Hey there community,
i have recently had to admit that i still don’t really know Katakana. I went through the Tofugu Script once and will do so again, but what i really need is practice. And since WaniKani is my main source of japanese input i was thinking if it wouldn’t be an idea to write a userscript to convert all hiragana readings into Katakana.
Now i KNOW that from a linguistic perspective that doesn’t make any sense, but that’s not the point. I just think might be good way to get familiar with the letters just by seeing them around day after day.
Problem is: i have no idea how to go about writing such a script. Any volunteers?
Cheers!
No, don’t do that. Just practice! Just 5 minutes a day would make a big difference.
There are many, many threads on WK on katakana advice and resources. Here are just a handful:
/t/Anki-Deck-Common-カタカナ-Words/9281/1
/t/ひらがな-or-カタカナ/9287/1
/t/I-still-havent-learned-katakana/9251/1
/t/insert-hatred-for-katakana-here/8623/1
And one from me:
http://www.manythings.org/japanese/kana/
I would also practice writing. It plays a big part in memory.
I’ve found this really useful for remembering Katakana:
http://lab.fleon.org/type-kana/
Practise this at least once a day and it’ll make a bit difference I think.
Katakana is a lot of people’s weak point I think. Actually hand writing it is a big help. Textbooks like Genki have writing lessons that involve Katakana, but also perhaps you could get lists of Katakana vocab and practise them out.
I have to admit I have not done that myself but it’s something I’ve been meaning to work on. I’m also quite bad at skipping or glossing over Katakana vocab in any lists or Anki decks I use. There’s something I just find a bit boring about learning loan words.
I loved Dr.Mokus App for learning Katakana (as well as Hiragana). Perfect for subway rides or other times where you have a few minutes to spare.
The problem is not lack of learning resources. I have repeatedly spent hours and hours learning katakana, but lack of practice soon causes memory to fade. Repeated use of hiragana has no such problem.
Many Japanese dictionaries list single kanji onyomi in katakana (e.g. Jisho). A script to switch to katakana for this case would provide much needed practice.
Does Wanikani even have an input mode to allow only entry of katakana? If I use Windows IME to enter katakana when hiragana is expected the answer is rejected.