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+--- Thread: good method for kanji ON-yomi and meaning study (/thread-6190.html)
good method for kanji ON-yomi and meaning study - thegrandgazou - 2010-08-12
Using Anki, an individual "card" is laid out like this:
on the top half:
without fail HITSU
on the bottom:
(heart) with (line through it) = "cross my heart" / without fail / certainly
So what I've done is created a method to REVIEW the actual WAY I REMEMBER the kanji, rather than simply reviewing "this kanji is this". For this method it's necessary to know EXACTLY what all the radicals mean, and sometimes i make up my own meaning for radicals if they can fit into the kanji that use them often. The lowercase word in the top half is the main meaning of the kanji, followed by it's ON-yomi. The elements in parentheses are radicals or simply visual features of the kanji (if there is no radical for a certain element, i would just describe the shape or even make up a radical for it). The elements will combine to form an interesting image, story, or logical meaning (presented after the "=" sign). Here's another example:
top half:
kill SATSU, SAI
bottom half:
(X) on a (tree) with a (halberd) = to be stabbed to an x on a tree / killed
And I know it's not an actual "X" but the "ME" katakana, but it works better with memorization. So this method, as I said, is about reviewing the way in which you remember the kanji. As far as linking the ON-yomi to the meaning, I found that comes automatically with time. I also add one or two kanji compounds (usually ones in which I already know at least one of the two compounds) to the lower half of the card to facilitate memorization. I've been using this for a while and it's been very effective.
good method for kanji ON-yomi and meaning study - hornlo - 2010-08-12
Ah, the "formula" part reminds me that I've just started using the following conventions to supplement my stories with a compact formula for remembering the arrangement of the primitives. I rarely try to memorize the formula, but it's a handy reference if I need it.
A + B -> side-by-side
A / B -> A over B
A(B) -> B enclosed (wholly or partially) by A
and an occasional "thru" or similar term
for example:
consumate = road(horns / sow)
waterfall = water + vase / eel
tortoise = bound up / hook thru (sun / sun)
admonish = awe / word, which could (but probably shouldn't) be expanded to
admonish = ((flower / phrase) + taskmaster) / word