulary and, perhaps most importantly, there’s a good chance you’ll hear things you’ve been saying wrong but people have been too polite to correct you on.

By listening to various age groups and types of people you’ll also put yourself out of your Japanese comfort zone and hear how different people talk. If you work with kids for your day job or the majority of your conversations are with the opposite gender it’s important to do this in order to avoid sounding like them. Because, if nobody else has told you this yet, you almost certainly do. Sorry.

I’m not saying that you should be breaking out a newspaper with eyeholes and making everybody around you feel uncomfortable, though. Be discreet about it. Take a note from Japanese culture and “observe without watching,” or in this case “listen without gaping.” Also, if somebody is talking loudly enough to be heard by the general public it’s unlikely to concern anything they’d be troubled by a stranger hearing.

Plus, your heart is true and your motives pure. Go forth and eavesdrop.

Take it further: You probably shouldn’t take this one further, even if your motives are pure.

Translate Advertisements On The Train

Log out of Facebook, switch off Candy Crush, Farmville or whatever this month’s trashy yet surprisingly addictive game is, and start using your time on the train productively. If you can’t get a seat you may not be able to take out your textbook and study the way you’d like to, but you can get some real-world reading practice in.

Step one: Look up and select an advert. If you’re a beginner make sure it doesn’t have a huge block of text and, whatever level you are, choose one that looks at least remotely interesting.

Step two: Read. When you come across a phrase or kanji you don’t understand, use your dictionary to translate. And don’t say you don’t have one, because you were just playing Candy Crush a minute ago and if you’ve paid for that but not a dictionary we’ll have to have a serious talk.

If something comes up that your translation tools can’t make sense of, don’t give up or spend an inordinate amount of time on it, make a note and move on. You can ask a friend later.

Like setting your phone to Japanese and the sticky note method, this is especially effective because of spaced repetition. Whether you’re intending to study or not, each time you get on the train and see the same adverts you’ll be reminded of the kanji and vocabulary you learnt when you translated them.

Take it further: Before you get off at your stop, snap a picture of the advertisement. This will allow you finish translating at home or, if you’d already done, check your work and review it.

Did I miss anything? No doubt many of you have picked up a few small tricks of your own to improve your Japanese outside of the classroom.

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Bonus Wallpapers!

[1280x800] ∙[2560x1600] ∙ [1280x800 Animated] ∙ [700x438 Animated]

母娘 (Mother-Daughter)
馬娘 (Horse-Daughter)
破家 (Broken-House)

If asked, “Who do you like that is stupid”? I’d guess many of you would answer, “Nobody.” However, things are quite different in Japan. It’s really pathetic, but there is a famous phrase in Japan: “女は馬鹿な方がいい“（おんなはばかなほうがいい/onnnawa bakana houga ii) and it means “Stupid women are better.” Sadly, you actually see this question online quite often:

“A stupid woman or a smart woman, which do you prefer?”

You don’t have to answer, don’t worry.

A Stupid Woman vs A Smart Woman

On January 16, 2013, Goo’s Oshiete Watcher conducted several interviews to try to answer this question. Of course there are people that come down on either side of the fence, those who prefer smart women and those who prefer stupid women. The reasons for men who prefer stupid women were things like:

“I prefer stupid women because I’m scared of smart women”

“When I think of my personality, I’m actually stupid, so I prefer a woman to be similar to me”

The men who prefer smart women said things like:

“I prefer smart women. If she was smart, then I can be stupid. If I do something stupid in front of a stupid woman, it will develop into a fight”

“I definitely prefer a smart woman who can pretend as if she is stupid to encourage me”

“I prefer women who are smart enough to be stupid and make hengao (funny faces), but if she is actually stupid, she wouldn’t know when to be stupid and where not to be. Thus, I prefer smart women.”

But wait a minute! What do they mean by “pretending to be stupid”? Although they say they like smart women, doesn’t it also mean that they like a woman who is stupid anyways?

The Stupid Boom!

In fact, a category of Japanese TV people called “obaka-talent” (stupid-talent) or “obaka-Chara” (stupid-character) has even been created. Those women act childish and pretend to be dumb in order to appear “cute”. They usually show up on quiz shows or other comedy related trivia shows and are asked to answer questions really stupidly in order to be laughed at. This phenomenon was called the “Obaka-talent-boom” (Stupid-talent-boom) and they have been very popular since around 2007.

Because of this “stupid woman” demand, one Japanese woman, ＠ya, who married British guy and lives in the UK, was surprised to learn that guys in the UK don’t really like stupid women.

In the UK, men select women very carefully and much of it has to do with the woman’s capabilities. For example, a guy who cares about his career tends to choose a woman who is similar to him. There are many men who don’t choose women solely on their looks, but rather on the complete balance of looks, income and ability, with the latter two holding more weight. Of course, women choose men very selectively, too. Women who are popular choices for many men are often very social and competent at their work. It would also be a big bonus to be both physically and mentally healthy. Conversely, women who tend to just smile and do not have any opinions are called “plain” and are not very popular. You’d be invincible in either scenario if you were a beautiful blonde with a gorgeous body, though.

A Japanese Male Doctor’s Perspective

So, do Japanese men seriously think that women should be stupid? As a woman, I’m personally against the idea and feel compelled to say that men must not think that way, even if it is just one facet of sexual attraction. I don’t understand why this is even a phrase, but I came across blogs written by a plastic surgeon, and in his blog he writes about why men say “stupid women are better” and why he himself actually often says “stupid women are cuter.”

He begins his blog by saying that he doesn’t believe that the abilities of women are of a lesser value than men’s and that he doesn’t look down on women in the slightest. He then continues on to the purpose of writing the blog and does so from his doctor’s perspective.

In Japan, the family roles for men and women are still obviously different: men work to feed their family and women take care of the house. The Japanese work system is actually created for men while the framework for women to continue working while raising a family is not yet provided. In countries like America, where people can “out-source” house workers from different countries, women who have higher education and income also have a higher marriage rate. However, in Japan, even though women graduate from elite universities and start working for very reputable companies, there won’t be a position to return to, nor would they be able to resume their careers at the same level if they quit their jobs following marriage or give birth. Thus, if a woman winds up being a housewife despite her efforts, people conclude that being a stupid, yet cute, woman is better than being a smart woman. I’m pretty sure that if the system was altered, smart women would be more popular among men than stupid women because it’s already happening in the world of medical practice. We earn enough income to hire domestic workers, so wives don’t need to become a housewife and simply continue working. So, male doctors tend to marry female doctors or other such smart women of respectable professions, rather than choosing to marry a stupid women who is also cute.

I think he explains himself very well, thought I’m still not convinced. Let’s look a little deeper into what he’s saying, though.

Job Environment

Although many companies have been trying to change, there are still companies whose system is not good for working women. I worked for the biggest stock and investment exchange company in Japan and held a position that required me to work wherever the company ask me to. There are local positions, but in order to get a higher position, such as a branch manager or area manger, you have to hold a position in which being transferred is possible. I know many Japanese companies have a similar system and the IT company I worked for did this too. Anyways, my point is that it is so tough for women to continue working in the same career after starting a family if the system is like that.

I had a married female superior, who had the same position as I did when she got pregnant. Shortly after finding out that she was pregnant, the company ordered her to transfer from Kyoto to Tokyo, even though she and her husband lived in Osaka. So, until she went on maternity leave, she had to work in Tokyo, thus living separately from her husband. After her maternity leave finished, she had to move back to Tokyo with her baby but without her husband, all too keep her career. Transferring can be quite cruel, but from a company’s perspective it’s fair and equal because that’s how men work in the company. So, I agree that to continue working after marriage or giving birth can be very tough for women.

So, does this mean the reason for the phrase “Stupid Women Are Better” is because Japanese society has generally accepted that work environments are not yet fully developed to accommodate women? So is the solution then to continuously fight for women’s rights, including that of providing some allowances for returning to work after giving birth, and slowly progressing towards a better society for women, one in which they can work wherever and whenever they want? Well, it might surprise you to learn that this may not be what many Japanese women desire.

Japanese Wife = Housewife?

According to an official survey conducted by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, which quizzed over 3,000 people aged 15-39 in March, 2013, 19.3% of Japanese men still prefer the woman they are with to become a housewife after getting married. I believe that the above mentioned work environment is one of the reasons why men want to keep their wives in house, otherwise there’s the possibility of not seeing her very often. You know, many Japanese men’s priority is work, but if a women pursues their careers, it means they have to make work a priority as well.

Surprisingly, it’s not every man’s ideal and a great many women also think this way. According to the same research, 1 in 3 single women in Japan want to be a full-time housewife, despite the growing demand for their participation in the male-dominated Japanese workforce.

I hope you noticed something interesting here. From that survey, more women wanted to become housewives than men who wanted their wives to become housewives. That means women want to be housewives on their own, much of the time. Why is that?

The Reasons Why Women Want To Be Housewives

So, why do women want to be housewives? According to another research study conducted by U-Can and I-Share where over 1,243 women were quizzed from July 16-20, 2010, 53.9% of women said they wanted to be a housewife.

55.2% of them said it was “because I want to attend to housework and raising children.”

25.5% said they wanted to focus on their hobbies.

15% said it was because they don’t like working.

Even though the women feel this way, 68% of women who wanted to become a housewife said that it’s difficult to become a housewife nowadays because of their family’s financial responsibilities. In fact, there are more and more wives who unwillingly continue to work because they need the money. 85% of them answered that they would find a job if their husband asked them to (because there is no other option) and 42.7% said they would choose a part time job (an arubaito) so that they could have some flexibility with their time and location and therefore be able to stay closer to home. Sort of the best(ish) of both worlds.

It’s A Stereotype, But Still Alive

So, regardless of whether they have to continue working or not, being a housewife and wanting your wife to be a housewife is often a mutual desire of both Japanese men and women. Therefore, when a Japanese person dates someone from another country, there can be some differences in thought. Take the following Japanese man’s comments, for example.

My girlfriend is Irish-Scottish. I’ve lived with her for half a year now and I don’t find many differences between her and Japanese girls. If there was one thing that I would highlight, it would be that she may have different ideas about work than a Japanese girl. She says she doesn’t understand having to quit her job just because she gets married. (source: 彼氏彼女が外国人)

Now, if the work environment is not the only reason, was it just men’s preference after all, then? According to Rocket News24′s The top 10 things foreign women hate about Japanese men, “Acting like they are better than women” was ranked number 8. Sometimes it’s fun to be a little stupid at parties or other such events, but it’s not fun at all to be called “stupid” all the time.

As for me, I’m not sure if I am smart because I do and say a lot of stupid stuff, but I don’t ever want to pretend as if I am stupid for the sake of men. If I am stupid or do stupid things, I want it to be for good reasons, like making my friends laugh – with me, not at me.

Actually, writing about this topic reminded me of my ex-boyfriend who didn’t like me giving him any advice. For example, when he complained about his superior, he just wanted me to smile and be sympathetic. At the time, we were both working for the same company, so I told him what I thought after he told me his complaint and it turned out to be the end of our relationship. He told me that an opinionated girl was not his type, so I guess he was one of those guys that like “obaka-character” girls. I considered his way of thinking to be rather appropriate for this article, STUPID! へへへへ。

How come nobody’s localizing that text heavy visual novel you had your heart set on? Where’s all the fansubs for 70s shoujo anime? And would it kill a person to translate the lyrics of songs other than AKB48? It’s around this time when you may hit upon the bright idea of “hey, maybe I should figure out what they’re saying!” Well, this guide is for you, based on my own experiences in transitioning from consumer to student. For more general learning guides, check out Tofugu’s top ten resources.

Learn to Unlearn

You’ve probably spent a fair amount of time listening to Japanese, and have managed to pick up on a few words and phrases. In that case, I have some good news, and some bad news.

The bad news is that some of what you know is wrong. This can take the form of misheard words, incorrect grammar, or even not knowing when certain phrases are appropriate to say. After all, politeness is big in Japan. You don’t want to be dropping any kisamas or omaes in polite company.

Seems legit.

While you might not feel too good after learning that “kimochi” just means “feeling” and not “feels good,” it’s important to keep an open mind when learning. Subtitles and translations are for entertainment, not education. It’s unfortunate, but there are just some things you’re going to have to unlearn.

The good news is that you’ve had plenty of practice with what you do know. Personally, I don’t consider anything to be “learned” until I’ve read about it in a textbook or flashcard and spent some time practicing it. Normally, it would go in that order. Learn something, then memorize it. But there’s no reason it couldn’t be the other way around. You can use your experience to give you an edge in learning new vocabulary and grammar.

Kanji First, Vocab After

Some people don’t like kanji. OK, that’s an understatement. A lot of people despise kanji. And why shouldn’t they? There’re thousands of them, and they all have, like, a million strokes each! Reading would be easy without kanji. Totemo easy!

I mean, if I’m learning vocabulary, why should I have to worry about one more thing? Why not just learn vocabulary on its own, and worry about kanji later? It’ll be easy, just come up with mnemonics. For every single word in the Japanese language.

Just 24,543 more mnemonics to go!

That’s how I tried to learn vocabulary. Courage is “yuuki” because “YOU need a lot of courage to KEY people’s cars”. Weather is “tenki” because “you take TEN KEYS in case you lose a few in the bad weather”. Heaven is “tengoku” because “TEN GOKUs are flying around Heaven, and I guess I watched a few episodes of Dragon Ball once”.

So what’s the problem? Well, take a look at how those three words are spelt with kanji:

Notice a bit of repetition? This is where kanji comes in handy. Instead of creating one mnemonic per vocab word, create one per kanji. It’ll be more work at first, since each vocab word would use new kanji, but you’ll soon reach the point where one new kanji means several new words, just by combining it with kanji you’ve already learned before. There are certain jukugo (kanji compounds) that use different pronunciations, but this method covers the majority of vocab.

This will also help with learning the meaning, too. Aside from a few exceptions, most jukugo make sense, or at least have kanji relevant enough that you’ll be able to remember the meaning. And it beats out trying to make a story about keys for every jukugo that contains 気.

Trust the SRS

Alright, so you’ve done everything you were supposed to. You made sure your big list-of-words-learned-from-anime was accurate to real life. You ditched learning vocabulary mnemonics for kanji mnemonics. You’ve even grabbed one of the many spaced repetition systems to help memorize your kanji and vocab. And now you just can’t get that one answer right.

Not even close.

What gives? It’s not like the mnemonic is bad, or it’s a particularly difficult item, it just isn’t sticking. It happens. I’ve run into this problem dozens of times. And you know what I find helps? Nothing.

Wait, hold on, let me phrase that better. I do nothing, and the SRS adjusts itself so the item again sooner. This might seem obvious, seeing as how this is the entire reason the SRS was made in the first place, but less obvious is just how well it works. Without even having to go back and review the mnemonic or do any extra studying, you’ll learn the item, just because it keeps popping up over and over and over, like a bad filler episode.

Other Tips

Rikaichan for Firefox and Rikaikun for Chrome is a great way to quickly look up words you don’t know, but limit its use. Try to read the sentence a few times before using it. You can also set it to only display readings, instead of meanings.

For gamers, importing Japanese games is a good way to start immersion. The PlayStation 3*, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, and all Nintendo handhelds prior to the 3DS are region free (save for certain games on DSi), meaning you can play import games with no hassle. Other systems require workarounds of varying difficulties. Certain games, such as the upcoming Pokemon X & Y, can have their language changed to Japanese. *(Note that the PS3 version of Persona 4 Arena is region locked, but allows the text and voices to be changed to Japanese.)

Japanese language learning, featuring Japanese Bruce Willis.

For music, I like to type out lyrics to songs with furigana for kanji I don’t know yet. Then, every month or so, go through the lyrics and remove the furigana from the kanji I’ve learned. Perhaps not the most educational of activities, but it’s a fun way to go over kanji and see your progression.

For movies, try finding movies you enjoy dubbed into Japanese. Remember, you’re looking for 日本語吹替版, dubbed versions, not 字幕版, subtitled versions. You can find movies on sites like amazon.co.jp, or digital copies on the iTunes store, but be careful with iTunes. Unlike other regions, the Japanese iTunes doesn’t allow you to redownload purchased movies. Make sure you back up! Don’t want to lose access to Japanese Bruce Willis.

Not all kanji has this reading compound, however. Apparently 67% of the joyo kanji have this phonetic compound radical inside of them, though that doesn’t mean they’re always helpful to you, it just means one of these radicals exists there. Let’s first take a closer look at how you can find these “phonetic compounds.”

The Anatomy Of A Kanji

A standard kanji is made of a couple of parts (and sometimes some garbage). The left side / top is usually the “classifier radical.” This is the radical that you can use to look up the kanji in a kanji dictionary. Sometimes it may even give a hint to the meaning of a kanji, though this is pretty hit or miss (mostly miss). The right side is usually what’s known as the “phonetic compound.” This portion has a specific reading attached to it. If you see this phonetic compound, you can sometimes guess the reading of the kanji. Sometimes by learning one phonetic compound’s reading you can know how to read six or seven other kanji that contain it.

Now there are exceptions… tons of them, unfortunately.

First of all, sometimes the phonetic compound is on the left side, and not the right. This happens when the classifier radical is one of those classifier radicals that normally gets put on the right side. Anyways, you’ll have to watch out for these.

Secondly, not all kanji have a phonetic compound inside of them. Like I mentioned earlier, only 67% of them have it, and they’re not particularly useful. Of the ones that do have a phonetic compound, around 25% have readings that aren’t consistent and are irregular. Even the ones that are fairly consistent with their readings have exceptions. Basically, this technique is at best a way to guess the reading of a kanji and nothing more. Still, something is better than nothing. Just imagine if you’re taking the JLPT and you’re on the kanji section. This sort of thing will help you get a few extra answers correct.

Phonetic Compounds And Their Kanji

To find the phonetic compounds, I sat down with a kanji dictionary going through all the possible readings in the back index. After spending about a half hour going through these one by one, I realized that someone else has probably done all the work for me. Thank goodness, someone had. Luckily for me, a Hiroko Townsend of San Diego State University put in a lot of work into her thesis, listing these out for everyone to enjoy. Thanks Hiroko! You’re a boss.

Here are the radicals that contain fairly consistent phonetic compounds. There are some exceptions (not listed below), but in general they’re pretty straightforward. If you learn the phonetic radical / kanji in the left side column then you know the readings for all the kanji to its right. For some kanji that’s only slightly useful. For others, you learn the readings of a lot of kanji.

几 (き) → 机, 肌, 飢
亡 (ぼう) → 忙, 忘, 盲, 荒, 望, 妄
干 (かん) → 汗, 肝, 奸, 刊, 岸
己 (き) → 起, 記, 紀, 忌
工 (こう) → 紅, 空, 虹, 江, 攻, 功, 肛,
及 (きゅう) → 吸, 級, 扱
士 (し) → 仕, 志, 誌
方 (ほう, ぼう) → 肪, 坊, 紡, 防, 妨, 房, 謗, 傍, 芳, 訪, 放
中 (ちゅう) → 忠, 沖, 仲, 虫, 狆
化 (か) → 花, 貸, 靴
反 (はん) → 版, 板, 坂, 飯, 販, 叛
分 (ふん) → 粉, 紛, 雰
半 (はん) → 伴, 絆, 拌, 判
白 (はく) → 伯, 拍, 泊, 迫, 舶, 狛, 柏, 箔, 珀
皮 (ひ) → 彼, 被, 疲, 被, 披
付 (ふ) → 府, 符, 附, 俯
包 (ほう) → 抱, 泡, 胞, 砲, 飽, 咆
可 (か) → 河, 何, 荷, 苛, 呵, 歌
古 (こ) → 居, 固, 故, 枯, 個, 湖, 箇, 沽, 姑, 苦
生 (せい) → 姓, 性, 星, 牲, 惺
正 (せい) → 征, 政, 症, 整, 性, 牲
司 (し) → 伺, 詞, 嗣, 飼
且 (そ) → 粗, 祖, 狙, 阻, 組
旦 (たん) → 但, 胆, 疸, 担
令 (れい) → 冷, 鈴, 零, 領, 齢, 鈴
立 (りゅう) → 竜, 滝, 粒, 笠, 龍
申 (しん) → 神, 伸, 呻, 押, 紳
召 (しょう) → 招, 沼, 昭, 紹, 詔, 照
安 (あん) → 案, 按, 鞍, 鮟
同 (どう) → 洞, 胴, 桐, 恫, 銅, 洞, 筒
寺 (じ) → 侍, 持, 時, 塒, 峙
旬 (じゅん) → 洵, 殉, 恂
各 (かく) → 格, 喀, 閣, 額
圭 (けい) → 掛, 桂, 畦, 珪, 罫, 鮭, 硅
糸 (けい) → 系, 係, 繋
結 (けつ) → 潔
光 (こう) → 恍
交 (こう) → 校, 絞, 狡, 較, 郊, 効, 咬
共 (きょう, こう) → 供, 恭, 洪, 哄
次 (し)  → 姿, 諮, 資
成 (せい) → 盛, 誠, 筬, 城
朱 (しゅ) → 株, 珠, 殊, 蛛
我 (が) → 峨, 蛾, 餓, 俄, 鵞
甫 (ほ) → 浦, 捕, 哺, 匍, 補, 蒲, 輔, 舗
見 (けん) → 硯, 蜆, 現
辰 (しん) → 唇, 振, 賑, 震, 娠
肖 (しょう) → 宵, 消, 硝
弟 (てい) → 第, 剃. 涕
廷 (てい) → 庭, 挺, 艇
良 (りょう) → 郎, 浪, 朗, 狼, 廊
直 (ちょく, しょく) → 植, 埴, 殖, 稙
長 (ちょう) → 張, 帳, 脹
非 (ひ) → 悲, 緋, 誹, 鯡, 琲, 扉
朋 (ほう) → 崩, 棚, 硼
果 (か) → 課, 菓, 踝, 顆
官 (かん) → 棺, 管, 館
奇 (き) → 崎, 埼, 椅
其 (き) → 期, 欺, 棋, 基, 旗
金 (きん) → 欽, 錦, 銀
采 (さい) → 彩, 菜, 採
青 (せい) → 清, 靖, 精, 晴, 請, 情, 鯖, 静
昔 (しゃく) → 借, 惜, 錯
尚 (しょう) → 常, 裳, 掌
昌 (しょう) → 娼, 唱, 菖, 晶
禺 (ぐう) → 遇, 寓, 隅, 偶
扁 (へん) → 編, 偏, 篇, 蝙
則 (そく) → 側, 測, 惻
相 (そう) → 想, 箱, 霜
湘 (しょう) → 廂
莫 (ばく) → 摸, 膜, 漠, 博, 縛, 幕
高 (こう) → 縞, 稿, 藁,
曹 (そう) → 遭, 槽, 糟
曽 (そう) → 贈, 僧, 憎, 増
童 (どう) → 撞, 憧, 瞳
義 (ぎ) → 儀, 議, 犠, 蟻, 艤

Uses a radical from obsolete Japanese
孝* (こう) → 孝,  老, 考
径** (けい) → 径,  経, 軽, 怪, 茎
乍 (さく) → 作, 昨, 窄, 酢, 搾
低** (てい) → 低,  底, 抵, 邸, 抵
券* (けん) → 券,  巻, 圏, 拳
根**  (こん) → 根,  痕, 恨, 懇, 墾
退 (たい) → 腿
峡** (きょう) → 峡,  狭, 挟
浅** (せん) → 浅,  銭, 践
珍** (しん) → 診,  疹, 参
峰** (ほう) → 峰,  逢, 縫, 蜂, 蓬,
俊** (しゅん) → 俊, 峻, 悛, 逡, 竣, 浚
通** (つう) → 通, 桶, 痛
険** (けん) → 険, 験, 検
過 (か) → 渦,  堝, 鍋, 蝸, 窩, 禍
福** (ふく) → 福,  副, 複, 幅, 富, 蝠
滴** (てき) → 滴, 適,  敵
壁* (へき) → 壁, 癖
燥* (そう) → 燥,  操, 藻
* remove the bottom radical component
** remove the left side radical component

That right there is approximately 100 kanji/radicals that, if you learn the reading of them, you can guess the reading of around 500 total kanji. That’s around 1/4 of the joyo kanji list. Not a bad shortcut! I think one issue is that a lot of people don’t know that this little trick exists. Just by knowing that you can do this, you’ll begin to notice these patterns showing up in your own kanji learning. This will help to accelerate your kanji learning by a considerable amount in the long run.

So, if you’re studying kanji, go through this list and start making the connections. What phonetic compounds do you already know? Now, see what other kanji there are to the right that you know. See how it all sort of makes sense? Kanji isn’t as insane as people tend to think, though it’s still super complicated no matter how you look at it. You’ll spend a lot of time learning the kanji (even if you’re using, say, WaniKani), but things like this will win you some extra time.

Good luck studying that kanji thing!

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Sources:
Phonetic Components In Japanese Characters
Decoding Kanji