I am still slightly new to RTK; only up to 500 or so.

I apologize if this has been answered/resolved elsewhere...

I use this website as my main method to study. I only recently started using Anki for this, but I flipped the card layout so it shows kanji to keyword. Is this a good idea? I figured it would be a good idea to study the kanji both ways; keyword to kanji AND kanji to keyword. Sometimes when I look at a kanji, I can't recall what it is... even though I KNOW I've studied it before; it's on the tip of my tongue, which makes it even more aggravating. It gave me the idea to switch the card layout on anki and try to recall the keyword/story when I'm staring at the kanji.

Before I go too far into this method, I was hoping to get some feedback. I know it's important to study via staring at the keyword to recall the story, then write the kanji, so I haven't stopped that... but is it particularly worth it to study my Anki deck in the opposite manner? Would it make much of a difference in the long run, or am I better off just sticking to keyword to kanji? I was wondering if my memory was only spotty on a few kanji because I've just started, and maybe it will get better the more times I see it...

I don't know.. I started asking myself these questions and obviously wasn't getting anywhere... so I figured I'd try here.

Any feedback at all would be helpful. Thanks!

I am also fairly new, only 650 or so in but Heisig is pretty adamant that review should be Keyword to Kanji, not the other way around.

Yes, I realize the importance of reviewing via keyword to kanji. What I was wondering was, if it would be a waste of time to study them both ways.

Only do keyword to kanji, not the other way around.

Actually, in the long run it's not really all that good to associate the kanji with the keyword. Eventually you should just be associating the kanji with the word in Japanese that you have in mind.

Really what RTK does well is establish the kanji in your mind, rather than give you the meaning of the kanji. Certain kanji are associated very strongly with a single concept (especially when they are the kanji for simple nouns). But the vast majority of kanji are used in too many ways for a single meaning to be very useful to the learner.

Thank you for your reply, I appreciate it.. exactly the response I was looking for. I'll stick with only keyword to kanji, then.

Edit: Page didn't refresh until I posted just now. I see that someone has answered the question. Thanks! I'll continue doing keyword to kanji .

I am running into the same exact problem! I study keyword to kanji, but when I see kanji, I cannot always remember the meaning. Like you said, it is on the tip of my tongue. If any of the more experienced forum members could put in their $0.02, that would be great. Maybe we'll remember the keyword better as we practice or see them in context. I know some of the members here think that kanji to keyword is not beneficial.

jishera Wrote:Maybe we'll remember the keyword better as we practice or see them in context. I know some of the members here think that kanji to keyword is not beneficial.

Well, the goal isn't to be able to see a kanji and think of the keyword. So hopefully you'll never be able to do it. Basically, the process should go something like this.

You learn the keyword 'perfect'. You do flashcards going from 'perfect' to 完.

Later, you learn the word 完結, which is pronounced 'kanketsu' and means 'conclusion'. And when you see 完結, you think kanketsu, and you know the meaning is conclusion (once you know the word very well you won't think that the meaning is conclusion, because you won't be translating it to English in your head anymore). At no point are you going from 完 to keyword--because the keyword doesn't have anything to do with the meaning, nor the pronunciation, of the word.

Even though the keyword didn't help you in the case of 完結, it was still useful to do RTK in this case. Why? Because you KNOW 完, even if you can no longer associate with an English keyword. It has a place in your mind, and you can write it.

In some simple cases, like 'cat', the keyword will be more useful because it will give the English meaning. So, when you see 猫 you will think 'neko', which means 'cat.' But ultimately you don't want to think of the word 'cat.' You want to ditch the English, and just think of the concept of cat.

So, in the long run it's really never useful for you to go from the kanji to the keyword. You should be able to go from the kanji to the reading and the concept.

That makes a ton of sense. I think I've been too concerned with keywords.. I'm glad I brought this up, or I may have developed a really bad habit later on in my studies.

You've chased away much of my anxiety! Thank you so much.

I finished RTK1 and supplement going keyword -> kanji. I find that I'm now skeptical if that was best. Because I sometimes don't recognize the meanings and occasionally the meanings help with memorizing vocab words.

If I went kanji- keyword I would bet I would not be able to write them out as well from memory but would probably be able to read better. It's not like when you read japanese you read the english meaning because you're speaking japanese. Japanese and english are completely different "switches" for me and don't really cross unless I'm studying.

I will not go through RTK again but I think there may be advantages to both methods just not at the same time. The reason being sometimes you may accidentally be giving yourself a hint when you do the other reviews. Like if you saw 解　yesterday in your deck for keyword to kanji and the next day you see 解 in kanji-keyword.

I almost am not sure if RTK helped me with my other studies in the long run or not but I can never be sure because I already did it. I still think it's worth it especially if your in or going to be in japan in the near future because it makes life just a little easier. I look at signs and posters and am not completely confused. I may not know the reading but advertisements have been effective on me >.< .