Recently i've been having problems on reviewing in kanjiikoohii.I can remember the primitives and kanjis that composed a certain kanji. But sometimes I remember them in a different order like 省(few fn:124). I would recall it like this instead 少目 side by side.

Any suggestions so I can remember the kanji order?

Thx!

Invent a story (or add to your story an element) that takes placement into account

[s0apgun]

For this kind of issue you need to incorporate the order / location of the kanji into your heisig story. This one might work for you from the site.

"To remember the order: When focusing, keep a few things your TOP priority, so only they come UNDER your sight."

[ファブリス]

How far are you in the book? This is pretty common when you start learning kanji. I think you have to get at least halfway through the book to start noticing general patterns regarding the arrangement of primitives/radicals. There will be some exceptions but by the end of the book it will seem more logical.

Until then you can adapt your mnemonics, s0apgun just gave a really good example.

Alternatively you can also just literally visualize the elements along with their placement. Eg. a few tiny men perched on a giant eye ball floating in space... you have to FOCUS really hard to see them.

ファブリス Wrote:How far are you in the book? This is pretty common when you start learning kanji. I think you have to get at least halfway through the book to start noticing general patterns regarding the arrangement of primitives/radicals. There will be some exceptions but by the end of the book it will seem more logical.

+1. I was going to write about 眇 (a non-RTK kanji) and 少 appearing more often on the right than on top, but I guess the order the elements appear in the story would preclude drawing 目 first.

Just like when you start getting stroke order right without even thinking about it, placement kind of comes naturally. I would advise to just carry on without worrying too much about it. So what if you fail a card numerous times ? It will eventually stick -

You could make stories that include the placement, but I always found them quite unecessary, as they do require you to pay more attention to the choice of word than to the image they paint, which is kind of counter-productive in my opinion. ファブリス's suggestion of visualizing the elements is much more efficient in my experience.

Also do remember that when you'll start learning japanese proper - i.e. post RTK, beyond the writing system - you'll meet those kanjis again in context, which will clear up any remaining ambiguity through the magic of pattern-matching and visual memory, which complement beautifully Heisig's methods.

Best of luck !

I'm currently on fn.160 and reviewing 20 every day. @s0apgun thats a really nice way.Thx!
Also I just knew that their are kanji characters made up of 2 the same kanji with different placements could have very different meanings(眇 & 省) WOW....Its gonna be a rocky road to mastery of the joyo kanji.

Vempele Wrote:

ファブリス Wrote:How far are you in the book? This is pretty common when you start learning kanji. I think you have to get at least halfway through the book to start noticing general patterns regarding the arrangement of primitives/radicals. There will be some exceptions but by the end of the book it will seem more logical.

+1. I was going to write about 眇 (a non-RTK kanji) and 少 appearing more often on the right than on top, but I guess the order the elements appear in the story would preclude drawing 目 first.