Hello! Hopefully this isn’t a duplicate of a post that already exists!
I’ve been having a blast for the past few months learning so much kanji and vocab. It’s really fun to see how much I recognize even if I’m still way behind on the grammar.
But, I’m noticing something odd has been happening lately. I’ve seen a lot of posts where people discuss remembering the kanji but struggling to remember the vocab. However, as I hit the master and enlightened levels (especially), I find that I can remember the reading and meaning of a kanji if I see it next to another one in a vocab term, but I can’t remember it on its own. It seems like I really need that extra context to trigger what it means.
Am I doing something wrong, or am I going too fast? Is it even an issue? I mean, how often would I even find a single kanji in the wild without contexts except for an artificial learning/study environment?
I would appreciate any tips or advice you have. If the only advice you can think of is to get it wrong and just keep trying until it finally sticks, I’d still love to hear it! Thanks!
I have a similar problem with some kanji. I don’t think you are doing anything wrong unless this is an issue for a big number of kanji. I find with vocab I pay more attention to the context with the other parts of the vocab, where as with some of the kanji I’ll flub it without thinking because I am going too fast through my reviews or I’ll get hung up on visually similar kanji.
Right now I have a few issues with remembering the vocab for words that use 意 or 息 but if I see them come up as just the kanji in review I’ll trip myself up about which is which. It is something I usually notice the minute I make the mistake though. I find that doubling down on mnemonic really helps even if you are fairly sure since it 1) provides conformation and 2) slows you down to make you are not just being careless.
I’ve had the same experience and I’m sure there’s some psychological reason why it’s easier to remember them in vocab. However, it’s definitely super useful to know the reading/meaning of the kanji so you can read and infer the meanings of words that aren’t on WaniKani.
The reason you can’t remember them isn’t because you’re going too fast. It’s actually because you forgot them. That’s it. You didn’t do anything wrong. You just forgot it. In my opinion, it’s not useful to make judgements against yourself or your study habits when there’s so little you can do besides diligently plugging away at reviews. Once you accept that, missing a burn becomes much less painful. If you have too many reviews, then of course slow down.
Recently, I’ve been getting brutalized in my reviews and really the only thing I can think to do is to keep on chugging
Hmm I think I haven’t had problems with the meaning of specific kanji I learned through WaniKani so far, but I also learned many of them (readings mostly) through vocab before and even through WaniKani whenever I get a kanji and learn its meaning + reading, I try to remember it through the vocab preview.
By “can’t remember it on its own”, do you mean the meaning or reading or both?
I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong. It’s normal for retention to fluctuate and/or drop a bit as time passes and pauses between reviews get longer.
Some of them like 形 and 次 are also standalone words, but yeah, most of them come in context so the way it’s done in WaniKani is actually a little artificial and maybe what you’re missing is exactly that context to enforce the readings?
For me writing and extra vocab words are the answer. Some of the words I learn through WK, I add to my word lists and practice them on paper.
However, what I’m personally terrified of is not being able to write a specific kanji, because then it’s also likely that I won’t tell it apart from another one that’s very similar (the dreaded 末/未 pair, for instance, which I managed to conquer through 週末 and 未来 + 意味 + 美味しい, respectively).
Right now I have a few issues with remembering the vocab for words that use 意 or 息 but if I see them come up as just the kanji in review I’ll trip myself up about which is which.
@dotpatrick Those are some of the ones that get me! It’s good to hear I’m not alone. I’ll take more time to confirm the mnemonic if I am not completely sure.
However, it’s definitely super useful to know the reading/meaning of the kanji so you can read and infer the meanings of words that aren’t on WaniKani.
The reason you can’t remember them isn’t because you’re going too fast. It’s actually because you forgot them. That’s it. You didn’t do anything wrong. You just forgot it. In my opinion, it’s not useful to make judgements against yourself or your study habits when there’s so little you can do besides diligently plugging away at reviews.
@catfather So true. Already I keep finding words in the wild that use kanji I already know, but WK doesn’t teach it as a vocab! And thank you for your words about being nonjudgemental to the self. It’s something I’ve been working on in other aspects of my life, and it was refreshing to see that I can practice that here, too. Thank you for your helpful words!
By “can’t remember it on its own”, do you mean the meaning or reading or both?
@andymender A lot of the time, it is just the meaning, actually. For some reason, the reading just tends to stick better (even if I can’t remember the mnemonic, which might be why I have trouble recalling the meaning). I’m definitely going to be practicing writing more. I have found that it is easier for me to distinguish kanji that I know how to write… I’ll keep up with that practice and see where it gets me.
Thanks to everyone that responded, even if I didn’t directly mention you. I never cease to appreciate the kindness and support that comes from this community. Best of luck to you all – we can do this!
Interesting, but it makes sense, since mnemonics are supposed to enforce the meaning as well. What I usually do to squeeze out the meaning of a kanji is to first read its meaning in WaniKani, then try to “see” the meaning in the character, and finally read the mnemonic. For instance, 札:
me: I see an umbrella and a tree. Leaves are green, money bills can be green. Leaves are falling from the tree and they look like bills. I need an umbrella to protect myself from the “downpour”.
WaniKani: a tree is holding an umbrella, because his other tree friends fell apart and turned into bills and are falling down on him.
However, when one starts to think of the WK mnemonics, they’re usually so bizarre that they just stick, much better than many of my own mnemonics.
