In response to rich_f's interest in such a collection (here), and in case it could be useful to someone, I'm pasting here a list of easily confused words, grouped by similar meaning/"flavor".
Most of them are not real synonyms, but can still somehow be confused.
I have the feeling that this might be a very subjective thing, and YOU may have never had any problem distinguishing between them. The other way around is also true: it doesn't include those groups that for some reason didn't give ME any problems.
As for the usefulness of this list, I'm not too sure. I made it because I thought it would be easier to create stories that don't overlap in any way.
Let me know of any thoughts or additions you'd like to make!
In no particular order:
salary
stipend
income
--------
feelings
spirit
emotion
--------
resentment
grudge
repent
remorse
rue
--------
pledge
promise
vow
agreement
--------
I
me
oneself
self
--------
tax
tariff
levy
tribute
fare
--------
subjugate
solicit
encourage
urge
--------
calm
quiet
peaceful
--------
unusual
uncommon
rare
--------
regularity
gradually
sequential
--------
pursue
follow
chase
--------
pardon
excuse
apologize
--------
gulf
bay
haven
harbor
--------
swamp
marsh
pond
--------
marriage
matrimony
--------
PS: These only include the 2042 RTK1 kanji.
PPS: Some errors may be due to my ignorance of English!
rich_f
Member
From: north carolina
Registered: 2007-07-12
Posts: 1708
Cool! I was looking for something like this. Thanks for the feedback, guys.
A few others that can be confusing:
someone
somebody
------
delight
pleasure
ecstasy
------
various
miscellaneous
etc.
------
male
masculine
he
-----
I think this sort of grouping will really help get my fail rate down, because that's usually what causes me to screw up ones I've known for a while.
Last edited by rich_f (2008 February 17, 2:41 pm)
rich_f
Member
From: north carolina
Registered: 2007-07-12
Posts: 1708
After going over the lists so far, and thinking about the ones I get confused, I'm starting to realize that this is the sort of thing that is individualized to a point, since people make different connections between words based on how they've learned English. But the lists are a great help to start with. I think that doing this sort of exercise is going to be really helpful for clearing up things, especially things I make connections to that aren't necessarily synonyms, but have similar stories, or similar elements.
One thing I do when I'm doing reviews is to take notes on kanji I fail. Now I think I'm going to add another level to the note-taking, and get more in-depth about it. (As I'm back to around 1300 again, I know that all sorts of fun things start to happen from here on out. 
)
Thanks for the input so far.
Wow, timcampbell, what a great list! As I thought, the thing is subjective to some extent. With many of the groups you listed I never confused the connected keywords, so I didn't even realize the similarity, or my stories worked out of the box.
Some of those, on the other hand, were problematic indeed (lately I'm hating the engrave-carve duo), I just forgot to include them.
It looks like we could build a global list. I'm thinking about how to make it more helpful...
For example, it would be nice if we could put a notice in the study page saying something like "Don't confuse this kanji with..." followed by the list of sibling keywords.
dukelexon
Member
From: Utah
Registered: 2007-12-02
Posts: 44
Some that get me:
--
consolation
condolences
--
hear
listen
--
--
sayeth
speaketh
--
As far as I'm concerned, those three pairs of words are virtually identical in meaning; it's gotten to the point that I'll pass myself on any one of those kanji, as long as I remember to write BOTH before I flip the card, proving to myself that I know them both. T_T
When they're that close in meaning (i.e., synonyms), I don't know if I want to be held hostage to Heisig's sometimes arbitrary keyword.
Last edited by dukelexon (2008 February 17, 10:14 pm)
samuize
Member
From: Tokyo
Registered: 2007-02-20
Posts: 18
Great lists but I wonder how much it really helps to concentrate on the exact Heisig keyword in the case that it is causing confusion - dont forget that the real goal is to learn the JAPANESE word! Personally when I have trouble with the English keywords I skip straight to learning the Japanese reading instead by learning a common Japanese word that uses the kanji.
Last edited by samuize (2008 February 18, 1:10 am)
It looks like every kanji in the book can be confused with something else
Another way to put to good use the list would be for everyone to make a note about why they DON'T confuse two certain keywords.
For example:hear/listen. I don't have a problem with these, because there is a difference between hearing (without necessarily paying attention) and listening (concentrating in what is being said). So my story for listening 聴 involves actually paying attention to someone, and hearing 聞 is based on a more generic sound.
samuize wrote:
Great lists but I wonder how much it really helps to concentrate on the exact Heisig keyword in the case that it is causing confusion - dont forget that the real goal is to learn the JAPANESE word! Personally when I have trouble with the English keywords I skip straight to learning the Japanese reading instead by learning a common Japanese word that uses the kanji.
That's totally true, but the problem arises when you review on this site or on another SRS. It's usually keyword→kanji, so it's fundamental to make a clear distinction between keywords.
