Hi everyone. This is my first post on the forums!

I was just wondering something. Does it matter that much if you don't memorize the written form of the kanji? I am learning through RTK and I guess I only know the printed form of them. Should I go back and learn the written forms of them for the ones that Heisig writes down?

Thanks everyone!

Don't stress it. I mean, handwriting is difficult to read (in any language, for me), but, like small resolution characters in video games (or elsewhere), you get better at it with time.

Also, one of the key components in more easily recognizing handwritten characters is an understanding of stroke order. Having handwritten the characters yourself (quickly and fluidly) helps as well. The abbreviations that happen are, naturally, pretty natural.

There are very few kanji or primitives for which handwritten forms and printed forms significantly differ. There are often variant handwritten forms, but you don't have to use them.

You definitely should learn stroke order, though, because writing the characters (even if it's with the index finger into the palm of the other hand) will do a lot to make them easier to remember, and it also makes it a lot easier to look up a word using a computer even if you don't know how to pronounce its kanji.

- Kef

Handwritten Kanji differs a lot, like in English. There are some, albeit few, kanji with notable differences. Other examples: the kana そ, in its handwritten form has a little extra dash at the top, and the road primitve in 道, (and everywhere else) has more squiggles. It's nothing you won't be able to recognise, though, with enough practice

Siibillam Wrote:http://i46.tinypic.com/2wlu6ie.png

That's a nice picture, but just to explain, that shows two different styles of handwriting, called 楷書 (kaisho) on the left, and 行書 (gyousho) on the right.