Early Introduction of Japanese Keywords

Early Introduction of Japanese Keywords - Printable Version

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Early Introduction of Japanese Keywords - momokun - 2010-06-22

I was wondering what opinions are on introducing Japanese keywords early. I'm not talking about combining RTK learning with vocab learning, I'm talking about using Japanese words that I already know where they would be appropriate.

I've been studying Japanese for a number of years now, and I'm conversational, so there are a lot of places where I feel like a Japanese keyword would help me with a distinction between similar sounding keywords.

For instance, when I see the keyword "difference" I'm more likely to think of "差” (listed by Heisig as "distinction," also a perfectly valid definition) than "違". What do you guys think about using ”さ” for "差” and "ちが(う)" for "違", as well as others (and maybe some just to cut out the English middleman, "さる” for "猿", etc.) before finishing RTK1?

Early Introduction of Japanese Keywords - caivano - 2010-06-22

Thats lucky I think of 違う for difference. But there's lots where a Japanese keyword would be easier for me, but using this site I guess it's not very practical.. and I don't really want to move to anki...

Early Introduction of Japanese Keywords - momokun - 2010-06-22

I've been doing it the whole time with a flashcard program on my computer (not anki, but similar), so such a change wouldn't be hard at all if I decide to go for it...

Early Introduction of Japanese Keywords - iSoron - 2010-06-22

momokun Wrote:What do you guys think about using ”さ” for "差” and "ちが(う)" for "違", as well as others (and maybe some just to cut out the English middleman, "さる” for "猿", etc.) before finishing RTK1?

There are about one thousand kanji pronounced as サ [or any other mora], and about one hundred words pronounced as さる [or any other two+ morae], so that's not going to work. "Distinction サ", "Distinction ちがう", "Monkey さる" work fine.

Early Introduction of Japanese Keywords - momokun - 2010-06-22

Ooh, good idea iSoren. Though as far as "さ" goes, as long as I write it in hiragana there are only two options it can be　(差 or 佐). But even two possibilities would leave me right back where I started (i.e. "wait, which one did I mean again?...") ><

What are opinions as to "distinction さ" (or "distinction サ") on the card versus using a sentence to distinguish, something like "50と20の(さ)は30です" (I'd probably put the ”さ” in bold on the cards)? Part of me want to banish English in places where it's possible.

Early Introduction of Japanese Keywords - yudantaiteki - 2010-06-22

iSoron Wrote:
momokun Wrote:What do you guys think about using ”さ” for "差” and "ちが(う)" for "違", as well as others (and maybe some just to cut out the English middleman, "さる” for "猿", etc.) before finishing RTK1?
There are about one thousand kanji pronounced as サ [or any other mora], and about one hundred words pronounced as さる [or any other two+ morae], so that's not going to

There aren't that many *words* pronounced さ, though. さ is a word meaning "difference" (unlike, say, 査, which isn't a word by itself). So this might work as long as you're careful not to introduce complications or interference with homonyms.

Early Introduction of Japanese Keywords - Tobberoth - 2010-06-22

No problem in using Japanese keywords if you already know the Japanese words. It isn't discussed much though since most of the people here who do RtK don't know any Japanese yet.

Early Introduction of Japanese Keywords - gfb345 - 2010-07-11

I've seen a post or two in RevTK (can't remember where) mentioning a Japanese-keyword version of RTK, so I thought it already existed. (I think it would be AWESOME to have a version of RTK1 (and maybe RTK3) that used exclusively Japanese keywords.)

Early Introduction of Japanese Keywords - Delina - 2010-07-11

Wrightak has a collaborative Japanese keyword spreadsheet and Anki deck, and a wonderful web site describing why you might want to use such a thing:

http://sites.google.com/site/wrightak2/

Most cards provide a sentence that adds context, which will help avoid confusion between kanji with identical readings. If you can pull a sentence from native text that you understand, that would be even better. (I'm using Tanuki and will share my deck when I'm done, but it's been slow going due to life and other things.)

As for whether it's a good idea, if you already know the Japanese word, go for it. If you don't, there are some pluses and minuses. At your level, your best option might be a mix of both strategies depending on the word.

Early Introduction of Japanese Keywords - Anna B - 2010-07-12

I ended up with a kind of hybrid, because my vocabulary wasn't large enough to go all-Japanese keyword, but I wanted to use and reinforce what I already did know.

When I first started doing RTK I saw that I already had a strong Japanese word association for some kanji and/or their keywords. The multi-tasking aspect was appealing, so I tried converting to all Japanese keywords using the spreadsheet linked in another RTK thread. This quickly turned into a vocabulary exercise, not a bad thing in itself, but it slowed my kanji learning down to a discouraging level, so I went back to English keywords, although I still say a Japanese word when I write the kanji, if I know one, and I don't make a story for kanji that I already recognize and know a Japanese word for.

Early Introduction of Japanese Keywords - gfb345 - 2010-07-12

Anna B Wrote:。。。 so I tried converting to all Japanese keywords using the spreadsheet linked in another RTK thread.

If you can remember it, could you please post the link to that thread? TIA!

Early Introduction of Japanese Keywords - cangy - 2010-07-12

momokun Wrote:I was wondering what opinions are on introducing Japanese keywords early. I'm not talking about combining RTK learning with vocab learning, I'm talking about using Japanese words that I already know where they would be appropriate.

you can use swanki to automatically provide Japanese prompts using seen words from your vocab decks, or regular keyword prompts if you have no seen words for that kanji

Early Introduction of Japanese Keywords - Anna B - 2010-07-13

gfb345 Wrote:
Anna B Wrote:。。。 so I tried converting to all Japanese keywords using the spreadsheet linked in another RTK thread.
If you can remember it, could you please post the link to that thread? TIA!

I did a quick search tonight but couldn't find it. I'll see if I can come up with it tomorrow.

Early Introduction of Japanese Keywords - gfb345 - 2010-07-13

cangy Wrote:you can use swanki to automatically provide Japanese prompts using seen words from your vocab decks, or regular keyword prompts if you have no seen words for that kanji

That's amazing!

Early Introduction of Japanese Keywords - Anna B - 2010-07-13

gfb345 Wrote:
Anna B Wrote:。。。 so I tried converting to all Japanese keywords using the spreadsheet linked in another RTK thread.
If you can remember it, could you please post the link to that thread? TIA!

Here you go: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pyxWLiI5lkOtYHLb8oQo2Yg&hl=en#gid=0 Sorry, I can't seem to make hot links on this site.

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