Hello, I think this is my first post on the forum.

So, I've been reviewing the Kanji and I've done about 900 of them so far. I can remember them pretty well when I review on this site and on Anki. However, sometimes, when I see a kanji I have done (when I read something in japanese or watch something with japanese subtitles) I can't remember the keyword straight away. I have to think about it for a while (contrary to what happens when I review and do keyword -> kanji) and it happens that I even have to go check the kanji on the book.

So when I have the keyword it's easy to remember the kanji but when I see a kanji, the keyword doesn't come up immediately. Whad should I do?

Just don't worry about it. Key reviewing keyword --> kanji and eventually the other will take care of itself. The big reason not to do kanji --> keyword study is that eventually you'll be trying to move away from English keywords, so any work you put in on that front will be a waste at the very best, and possibly a detriment at the worst.

momokun Wrote:Just don't worry about it.

Seconded.

There's no point in remembering the keyword. If you can remember the general meaning of the kanji though, that's good, but not worth fretting about. It will come, eventually.

TL: DR - Stick with Keyword to Kanji, in time you can ADD in Kanji to Meaning/Onyomi Cards.

Common thread. Some here (like myself) think it's best to have two cards (Kanji to meaning, Keyword to kanji) though you need a different SRS like Anki to do that. Others prefer Heisig's advice about only Keyword to Kanji which this site covers.

I don't think anyone here backs Kanji to keyword/meaning by itself. That will not test your ability to write the Kanji from memory. Recently though, an article on AJATT recommended turning to this when you become advanced enough (he's 6 years into Japanese for example). I tried this but it's VERY easy.

Your ability to recognize Kanji and its meaning will be tested when you move on to vocabulary. It'll likely be Kanji to kana which helps reinforce the meaning of the kanji.

Personally, I removed all my Kanji to meaning cards. What I do now is slowly build up a set of Kanji to Meaning and common onyomi. Also, when I test Keyword to Kanji, there's meanings and common words in kana on the front to help figure the right kanji.

Thank you guys so much, apparently I was fussing over something not worth it.

@Nukemarine: I actually use the Anki deck you created (thanks for that!) which is way better than any other I've tried. I do wonder though why Khatzumoto thinks that Kanji to keyword should be done when you're advanced. Shouldn't you be over that part at that point?

Thank you guys again, I really appreciate it!

Nodame Wrote:Thank you guys so much, apparently I was fussing over something not worth it.

@Nukemarine: I actually use the Anki deck you created (thanks for that!) which is way better than any other I've tried. I do wonder though why Khatzumoto thinks that Kanji to keyword should be done when you're advanced. Shouldn't you be over that part at that point?

Thank you guys again, I really appreciate it!

Khazu's idea (bear in mind, I don't agree with it a single bit) is that going keyword to kanji is hard and boring and once you're good enough, you don't need it anymore, so you can go for something easier and more fun to make sure you keep it up.

Personally, I think that if you find it hard or that you in any way struggle with it, it just means you need it and should let the SRS do its job. Also, the whole concept of the SRS tells us that if the SRS tells you something needs to be reviewed, it needs to be reviewed. Therefore, thinking that you're "done" with something is a fallacy since it wouldn't come up in your SRS if you were truely done with it.