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+--- Thread: trouble going kanji to keyword (/thread-3229.html)
trouble going kanji to keyword - TalkTalk - 2009-06-06
Hey -
Don't know if anyone else went through this problem w/ heisig. I'm about halfway through rtk1 and have few problems going keyword to kanji (i'm using anki srs), but I was just going through the index in rtk1 and I'm REALLY having trouble going kanji to keyword.
I realized this problem earlier, but I more or less ignored it. I had a thought that maybe after I complete rtk1 I should set up a reverse deck to go kanji to keyword.
What do you think? Should I just wait until I'm done w/ rtk1? Or do I need to take more drastic measures to nip this problem in the bud? Any other ideas?
Any advice would be much appreciated! It's a little disheartening as you can imagine.
trouble going kanji to keyword - blackmacros - 2009-06-06
Don't worry about going kanji-->keyword, its not necessary and its not a skill you will ever need in real life. You're almost never going to be in a situation where you think "hmmm, it would be really great if I could translate all these kanji into their heisig keywords". Thats why Heisig actually suggests not to do kanji-->keyword (I think he says that anyway).
Having said that, by the end of RtK you'll probably be able to go kanji-->keyword anyway. If I gave you a list of primitives: bound up, rice field, campfire you will probably be able to write the Kanji for Fish, yeah? Well seeing the kanji written down gives you the same information really. You can see all the primitives within it and you'll be so familiar with them all by the end of RtK that they will probably help to prompt the story.
Anyway: short version. Don't worry, its not a problem.
trouble going kanji to keyword - alyks - 2009-06-06
Useless. Don't worry.
trouble going kanji to keyword - lagwagon555 - 2009-06-07
I've been having the exact same 'problem', and was due to make a thread on it soon. I didn't really think it would matter, so it's good to have this confirmed.
trouble going kanji to keyword - TalkTalk - 2009-06-07
hey - thanks everyone.
i feel better now.
hopefully in a few more months, I'll finally be done with this crazy little thing called rtk1.
trouble going kanji to keyword - Ramsey - 2009-06-07
Hmm, I'm curious. Why is it useless?
trouble going kanji to keyword - Thunk - 2009-06-08
I totally have the same problem! And it drives me nuts! Every time I come across a kanji that I don't know, I have to go back to the book, where there's an inevitable "Oh yeah... That's what it was." And it happens a lot.
I used to go over my flashcards, front and back ( I made manual ones ). But now my Japanese time is focussed on Tae Kim's grammar. What I'm seeing is that the kanji don't really kick it by themselves. They have okurigana, or are in a kanji compound...so I have to relearn them in a new format, anyhow.
So I can see why people say, "Don't worry."
Still, though, it irks me. I want to recognize kanji, too. Duh. I can do production all day long, but if the cards on this site were to be reversed, and I had to recognize them all? I'd be screwed!
trouble going kanji to keyword - FutureBlues - 2009-06-08
It's not completely useless.
With verbs especially, it can be infinitely helpful (for comprehension) to be able to go from kanji to keyword, however, once you get deep into compound vocabulary, the ability to go from kanji to keyword isn't as useful as you might think due to the way a lot of compounds have evolved.
Once you start studying readings and learning actual words, the ability to go from kanji to keyword isn't something you'll want to focus on so in the long run it really doesn't matter too much.
trouble going kanji to keyword - Jarvik7 - 2009-06-08
FutureBlues Wrote:It's not completely useless.There is nothing special about verbs that makes the keywords more applicable. In my opinion, as long as you can remember the general meaning of the kanji (which is all the keywords are) then you're fine.
With verbs especially, it can be infinitely helpful (for comprehension) to be able to go from kanji to keyword, however, once you get deep into compound vocabulary, the ability to go from kanji to keyword isn't as useful as you might think due to the way a lot of compounds have evolved.
trouble going kanji to keyword - blackmacros - 2009-06-08
Being able to go from kanji-->general meaning is good (and its essentially what the keywords do for you, as Jarvik points out).
But don't get hung up trying to go from kanji-->exact Heisig keyword. Its the meaning, not the keyword, thats important.
trouble going kanji to keyword - FutureBlues - 2009-06-08
Jarvik7 Wrote:That's what I meant. I just assumed that when he said he couldn't remember the "keywords" he meant that he couldn't easily remember meanings, since most keywords correspond with meanings.FutureBlues Wrote:It's not completely useless.There is nothing special about verbs that makes the keywords more applicable. In my opinion, as long as you can remember the general meaning of the kanji (which is all the keywords are) then you're fine.
With verbs especially, it can be infinitely helpful (for comprehension) to be able to go from kanji to keyword, however, once you get deep into compound vocabulary, the ability to go from kanji to keyword isn't as useful as you might think due to the way a lot of compounds have evolved.
trouble going kanji to keyword - Wally - 2009-06-08
Eventually you are going to want to go from kanji to Japanese meaning. Why would you want to clutter your mind with kanji to English, particularly when the author of the book suggests that you NOT go that way?
trouble going kanji to keyword - Nukemarine - 2009-06-08
I second what Blackmacros says. I go Kanji to broader meaning (and Onyomi if I added it via Movie Method).
Now, don't do JUST Kanji to meaning. Do keyword to Kanji, then if you want to, add on Kanji to meaning (and Onyomi or even Kunyomi if you're doing Japanese keywords).
trouble going kanji to keyword - Katsuo - 2009-06-08
Reviewing from kanji to keyword: Heisig says not to do this... but why? Is it:
A) The knowledge is not needed, or
B) The knowledge is needed but you don't need to study it specifically because you will pick it up automatically when studying from keyword to kanji.
Some relevant passages from RTK1:
Introduction: ...the kanji are best reviewed by beginning with the key word, progressing to the respective story, and then writing the character itself. Once one has been able to perform these steps, reversing the order follows as a matter of course. More will be said about this later in the book.
Lesson 5: Also, when you review, review only from the key word to the kanji, not the other way around. The reasons for this, along with further notes on reviewing, will come later.
Lesson 11: If you can remember the key word when you see the kanji, but have trouble remembering the kanji when you have only the key word to go on… Probably you did not take seriously the advice about studying these stories with a pad and pencil. If you try to shortcut the process by merely learning to recognize the characters for their meaning without worrying about their writing, you will find that you have missed one bird with two stones, when you could have bagged two with one. Let me repeat: study only from key word to kanji; the reverse will take care of itself.