learn 2000 kanji

I did a little research on it, and found out that it wants the reader to memorize the 2000 Kanji before any of the “on” or “kun” readings are taught. Sounds a little backwards to me, so I’ll save my $250 for something more suited to my learning style.

Personally, I greatly prefer learning the kanji along with the meaning and readings at the same time, so I can instantly use it and recognize it in sentences.

I’ve been working on this goal off and on for about 4 years, and recently took a Kanji knowledge test. From its results, I apparently know somewhere between 500-600 Kanji.

With that, I would normally be able to pass the JLPT Level 3 test (which requires a knowledge of 300 Kanji), so I tried a previous year’s JLPT3 test and failed.

I blame my study method. It consists of reading a book or web-page, seeing a kanji character I don’t recognize, looking it up in a dictionary and practicing it.

I’m thinking I really need to look for that “Remembering the Kanji” book.