for the last month when i am reviewing kanji i dont write on paper anymore, but try to visualize the strokes in mine head, i find this convini?nt but i wonder if its beter or worse then writing?
an idea that pop ups is that you might remember kanji beter becouse you use more mental images/kanji
any thoughts?

heh, i am the complete opposite of you. I always try to recall the story and write down the primitive elements within the kanji as I think of the image. I think both ways have their merits. I think your method is good in the way that you are not using any muscle memory to aid in memorization, so you can write it down the instant it comes to your mind because you don't have to fiddle around with it on paper first. I think the way I do it, the muscle memory will eventually sink in and i won't need to recall the story before i write the kanji. I should try your way sometime and see how well i do.

This reminds me of an oft-cited study from the University of Chicago where one group of atheletes was practiced free throws each day, and another group simply visualized practicing free throws. And the end of the study, they tested both groups' progress, and the group that only imagined praticing improved nearly as much as the ones who actually practiced!

Also, many musicians will often "practice" by simply looking at the score and imagining how they would play it. Of course, part of the reason they do this is simply to avoid repetitive stress-related injuries, but many teachers consider it an effective aid in learning new pieces.

I often study kanji this way as well, but I will write them down at times too, in part just because I enjoy writing kanji, now that I can.

Ideally, I think we should do both. By visualising the writing of the kanji, you'll probably remember it more easily next time and I think it's a really good exercise. However doing just this won't help your writing fluency or help you make the characters you write look nice.

I think that as mentioned above, creating the kanji stroke by stroke within your head has plenty of merits, but for me, I always get a certain amount of satisfaction from putting that kanji down on paper, I can then look at it afterwards with a smug grin (especially if it was difficult to recall).

I do memory recalls now, writing them in the head. It takes too long time to do it on paper now.

For newly learned kanji I always write them down, for the old ones I do them in my head unless it is a complex one that I seem to be having difficulty with. I agree with Chris about the satisfaction, but as I am only at around 600 with my approach there is still plenty of writing to be done!

I agree with Immacolata that, when you get to a certain point, writing all the kanji for your reviews takes too much time. "Writing" them mentally is also more convenient when reviewing, say, on a bus or train (try writing kanji on a London bus! Their suspension is appalling!).

I also agree with Wrightak that a mixture of mentally and physically writing is probably ideal. I think writing is a must to get stroke order/style/direction down properly if you really want to be able to write well. It is after all a physical craft.

well, to be honest I had never really tried to review my previously studied kanji totally in my head (the odd kanji I would recall but not working through my lists) until today that is anyway, I simply only reviewed more recent kanji, then every now and then go back and do the early ones, it's probably something that's been lacking in my reviewing methods, good thread.

I think you've got to be carefull about doing it in your mind. It's very easy to think that you know it but when you actually want to write it down you suddenly get a mental block. If you do it in your mind then you've really got to make sure that you trace out every single stroke in your head. I think it's a good exercise but it's easy to get lazy and not do it properly.

wrightak Wrote:I think you've got to be carefull about doing it in your mind. It's very easy to think that you know it but when you actually want to write it down you suddenly get a mental block. If you do it in your mind then you've really got to make sure that you trace out every single stroke in your head. I think it's a good exercise but it's easy to get lazy and not do it properly.

That's why I only let myself do it for the simple and familiar kanji. I think it's easy to to fool youself when it's in your head, particularly on the more complex characters, but on paper there it is in black and white, and you can't argue with it. Also people's skills in this direction vary greatly. I don't think mine are that great, so I do lean on writing a lot more. I really feel I know them then.

Another method is the writing with your finger on the palm of your hand technique, which Heisig mentions. This feels different to both mental imaging and writing, so it's a kind of a 3rd way to try.

With a lot of easier kanji, I trace them with my mouse on the blank space of the review card. That way I still force myself to draw lines.

astridtops Wrote:With a lot of easier kanji, I trace them with my mouse on the blank space of the review card. That way I still force myself to draw lines.

What a creative way to get RSI... :-)

Serge Wrote:

astridtops Wrote:With a lot of easier kanji, I trace them with my mouse on the blank space of the review card. That way I still force myself to draw lines.

What a creative way to get RSI... :-)

Nah, I alternate this with typing movements, like being very opiniated on this forum

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I also visualize drawing kanji, if I'm on the bus or somewhere else with no paper at hand. But not during reviews, because I really enjoy writing kanji.

Also from my experience, the actual writing takes very little time, and most of the review time is spent recalling the elements that make the character.

Sometimes writing the character helps me remember the proper placement of primitives, or recall one of the primitives, because as I write it, I see that the character doesn't feel right: one primitive/radical doesn't fit, or there is an empty space somewhere which looks odd.

I think it's fine to visualize drawing the kanji stroke by stroke, but the mind can play tricks, so I'd count the strokes as I visualize them, and check against the stroke count shown on the flashcards. That's the quickest way to check yourself.