Not sure if been discussed before, but I’ve concluded that creating a visual association using the actual written kanji character and incorporating it within the story will lead to higher likelihood of memorization than simply remembering the mnemonic on its own.
Here is an example:
対 - Versus
Mnemonic for meaning given by WaniKani:
You want to take a measurement of what you’re writing to make sure it’s long enough to hand in to your professor, when you realize it’s the opposite of what you should be doing. You don’t measure writing, you check things like word count and page numbers. Now it’s going to be you versus the teacher on who determines how long this thing you’re writing should be.
On’yomi mnemonic given by WaniKani:
たい
You let your nerves get the better of you and right when it’s about to be you versus your professor, you hand him a new tie (たい). Is this also the opposite of what you should be doing? Probably, since it’s bribery. But no one can say no to a tie, right?
Here’s how I combined all of that in a single mnemonic.
Visualize the kanji: 対. The left part looks like an X, representing “versus” (VS). Imagine Ryu vs. Ken fighting with ties (たい), creating a vivid, funny scene.
On’yomi mnemonic (たい):
In the fight, Ryu and Ken are using ties (たい) as weapons. Slap, slap, slap!
A few times I could recall a vivid story on its own, but I lost the bind between the actual character. To avoid that in the future, I will try binding my stories to actual physical Kanji on the screen.
My questions on WaniKani methodology:
What is the reason for using separate menmonics for pronunciation and the kanji meaning?
Wouldn’t it be more efficient to include both meaning and ideally on-yomi, kun-yomi pronunciation in a single mnemonic?
