Mixing up radicals and Kanji meanings

[ticawo]

Whenever a radical and kanji are the same but they have different names I always find it way harder to remember. Is there some way that I can change the name of the radical to match the kanji?

[seanblue]

You can add synonyms after doing the initial lesson, either during reviews or on the radical/kanji/vocab page. Just be aware that the radical names are used in the mnemonics, so if you rely on those you could make it harder for yourself.

[ticawo]

Thank you. I don’t really use mnemonics. I should probably start using them.

[i2j3]

Edit: I didn’t realize this was such an old topic, but I’m leaving this here in case someone else on Level 3 runs into these problems. The OP seems to have given up on level 3.

Similarities: Direction & Ten Thousand; Fur & Hand.

A good solution would be for WaniKani to introduce the radicals + the kanji for direction & 10,000 in the same lesson segment, and specifically both the Kanji in the same quiz batch next to one another so we can visually see the similarities/differences and already begin to try to distinguish between the 2 before we even hit reviews.

———-

方 vs 万
Are not the same.

Radical: Direction 方
Kanji: 10,000 万 「 まん 」

If you haven’t unlocked all the Kanji for level 3, then chances are you have not yet learned the Kanji: Direction「ほう」you’ve only learned the Radical.
Direction has a Lid, and 10,000 has a Leaf (that you cut) in the mnemonic. Radical: Lid and Leaf are from Level 1 if you need a refresher.

———-

毛 vs 手
Radical: Fur 毛
Kanji: Hand 手 「て」

The Radical/Kanji for Hand was learned in Level 2.
The Kanji for Fur is unlocked later in level 3, Kanji Fur: 毛 「もう」
For the fur, if you can remember the direction も or し curl (backwards J) and looks like a tail.
For hand: if you raise your right hand up, your thumb will point left like the curl on 手.

[coicoy]

After I’ve used the radicals to learn the kanji, I don’t mind adding the synonym ‘radical’ to every single one of them. They are not why I’m here.