So I’m just a level 2 right now. I came across the kanji for Sword (tou - Sorry no Japanese keyboard on my laptop yet) in my lesson. My first thought was about how poor gardener Jourm cut off his toe for the mnemonic for the ‘above’ kanji. I thought FOR SURE the mnemonic was going to be talking about how Jourm cut off is toe (Tou) swinging his sword around and that’s why you found one on the ground. I was a little bit disappointed that it was in fact not about how poor Jourm lost the toe you find on the ground.
Add in this story to your notes section for that page. You will probably never forget it
Send an email to hello@wanikani.org . The team is always looking to improve the materials here, so they may incorporate your suggestion and make it a more memorable mnemonic for everyone!
I think they wouldn’t bring up Jourm because that is specifically the mnemonic they use to have you learn じょう. If the reading isn’t じょう, but they bring him up, you might end up committing the wrong thing to memory. ^^ You’d have to remember the mnemonic, and then have to remember which of the keywords of the mnemonic is the actual correct answer. I personally think it would make them less reliable if they overlap like that.
If that is a connection that works for you - perfect! Nothing wrong with that. We’ve all had those moments that a certain thought in response to the word is that one thing that sticks.
But I think they very specifically don’t blend mnemonic stories, so that it is unambiguous, and more likely that it is the correct answer that sticks.
That’s right And they always use Tokyo for とう, as far as I can remember. And at some point, it just sticks. Like, “oh, that poor toe again”, or: “of course you have to be in Tokyo for that” ^^
I also love the Mrs. Chou stories, and Jourm the totally friendly and normal farmer xD
