Left handed writing practice?

Japanese Language Kanji
#1

One of the things I am finding is that a lot of the time I am answering the reviews by “there is only one kanji that looks roughly like that in my current list, so it must be that one”. This leads to problems when I get to the guru stage as I am not really learning the kanji. One of the ways I am thinking of countering this issue is to practice writing the kanji and vocab out as I am learning them.

My question is: I write English left handed, should I write Japanese left handed, or should I try to learn to write right handed?

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Tips for left handers?
#2

[old school teacher walks in]
:straight_ruler: :raised_hand_with_fingers_splayed:
“Write correctly” she’s says.

But in serious talk. Do whatever comfortable. If you’re a lefty, write with your left. Why not?

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#3

I write Japanese with my left hand, it doesn’t cause me any trouble.

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#4

Unlike English, they say that it’s proper to write in Japanese with the right hand. (Emphasizing they as I don’t completely know.) I have practiced a little bit of calligraphy with a fudapen and can sort of see why this is an issue. It has to do how a brush writes kanji. Though, if you don’t care about the calligraphy part of it, then it doesn’t matter.

I do believe that writing kanji does help remember them. Remembering stroke order, I think, was a good investment I made early on. Jisho.com has all of the stroke orders and I think there’s a user plugin that puts that stroke order on every page when just looking at the kanji outside of lessons and reviews.

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#5

I’m left handed too and I just write with my left hand :slight_smile:
It doesn’t cause me any problems (Aside from the normal problems like getting your hand covered in graphite)

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#6

Yeah, you cannot (traditionally) do calligraphy with your left hand. But normal writing is totally okay. I also do that. (and my writing is prettier than some of my coursemates’…)

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#7

I find writing down new kanji helps me remember the radicals that make up that kanji, and since your issue appears to be radical differentiation (ie youre remembering overall shape rather than the building blocks and where they go) then yeah writing them down will probably help.

As for right handed… the idea of switching your main writing hand just for characters in another language seems silly to me. Your brain would be trying to learn the fine movements for writing while youre trying to use it to learn the radicals, I don’t know much about neuroscience but it seems to me like it would be splitting your attention between two completely separate goals and would be counterproductive.

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#8

If you ever do want to do calligraphy with a brush pen but still do it left handed, you should look up the difference between being an overwriter and sidewriter (both common hand positions for left handed people) and an underwriter (basically you position your hand under the line you’re writing at). Writing underhanded has allowed me to do calligraphy, but still do it left handed.

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#9

Though I didn’t plan for it, many calligraphy schools tell you that if left handed they will teach you how-to write with the right hand instead of trying to change the whole methodology for you …:sweat_smile:…

So, seems I’ll learn to use my right hand :smirk:

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#10

I am learning Japanese calligraphy from a Japanese 8th dan teacher, and she never told me to write with my right hand. I do see how the strokes would work out more natural with the right hand, though

I always write with my left hand though. Keep in mind that your goal is to remember the kanji, and learn to differentiate between slightly different kanji. Just writing them down with your left hand should help with that

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#11

One of my Japanese lecturers at uni (who is left-handed) was made to write with her right hand in school (in standard old-fashioned “torture the students until they conform!” teaching style). One advantage it gave her, though, was that she was the only lecturer in the Japanese language school who could eat lunch (with chopsticks) while marking tests or whatever.

Don’t do that, though. If you’re a leftie, be a leftie. As sinister as that is.

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#12

I’m liking that pun!

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#13

I guess I would be classed as an underwriter. I have a tendency to turn the page 90 degrees clockwise when I am writing English left handed.

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#14

I often refer to myself as ambi-sinistrous - I can do things badly with either hand :wink: I write left handed; shoot a bow or a gun left handed; sew with both hands; eat with a knife and fork right handed, but use chopsticks left handed; knit right handed; use woodwork tools left handed; play racket sports right handed, but throw a ball left handed…

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#15

So the general consensus is that if I want to do calligraphy, and it is not too difficult, I should try to learn right handed, but if I am just writing for the sake of learning, or to be able to write, it doesn’t matter.

Thank you all for your responses, that was very helpful.

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#16

I do kanji with my left. It dosn’t effect kanji writing so much as formal calligraphy.
I have run into people who have perfected right-handed style calligraphy with their left hand. When I concentrate, I can duplicate the proper angles at the ends of horizontals and such.

A big part of me still says F the right handed stuff. The Japanese were just as bigoted against left handers as the West was. Do calligraphy with your left hand if you want and develop your own style!

(I like your puppy, by the way.) :slight_smile:

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#17

Yeah, I have already had to do that with English. My handwriting got so bad that I could not read the notes I was taking in lectures at University. I ended up teaching myself Copperplate, just to slow myself down enough to remain legible. (Yes I am old enough that I had to handwrite my notes :wink: )

The dog is a Kelpie / Welsh Collie cross. Very intelligent, boundless energy, and no off-switch…

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#18

Interesting. When my left-handed brother plays cricket, he bowls left-handed but bats right-handed…

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#19

I didn’t really learn to write decently until I was an adult. In school, the teachers didn’t know that there is a different technique for teaching lefties.
His face reminds me of my Toto a little bit:
totocloseup
I think that it is worthwhile to learn to write kanji, but it is an individual thing. For me, I enjoy the slow conscious effort of it, in the same way that I did when I taught myself better handwriting.
I am always mentioning it here in these threads, but I use kaniwani mostly for the writing practice. I use a tablet input to enter the kanji into my IME. Other people use their smart phone. My writing is horrible on a tablet, but it does help me remember the strokes.
Also, just yesterday I got a Buddha board so that I can practice without a brush and not use any paper.
More:

  • The best book on Calligraphy is Shodo, by Shozo Sato.
  • Also their is a user here, Daisen, who has posted some beautiful calligraphy.
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#20

That’s the same as me, I’m all mixed up. I’d say I’m predominantly left handed though, although I play guitar, and many other things, right handed.

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