raseru
Member
From: california
Registered: 2007-05-23
Posts: 159
I searched for a similar topic with no luck.
I'm not quite finished, I need about a month to finish, but it bugs me when I see kanji like 俺 not in the first book. This kanji is extremely popular and should have been taught a lot earlier. This makes me wonder, is 2042 not enough? Are there tons more out there like 俺? I wanted to quit once I finished but it looks like I may have to continue.
Does Heisig introduce more radicals to rarer kanjis in 2042+? Because if he doesn't then I guess I can add the kanji as I come across them rather than learning another thousand
dukelexon
Member
From: Utah
Registered: 2007-12-02
Posts: 44
The 常用 list is in the process of being rennovated, if my memory serves me -- I've read that a hundred or so more characters are being added. If this is the case, RTKI should be similarly updated.
Until then, go ahead and just use the methods that Heisig has taught you to absorb new kanji as you come to them, and as you feel you'll need them. I'm currently making my way through RTK3 -- it's so much more a relaxed task once you've finished the first volume! I've gotten the method down to such a point that I need no longer than 30 seconds to one minute per new character, on average. My target is 10 a day (which is a cake-walk compared to the daily 50 I was doing), but I let myself skip a day here and there, because ... hey. I'm done with the jouyou. This is just gravy, and I don't mind taking a few months to do it. All-in-all, with "only" a thousand more, I'm fine finishing when I'm finished.
I'd recommend that anyone that's absolutely serious about being literate in Japanese not stop at RTK1.
Last edited by dukelexon (2008 April 06, 5:28 am)
raseru
Member
From: california
Registered: 2007-05-23
Posts: 159
Oh really? Cool, that ought to save some time. I'll go download the new version and try merging the decks
Edit: Seems like merging decks isn't an option, at least not until I finish all 3007 if I decide to. Anki won't let me map them when I choose another anki deck which messes it up, and changing the export format to TXT just destroys the order
Last edited by raseru (2008 April 07, 4:48 am)
vosmiura
Member
From: SF Bay Area
Registered: 2006-08-24
Posts: 1085
dukelexon wrote:
I'd recommend that anyone that's absolutely serious about being literate in Japanese not stop at RTK1.
I don't see much point to going through all of RTK3 until you've mastered the RTK1 kanji including readings & a lot of vocab. If you don't know how to read the RTK1 kanji, it will be a long time until most of RTK3 becomes useful to your literacy.
In my case, I've been studying the RTK3 kanji only as & when I need them, and so far there are not so many.
Last edited by vosmiura (2008 April 07, 3:08 am)
raseru
Member
From: california
Registered: 2007-05-23
Posts: 159
I tried but it doesn't work properly. It might be because I changed the fields around a bit.
when I merged them, 2043+ show but when I click on them, I can't edit them, it only shows the last card I clicked on that was 2042 or lower.
It's no big deal though cause once I finish them I can merge them together as order won't matter.
I upped the borked deck in case you were interested, along with the out of order deck jut in case
http://www.mediafire.com/?4xzbmrjmjuw
Last edited by raseru (2008 April 07, 2:20 pm)
dukelexon
Member
From: Utah
Registered: 2007-12-02
Posts: 44
vosmiura wrote:
dukelexon wrote:
I'd recommend that anyone that's absolutely serious about being literate in Japanese not stop at RTK1.
I don't see much point to going through all of RTK3 until you've mastered the RTK1 kanji including readings & a lot of vocab. If you don't know how to read the RTK1 kanji, it will be a long time until most of RTK3 becomes useful to your literacy.
In my case, I've been studying the RTK3 kanji only as & when I need them, and so far there are not so many.
You're ... probably right about that. I dove right into RTK3 barely a week after I had finished RTK1, because I was eager to get started.
I also, however, restarted my normal Japanese studies after I closed the book on frame #2042 ... and I've encountered maybe five or six (if that) of the RTK3 kanji since that time (the last couple of months).
Let me rephrase: if you're really serious about Japanese literacy, you'll probably not want to limit yourself to the jouyou for all time. If that's all you ever teach yourself, you'll eventually get to a point where it won't be enough to enjoy Japanese culture and literature like most natives would, and if that's your long-term goal (it's mine, at least) ... you'll eventually need to be able to recognize more. There may not, however, be much sense on moving onward with another intensive kanji program until you literally get to a point in which you're ready to start reading Japanese classical literature. 
Until then, learning individual new kanji as you encounter them may be a wiser, more practical use of time.
Last edited by dukelexon (2008 April 10, 8:27 pm)
