I’ve never had such a problem with a Japanese word like 都合. It’s an absurd meaning and reading based on the kanji and I feel like I’ll never use it. I get it to guru level and then when the two week check up comes I absolutely never remember it. I’ve never seen it while reading and I utterly hate it! Does anyone have a mnemonic that would actually help me? I’ve come up with six different ones and none of the stick.
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I never got it to stick either until I came across it reading, and I’ve come across it a few times here and there, usually as 都合がいい “convenient”
Would it help to know that the kanji 都 also has the meaning of “all; everything,” or have you found that? (I really feel like WK should teach the “all” meaning for 都 even if it’s just for this word. When everything comes together is when it’s convenient.)
(For the reading though I’ve got nothing, sorry. I don’t remember how I managed to remember that part.)
If you can’t find a way to get it to stick for you, though, don’t feel bad about adding a synonym to let you auto-pass it. You can always unburn it if it comes to that, but chances are you’ll get the hang of it after coming across it in context a time or few. SRS may be efficient, but it’s not infallible, and trying to get you to learn words in a vacuum is absolutely one of its shortcomings.
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It is actually a pretty common word (top 2400 on jpdb), so you should get enough exposure to reinforce it over time.
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There’s nothing particularly unusual about the reading. It’s just on’yomi for both kanji.
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I think WK only actually teaches と with 都 though judging by the reading explanations (for both the kanji and 都合) and Tsurukame only having と bolded
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@Jonapedia wrote a beautiful explanation of 都合 a while back.
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For this one, remember つごうがいい for now and ignore the Kanji; then get exposure, perhaps read things with Furigana.
Yeah, for the Kanji, despite 都 does have an On’yomi of つ, I can recall only one more word using this reading, 都度, which isn’t in WaniKani.
On’yomi for 合 shouldn’t be much of a problem.
Also, let me link the said beautiful explanation My silly rant about 合 - #24 by Jonapedia
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I struggled with this one for a long time too. I kinda think this one suffers from the other items WK puts before and after it…
“l’ll get it to go.” “At your convenience.” (I added this synonym, plus at your conviene for brevity…)
If I can, I just think of being at Mac or a conbini (what they call McDonald’s and convenience stores) and talking to someone in that location. And I just have to recognize that the kanji has that meaning.
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Not in terms of the readings, but in terms of the meanings, how about 人参? Knowing the meanings of 人 and 参, is there anyone that would even come close to guessing what this word is upon first seeing it?
It’s just one of those things I suppose. As you progress and learn more and more words it won’t really bother you because if you need it, it’ll start to make sense. You’re making progress regardless so you don’t have to worry, it’s just one word and some words just take longer for some people.
If you see it even once while reading or listening to Japanese stuff you’ll probably start getting it right all the time. Had this happen to me many times where some words just never seem to stick and then one day I fail it either here or in anki, then see it later in the day by chance and suddenly it sticks for good.
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人参 is definitely a better example of one that feels absurd (though it does have a reasonable etymology that has been discussed in other threads).
The thing with 都合 is that the kanji readings and meanings are totally normal and not absurd… but I guess only if we are talking about the actual readings and meanings and not only what information WK has on its page. Consulting a better resource reveals that 都合 is a normal compound kanji construction.
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