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Kanji Variations in RTK3 - kusterdu - 2009-02-17
Has anyone noticed that a lot of the kanji presented in RTK3 are actually variations and not the standard form? For instance, 芦 is different from the kanji Heisig presents and is itself a variation of 蘆! Does anyone know why Heisig uses variations and how do you deal with this in your learning?
Kanji Variations in RTK3 - Katsuo - 2009-02-18
With 芦 what you see will depend on the font you are using. In "primitive" terms it will be either:
1. flower + one + flag
2. flower + drag + mouth (with the final two components sharing a stroke)
芦 and 蘆 are variants and seem to be about equally common. 戸 is a simplification of 盧, and several kanji come in both versions.
If you become familiar with some of the more common variants, after a while you can substitute them almost without thinking.
E.g. Say you know 竜 has an alternative form 龍 and you also know that 滝 is taki (waterfall).
Then, when you come across 瀧 for the first time, taki/waterfall pops into your head.