Trouble remembering the Keyword from Kanji.

Index » RtK Volume 1

  • 1
 
Reply #1 - 2008 November 16, 6:10 am
Mesqueeb Member
From: Japan Registered: 2008-10-14 Posts: 253 Website

I do fine on my reviews here and have no problems with going from the Keyword to the Kanji. Because I have made up until now ALL my stories so I see a keyword and it links that with primitives, and not when I see the Kanji I think of it's primitives and so on. I did this because Heisig recommands it right? I know all Kanji from keyword on up until now, BUT!
My problem is:
I constantly forget what I Kanji means if I see it, I just can't get to the story somehow... Even if I pick out the primitives...
Heisig said it will follow naturally if you know it from the keyword -> kanji, but it does not with my mind... ANy hints, tips? What to do?

Thanks a lot!

-Mesqueeb

Reply #2 - 2008 November 16, 6:20 am
KristinHolly Member
From: Boston Registered: 2008-07-21 Posts: 148

Try using the reading section.  Then you can see the keyword from the kanji.

Reply #3 - 2008 November 16, 7:19 am
samesong Member
From: Nagano Registered: 2008-06-13 Posts: 242 Website

Two points:

-After reviewing a kanji so many times, you will naturally remember the keyword.

-Going from kanji to keyword isn't imporant. Remembering the shape and being able to distinguish it from other similar kanji is the purpose of Heisig's method, not memorizing his (often misleading or incorrect) keywords.

Advertising (register and sign in to hide this)
JapanesePod101 Sponsor
 
JapanesePod101
Reply #4 - 2008 November 17, 12:59 am
esgrove Member
From: Kaizu, Gifu, Japan Registered: 2007-02-16 Posts: 113

I had the same problem. I learned all the RtK1 kanji and did fine on the reviews on this site, but half the time I would see a kanji in real life I just couldn't think of the keyword, only the primitives. Since I'm taking the JLPT soon, I realized that for the time being, knowing the meaning of a kanji from reading it is more important than being able to write it (since there is no output on the JLPT). So I loaded up the kanji-to-keyword deck into mnemosyne and have been practicing with that for the last month. Not only is that kind of review many times faster (it takes longer to write than to say), but it's much easier.

I plan to go back to keyword-to-kanji review after the test, but I don't think it's detrimental to learn them backwords as well as forwards.

Reply #5 - 2008 November 17, 1:19 am
vosmiura Member
From: SF Bay Area Registered: 2006-08-24 Posts: 1085

Often I'll remember the idea of the kanji rather than the exact original keyword.  But that's fine because nobody's going to test me on remembering Heisig's keywords.  Remembering the idea... that's what helps to learn vocab.

If doing the JLPT, it may be better to focus on learning vocab than mastering keywords.

Last edited by vosmiura (2008 November 17, 1:23 am)

  • 1