# Quick simple beginner question about memorizing kanji
**URL:** https://community.wanikani.com/t/quick-simple-beginner-question-about-memorizing-kanji/36388
**Category:** Requesting Help
**Created:** [April 28, 2019, 2:27pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/quick-simple-beginner-question-about-memorizing-kanji/36388 "2019-04-28T14:27:58Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Skybison](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Skybison)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2019, 2:27pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/quick-simple-beginner-question-about-memorizing-kanji/36388/1 "2019-04-28T14:27:58Z")
Hello, quick beginner question- why does it say いち behind the reading? It says in the description I should use こういち every time, but when I do for the reading, it says it’s wrong… am I supposed to memorize こう or こういち like it says? Why is the いち there if I shouldn’t memorize or use it? (Same question for 口, and prob some others…)
thanks in advance!
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### Author:  [@seanblue](https://community.wanikani.com/u/seanblue)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2019, 2:33pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/quick-simple-beginner-question-about-memorizing-kanji/36388/2 "2019-04-28T14:33:40Z")
The mnemonics are just there to help you remember. You shouldn’t take them literally. Notice that only the こう part of こういち is highlighted. If you didn’t know, こういち is the founder of the company that built WaniKani, which is why they chose to use him as a mnemonic here. Most of the mnemonics are in English, but in many cases they are just approximations of the correct reading and again shouldn’t be taken literally.
If you look at the left side under `Important Readings`, you’ll see that the actual on’yomi readings for the kanji are こう and く.
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### Author:  [@anon9242278](https://community.wanikani.com/u/anon9242278)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/quick-simple-beginner-question-about-memorizing-kanji/36388/3 "2019-04-28T14:38:01Z")
> [@seanblue](#):
>
> If you didn’t know, こういち is the founder of the company that built WaniKani, which is why they chose to use him as a mnemonic here.
When I started WaniKani in 2013 this might have been more obvious. I remember having a lot more direct communication from him in those days.
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### Author:  [@Belthazar](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Belthazar)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2019, 2:41pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/quick-simple-beginner-question-about-memorizing-kanji/36388/4 "2019-04-28T14:41:21Z")
> [@seanblue](#):
>
> If you look at the left side under `Important Readings` , you’ll see that the actual on’yomi readings for the kanji are こう and く.
Just to make one thing a bit clearer, though: to be marked correct, you may either answer こう **or** く, but not both at once. (That is, answering “こう, く” will be marked incorrect.)
> [@anon9242278](#):
>
> When I started WaniKani in 2013 this might have been more obvious. I remember having a lot more direct communication from him in those days.
He was communicating directly in the Durtle Heaven thread, until the Regular Durtle burnt him, at which point both of them basically faded away…
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### Author:  [@Naphthalene](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Naphthalene)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2019, 2:52pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/quick-simple-beginner-question-about-memorizing-kanji/36388/5 "2019-04-28T14:52:36Z")
> [@Belthazar](#):
>
> He was communicating directly in the Durtle Heaven thread, until the Regular Durtle burnt him, at which point both of them basically faded away…
At some point (maybe 6 months ago?) he mentioned regretting being so present around here. I don’t remember exactly the reason. Sounds like a good way for him to just fade away.
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### Author:  [@anon9242278](https://community.wanikani.com/u/anon9242278)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2019, 2:58pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/quick-simple-beginner-question-about-memorizing-kanji/36388/6 "2019-04-28T14:58:12Z")
> [@Belthazar](#):
>
> He was communicating directly in the Durtle Heaven thread, until the Regular Durtle burnt him, at which point both of them basically faded away…
I was thinking more of the emails I was getting after I started. I got regular emails which played a part in my decision to buy a lifetime subscription. I liked WK and TextFugu, but I also remember reading those emails and wanting こういち to get paid. Also, I’ve never been active on community till recently.
This isn’t a criticism btw. Just wondering out loud if こういち is as strong a mnemonic for new users now as it was then.
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### Author:  [@ValentineCat](https://community.wanikani.com/u/ValentineCat)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2019, 3:33pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/quick-simple-beginner-question-about-memorizing-kanji/36388/7 "2019-04-28T15:33:17Z")
That’s what I was wondering. I think the mnemonics are pretty good, but I need something I can actually visualize. So for mouth, I was able to memorize by visualizing a huge mouth bursting open with many many cohabiting worms. It is so disgusting, I scream UUUUU
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### Author:  [@jneapan](https://community.wanikani.com/u/jneapan)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2019, 4:10pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/quick-simple-beginner-question-about-memorizing-kanji/36388/8 "2019-04-28T16:10:48Z")
In the beginning of WaniKani when it was still in beta, the users of this site were most likely already fans of tofugu and knew about koichi from either tofugu or textfugu or their YouTube channel, he was also active on the forums and when you emailed [hello@wanikani.com](mailto:hello@wanikani.com) he would also personally answer you. Oh man, koichi’s old YouTube videos were great, helped motivate me to learn Japanese. It’s a shame he deleted the channel.
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### Author:  [@seanblue](https://community.wanikani.com/u/seanblue)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2019, 4:41pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/quick-simple-beginner-question-about-memorizing-kanji/36388/9 "2019-04-28T16:41:33Z")
I got a direct email response from Koichi a few months ago. It was pretty random, but cool.
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### Author:  [@jneapan](https://community.wanikani.com/u/jneapan)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2019, 4:47pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/quick-simple-beginner-question-about-memorizing-kanji/36388/10 "2019-04-28T16:47:39Z")
That’s nice. I’m low key jealous right now.
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### Author:  [@Kumirei](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Kumirei)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2019, 7:07pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/quick-simple-beginner-question-about-memorizing-kanji/36388/11 "2019-04-28T19:07:23Z")
> [@Naphthalene](#):
>
> At some point (maybe 6 months ago?) he mentioned regretting being so present around here. I don’t remember exactly the reason. Sounds like a good way for him to just fade away.
I read that as him regretting making himself the face of Wanikani, not interacting with the community.
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### Author:  [@alo](https://community.wanikani.com/u/alo)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2019, 10:07pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/quick-simple-beginner-question-about-memorizing-kanji/36388/12 "2019-04-29T22:07:07Z")
Yeah, I was a little confused at that at first. Plus it’s hard to visualize someone you don’t know, so every time the こういち mnemonic comes up, I just think of えくぼ from Mob Psycho 100.
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### Author:  [@system](https://community.wanikani.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/quick-simple-beginner-question-about-memorizing-kanji/36388/13 "2020-04-28T22:19:37Z")
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