My start with RTK1 went quite well, but nevertheless, I am already curious about how these readings work. I read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunyomi#On....reading.29 , but I think still fail to understand the concept.

From what I have understood so far, there are variations (?) of what a kanji means depending on the context it is found in. So, if I am correct, one kanji has several meanings, and for every meaning in Japanese, there is either an On or a Kun reading, but not both? And how does it work to recognize the correct meaning in a context? Is it just experience or is there a system behind it?

The same reading can also have multiple meanings. Or there can be multiple readings with essentially the same meaning. ON and kun readings can also mean the same (they don't necessarily do though). It is, at least in my opinion, difficult to give any concrete rules regarding the Kanji readings, as there are many exceptions. Generally, if a Kanji stands alone or is part of a name, the kun reading is used (as said before, there are exceptions though), if it is part of a compound it is usually read ON.
If I were you, I would just learn the readings together with words you want to learn as you encounter them in context. As time goes by you kind of get a feeling as to which reading to use in which context/compound.

Edit: By the way, welcome, fellow resident of Bonn.

This is basically how it works:
On'yomi is the Chinese reading of a kanji, imported into Japanese ages ago.
Kun'yomi is the Japanese reading, used in pure Japanese words which weren't imported from China.

What this actually means is that in jukugo (words which are made up from several kanji and no kana), you use the on'yomi readings. Examples: 牛乳、現在、商店.
Words which rely on kana are almost always Japanese and use kunyomi. Examples:
牛、現れる、買う

This isn't always true though. For example, 物事 is read "monogoto" which is kun'yomi. It's true almost always though, so it's good to remember.

So, would should a RtK1 beginner learn the On-Yomi first? RTK1 only features the On-yomi.

atkinsonja Wrote:So, would should a RtK1 beginner learn the On-Yomi first? RTK1 only features the On-yomi.

RtK1 doesn't feature any readings. Most people don't think one should learn readings at the same time (unless you use a method like the movie method). Instead, simply learn the kanji and learn the readings as you learn japanese words later.

Tobberoth Wrote:

atkinsonja Wrote:So, would should a RtK1 beginner learn the On-Yomi first? RTK1 only features the On-yomi.

RtK1 doesn't feature any readings. Most people don't think one should learn readings at the same time (unless you use a method like the movie method). Instead, simply learn the kanji and learn the readings as you learn japanese words later.

thanks!

Second thread like this in 2 days, we need a sticky or some sort of wiki beginners can read...