Traditional radicals as a way to help learn kanji

[Belthazar]

@Stillman777

Has anyone here studied the traditional 214 radicals that Japanese dictionaries use to organize the kanji?

Not studied, but:

A List of WaniKani’s Radical Names vs More Common Radical Names

Dunno if there’s a list already, but I’ve made an (amateurish) start at a new one. Unfortunately, it’s 1am right now, so I’m gonna have to put a pause on this and come back later. I’ll make this post a wiki, so others can edit if they feel like it. It’s a little bit difficult to get an “official” name for several of them - they have some names listed, but they can also be identical to kanji which have different names. (Radicals which aren’t displaying are ones that WaniKani uses images for rathe…

@Stillman777

WK seems to have gone with the approach of “more is better”, in terms of having over 500 radicals to help you visualize and memorize the kanji. It’s similar to the Heisig approach of having a ton of memorable images to juggle and mix together.

Well, precisely. WaniKani’s raidcals are mnemonic components, intended to teach you how to recognise the entire kanji, not simply the one component you need in order to look it up in the dictionary.

@Stillman777

The native Japanese radical system

It’s kinda not, though. It’s imported from Chinese. Some of those radicals don’t even exist in modern Japanese kanji.

@VegaSky

Heisig not Heidi:)

One wonders exactly what Heidi’s method would be. Having adventures in the Swiss Alps until you learn all the kanji?