Don't be afraid to give yourself a hint.
http://www.supermemo.com/articles/20rules.htm
Rules 11-14 are relevant.

I add notes to the keywords to clarify which kanji they refer to. There's a plugin for Firefox to let you change the keywords on this site.

Here's a good solution that I heard (have not done though). Use the plug-in that allows you to modify the keyword. Then:

1. Beside the keyword you'll put the similar keyword's kanji.

2. For ambigious words (similar problem as above), put a minor definition of the word in the keyword area.

That should take away any doubt as to what you have to write.

Last edited by Nukemarine (2008 August 20, 1:07 am)

Shirow66 wrote:

Some words that come to mind for me are:

each/every   (I find it especially funny how Heisig specifically cautions against associating each with every, because the words are basically interchangeable)

chastize/admonish/rebuke

Part of the difficulty for me could be that English isn't my first language, making it harder to separate the meaning of the words. Also many of the keywords are words that while I know them, would never use in spoken or written English ever. My favorite one of these is "taskmaster". Has anyone ever used that word in a sentence outside RTK studies ever? The only taskmaster I know of is the villain from the Marvel Comics.

I disagree about each and every...  Each has a 'do it separately to each one' connotation, and 'every' has a 'do it to all of them at once' connotation in English.  They aren't -always- used like that, but I definitely think in terms of each item in the set when using 'each' and in terms of the whole set when using 'every'.

I will admit that I can't really separate the others, though.  Chastize is a little more harsh than admonish, but rebuke?  I've never even heard it used, even though I know what it means.

just look up the kanji in a kanji dictionary. duh.

I think only mistake people are making is that they are associating kanji with a SPECIFIC meaning.

Kanji have no specific meaning, but instead describe a concept.

Heisig keywords are only there to help you remember the kanji. It does not
necessarily represent 100% the full range of meanings for each kanji. Don't
ever fall into the habit of thinking "this kanji = this meaning".

Even Heisig writes in the book that as time goes on, the keyword meaning will float away as you understand the underlying concept for each kanji.

Therefore, even if 2 words are listed as "sacrifice", it does not mean they are identical. Don't take the English meaning of sacrifice and then just assume that Japanese view "sacrifice" in the same manner.

It might be possible that they refers to 2 different concepts related to the word "sacrifice" in Japanese society. And it might not have anything to do with how the rest of the world views "sacrifice".

With time and experience, you'll get a better idea for the concepts represented by each kanji.

Yo, chamcham. You are so right. You dont learn a meaning for the kanjis with RTK. You learn the kanjis, attached to a "tag", that is, the keyword.
Learning what the kanji realy means comes later, while using it.

I haven't changed any keywords yet, as I don't want to keep track of them as I go and get into other problems. Rather, I've challenged myself to learn ENGLISH better to tease apart the slight variances in some of the more difficult words brought up in this post. English words can have huge semantic range, and though on paper their definitions read the same, we don't often "use" the word "utilize," it has a specific flavor that is appropriate in particular contexts. Finding and pulling apart the differences in some of these words helps to keep their kanji apart, especially when you construct stories specific to a certain angle the word conveys.