study japanese

Today, I have studied up to 400 kanji since I began a few weeks ago (again, most of them are review; and it’s only to a keyword, not the whole thing). I haven’t tested them all yet, but am doing fairly well with the ones I have tested.

They are getting harder. I’m no longer reviewing the reviews - this is somewhat new territory. But, in a way, making the images in my head is getting easier. (: I’m giving myself a pat on the back. I hope I can be up to 500 kanji by the end of June. If I set a goal of five kanji a day, then that gives me plenty of goof-off days to still make this goal.

And I reviewed 250 kanji on kanji.koohii!! I had no idea that I could do this!!!! I might be able to break 300 by the end of the month!!!!

Caveat: I already knew about 1000 kanji before I started on the Heisig last year. And I had done the Heisig to about 270, so this is basically a review. However, I think I’m doing a much better job of visualizing the stories to remember the kanji.

Things will probably slow down after I make it past 280 or so.

So if I do my kanji again today, then I will break the 3-day “mikka-bouzu” curse! I’m reviewing the Heisig kanji again on a website called http://www.kanji.koohii.com/ and right now it is super-convenient, because there’s the first 200 or so kanji in Heisig right on a Nanzan University website. Here: http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/miscPublications/pdf/RK4/RK4-00.pdf

I’m already up to 135 kanji, so I’m going to have to pull out my book by the end of May, if I keep working hard (-:. Of course, right now, it’s all review; I did these kanji last year (or many, many years ago, some of them, using more traditional methods). So it shouldn’t be too hard to break 200.

I’ve studied Japanese since I was a kid and used to live in Japan. After starting grad school years ago I’ve almost never practiced . . . it’s amazing how quickly I forgot my Japanese! Time to get it back.

OK, so I’ve been busy for about six months or so . . . and worse yet, been doing too much computer stuff (-:. So, time to get back in the saddle.

My goals this month: finish a translation for a friend; translate a speech and other various oddments for a seminar on April 3rd, and pay attention to the new words I come across.

If my work schedule isn’t too heavy, I will also re-work my Heisig kanji website thing-y, so it’s working appropriately. koohii, I think it was.

dekimasu, yo! kitto. zettai. yakusoku.

I took Japanese many years ago and was at least fluent at being polite (which is VERY important in Japan!). However, I never had anyone to practice with, so I’ve lost it all. I’d love to go back to it, but I’m in an area of the country that doesn’t have stuff like that (Appalachia). I’d be doing it on my own. Anyone wanna do it with me?

If I can speak japanese ,I WOULD MAKE MORE friends.

Taking a sabbatical from Japanese class due to extended illness/work pile-up.

Thinking vaguely of asking for Rosetta Stone for Christmas.

My motivation seems to have gone right down the drain—or maybe it’s just that I’ve been busier with work and trying to get my pantry stocked (and the house cleaned up).

I’m going to try and learn 10 new kanji this week, and take a look at the second chapter of my Kanzen Master book (the one with the yellow cover, if anyone is interested).

I accidentally put 500 Heisig kanji in the internet site I’m using to review, when I’ve only got about 270. So, I was failing almost 3/4s of the kanji I was reviewing! I knew many of them, but hadn’t connected them to Heisig’s keywords yet. So, I need to get to the 500 level of Heisig before I can effectively revise on the computer.

Either that, or register under a new name. But I really like the user name I selected . . . ):.

OK, enough whining! This is a reasonable goal, and I can do it.

But there’s no reason to slack off. I want to get through the Heisig Remembering the Kanji book by the end of winter vacation (approx. Jan. 20), and I’ve started reviewing the kanji with the Reviewing the Kanji website (at koohii forums, IIRC), so that’s a start. I’ve also been very good about looking at my various text books. I’m going to try to do at least three drills or read three articles (or a combo) every week.

Yusho!