There is a such a list? All the kanji divided in fields like: food, drink, object, animals etc.?
2009-08-15, 10:50 am
wouldnt really be useful anyway so i dont see why you'd need it?
2009-08-15, 10:57 am
As far as I know, no, not of RTK1. You could probably find a thematic list of the 常用漢字 (jouyou kanji / general-use chinese characters) that RTK1 is based on if you really wanted to.
But, that kinda misses the point. RTK is optimized for learning by organizing the characters by their components. For example, #1333, 糸, is "thread" and 1334-1394 are characters that are based on "thread."
Besides, most kanji aren't words all by themselves. Yes, 口 really does mean "mouth," 水 means "water" and so on, but those are the exception not the rule. You still have to learn words after RTK1.
So what's the point?
Before RTK: 公園 (public park), a word on the JLPT 4 vocabulary list is a messy collection of sixteen strokes nearly impossible to remember. (Speaking from experience)
After RTK: I can build up words from parts, just like I can build kanji from parts. 公 has the keyword "public," it in turn is made up from 八 (eight) and "elbow."
園 means "park" and is made of "pent-in" and "distance-marker" which also appears in 遠 (distant). "Distance" is made up of 土 (soil) 口 (mouth) and the bottom part of 衣 (garment).
Before RTK: I confused 速 (quick) and 遠 (distance), which look similar.
After RTK: I sometimes confuse characters similar keywords. This is getting better with continued review.
Before RTK: 鴫,鷹, 鬱 and other complicated characters the Japanese themselves no longer teach in school are impossibly intimidating.
After RTK: 鴫 is easy, it's just 田 and 鳥. Make up a keyword (sandpiper) and a story (sandpipers combing the beach looking for insects to eat look like people working in a rice-field, thus ricefield-bird) and I'm done. 鷹, a bit harder. I'll give it the keyword "falcon" and its parts are cave, Mr. T, chocobo, bird. Searching a kanji dictionary shows that the first three elements work together in several characters. I'll give them the key word "stoop," like falcons do (Mr. T stoops from a cave in the side of a cliff riding a terrified chocobo). The bird that stoops is the falcon. Done. I can also learn "counterfeit" 贋 (stoop, money) and the old form of "apply" 應 (stoop, heart) (new form 応) at the same time.
RTK1 trains your brain to process kanji and loads the writing of the first two thousand into memory. That's it. You wont be able to read aloud and guessing the meaning of new words is kinda a crapshoot. (spring/before is "early spring," but valve/hit is "box lunch." Really.)
At the point where I am (recently finished, just starting to learn vocabulary) I think it's worth it. I love being able to pick up kanji vocabulary (even using new kanji) as easily as I could learn roumaji vocabulary before. That's the benefit so far. Personally I think it was worth the two months of study.
But, that kinda misses the point. RTK is optimized for learning by organizing the characters by their components. For example, #1333, 糸, is "thread" and 1334-1394 are characters that are based on "thread."
Besides, most kanji aren't words all by themselves. Yes, 口 really does mean "mouth," 水 means "water" and so on, but those are the exception not the rule. You still have to learn words after RTK1.
So what's the point?
Before RTK: 公園 (public park), a word on the JLPT 4 vocabulary list is a messy collection of sixteen strokes nearly impossible to remember. (Speaking from experience)
After RTK: I can build up words from parts, just like I can build kanji from parts. 公 has the keyword "public," it in turn is made up from 八 (eight) and "elbow."
園 means "park" and is made of "pent-in" and "distance-marker" which also appears in 遠 (distant). "Distance" is made up of 土 (soil) 口 (mouth) and the bottom part of 衣 (garment).
Before RTK: I confused 速 (quick) and 遠 (distance), which look similar.
After RTK: I sometimes confuse characters similar keywords. This is getting better with continued review.
Before RTK: 鴫,鷹, 鬱 and other complicated characters the Japanese themselves no longer teach in school are impossibly intimidating.
After RTK: 鴫 is easy, it's just 田 and 鳥. Make up a keyword (sandpiper) and a story (sandpipers combing the beach looking for insects to eat look like people working in a rice-field, thus ricefield-bird) and I'm done. 鷹, a bit harder. I'll give it the keyword "falcon" and its parts are cave, Mr. T, chocobo, bird. Searching a kanji dictionary shows that the first three elements work together in several characters. I'll give them the key word "stoop," like falcons do (Mr. T stoops from a cave in the side of a cliff riding a terrified chocobo). The bird that stoops is the falcon. Done. I can also learn "counterfeit" 贋 (stoop, money) and the old form of "apply" 應 (stoop, heart) (new form 応) at the same time.
RTK1 trains your brain to process kanji and loads the writing of the first two thousand into memory. That's it. You wont be able to read aloud and guessing the meaning of new words is kinda a crapshoot. (spring/before is "early spring," but valve/hit is "box lunch." Really.)
At the point where I am (recently finished, just starting to learn vocabulary) I think it's worth it. I love being able to pick up kanji vocabulary (even using new kanji) as easily as I could learn roumaji vocabulary before. That's the benefit so far. Personally I think it was worth the two months of study.
Edited: 2009-08-15, 5:45 pm
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2009-08-15, 1:05 pm
wildweathel Wrote:Before RTK: I confused 速 (distance) and 遠 (quick), which look the similar.遠 is distance and 速 is quick.
2009-08-15, 4:33 pm
I'll try to find it online...
Mafried what's with ko2001? however after heisig I think I'll do that
Mafried what's with ko2001? however after heisig I think I'll do that
2009-08-15, 5:44 pm
FL1PPY Wrote:So they are. D'oh. My English was off too.wildweathel Wrote:Before RTK: I confused 速 (distance) and 遠 (quick), which look the similar.遠 is distance and 速 is quick.