Reviewing the Kanji vs Remembering the Kanji

Index » RtK Volume 1

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Reply #1 - 2012 July 12, 11:20 am
tomcase7 New member
From: Canada Registered: 2012-01-15 Posts: 2

Hi everyone,

I'm sure this question has been asked before, but I've browsed the forums and haven't been able to find it.

I've read Heisig's Remembering the Kanji (RTK), and I'm already up to 400+ kanji under my belt. I've also been using Reviewing the Kanji to help me come up with stories and to add the correct Kanji/Meaning to an Anki deck.

However, I've noticed that RTK and Reviewing the Kanji don't exactly line up. For example, in RTK, #418 is "Key", a Kanji that is skipped in Reviewing the Kanji. Is this deliberate? Is there a reason why this website has decided to leave out numerous of Heisig's Kanji additions? I just want to make sure that I'll know how to write "key" by the end of all this, without having to go back through RTK and find all the ones that this website missed out. Or has the order been changed? Perhaps Heisig's version of "key" is antiquated and not used in modern Japanese?

If anyone has any info, I would appreciate an explanation.

Cheers,

Tom

Reply #2 - 2012 July 12, 12:14 pm
einahpets Member
From: Chicago Registered: 2011-10-14 Posts: 59

I'm not sure, because I used an older version of RTK myself, but I think maybe the website doesn't reflect the newest version of RTK.  All you have to do though is type "key" into the search on the study page and the kanji will come up - then you can do a custom add to add that kanji to your review list (if you use this site for review).

Reply #3 - 2012 July 12, 12:15 pm
Katsuo M.O.D.
From: Tokyo Registered: 2007-02-06 Posts: 887 Website

RTK the book has been out for decades, and the most recent edition (6th) has added 160 or so characters to stay in line with the government's recent changes to the joyo kanji list. This web site uses the numbering for the older editions.

See this thread: 6th Edition Frame Number Converter

Also I made a Google Docs spreadsheet to compare the numbering systems.

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Reply #4 - 2012 July 12, 2:21 pm
tomcase7 New member
From: Canada Registered: 2012-01-15 Posts: 2

You were right. I am using the 6th edition.

Does that mean I need to go through the 400+ cards I've added thus far and add what I've missed? That's going to screw up my numbering and everything.

I didn't realize you could search by keyword.. it turns out that "key" is is #2761. Thanks for that tip. This is probably going to eat up my day, but I guess it's better I catch it now than to forget about it. I'll keep the numbers the same as Reviewing the Kanji, and just add "Key" as #2761, though RTK only goes up to 2200.

I assume since "key" was added in the 6th edition (or whatever) that is still important to know, even though the earlier editions left it out?

Reply #5 - 2012 July 12, 5:12 pm
Zgarbas Watchman
From: 名古屋 Registered: 2011-10-09 Posts: 1210 Website

there is no need to manually add everything you've missed, thanks to the 6th edition converter link posted by katsuo. Just copy paste the numbers it gives you, it will all everything that's missing smile. From there on you can easily locate the kanjis(most will have much higher numbers than what you have so far) that have been added and add your story.
it's not about importance, per se. The joyo kanji list changes every now and then and the kanji books have to keep up. Arguably, some non-joyo kanjis are just as important as the official ones, but official tests such as the jlpt will be focusing on these. Some of the official kanjis are pretty rare and you will probably not encounter them any time soon. I wouldn't skip any, though.

Reply #6 - 2012 July 12, 9:55 pm
Norman Member
From: Japan Registered: 2012-02-19 Posts: 146

Nice effort by Katuso, but it is unfortunate that this website does not have an option to select of one of the six editions to study.

Reply #7 - 2012 July 13, 1:24 am
ファブリス Administrator
From: Belgium Registered: 2006-06-14 Posts: 4021 Website

The thing is I don't realize how bad or terribly bad this is for you guys. In my mind I imagine the majority of characters are the same. In practice I suppose searching the Study pages in character is very cumbersome because of the IME, and you don't know the readings yet.

But what about the keywords? I was always under the impression that most keywords are identical, can you type the keyword to find most 6th edition kanji in the Study pages? Were so many keywords updated?

Edit: Oh I see well for adding cards atm, you can either use the Frame Number Converter, or as you Study the characters and look up on keywords, use the flashcard button at the top of the page to add a card.

Reply #8 - 2012 July 13, 1:32 pm
Zgarbas Watchman
From: 名古屋 Registered: 2011-10-09 Posts: 1210 Website

I think the issue here is that either someone does not realize the discrepancies between editions (since there's not a whole lot of them it's easy to not notice until you're a few hundred frames in), or they do and don't understand why they're there.

Maybe leave a really big and noticeable disclaimer on the RevTK page saying something along the lines of "There are multiple editions of RTK and this site is compatible with the 5th edition. BUT, Worry not, use this converter and you won't be missing out on anything"?

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