How to Learn Japanese Kanji using the Heissig Method

If you're studying Japanese, you know that it is among the hardest languages to learn - in part because it has one of the most complex writing systems. Unless you already know traditional Chinese characters (e.g., you read traditional Chinese) learning Kanji is especially daunting. The Heissig method attempts to give learners of Japanese the same footing that Chinese learners of Japanese have--an understanding of the meaning if not the pronunciation of Japanese Kanji. This has proven to accelerate the acquisition of reading and writing skills in Japanese.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A copy of James Heissig's Remembering the Kanji
• Time, dedication, a pen and paper

1. Buy and a copy of James Heissig's "Remembering the Kanji" and read the introduction. Familiarize yourself with the method and the goals. Remembering the Kanji does not give you the ability to read Japanese. What it does give you is the ability to write, remember and recognize the roughly 2100 Japanese characters required of all Japanese high-school graduates.

2. Understand that while there are some native Japanese characters, most Japanese Kanji come from Chinese. They typically share a general, often archaic meaning with their Chinese ancestors. Learning to read Japanese does not give one the ability to read Chinese, nor is the reverse true; but understanding Kanji would definitely expedite the learning of traditional Chinese later on.

3. Heissig himself claims to have learned to write and recall the general meaning of all the characters in his book in about eight weeks. It's definitely possible as a nearly full-time endeavor. But even at three months to a year, the benefits are long-lasting for anyone who plans to study Japanese or otherwise engage with Japan and the Japanese language.

4. Remember that once you have completed all or most of Heissig's book and can write and recall most Kanji, you'll begin on the harder part of becoming literate in Japanese -- learning all the Kanji 'readings'. Most kanji have both native readings (kunyomi) and ancestral Chinese reading (onyomi). Readings are pronunciations generally tied to specific meanings, and a single kanji may have from just a few to a dozen or more readings. While you work through Heissig's book, remember that the base meanings you are learning now will be useful later when learning all the readings.

5. With a basic understanding of what it means to learn kanji and what role Heissig's method plays in that overall process, start with the first chapter. You'll find that each character is associated with a story based on visual cues and simple repeatable elements (which Heissig calls "primitives"). For each chapter you'll want to learn to write the character with correct stroke order and associate a story with the keyword that Heissig assigns to the character's most general meaning.

6. Don't dismiss stroke order as a formality. It is not only important for writing speed and uniformity, it indispensible later when you begin to use Japanese dictionaries. If you pay close attention to stroke order at the beginning of your kanji studies, it will become second nature as you progress.

7. Try to do each chapter in Remembering the kanji as a single unit. Review the chapter and quiz yourself and make sure you can write and recall every character in the chapter before progressing to the next chapter. Use the kanji tables at the back of the book to test your kanji recognition. Test your knowledge of kanji in non-linear fashion. Read diagonally and vertically across the table. This will help you find weak areas.

8. Make sure you have a solid grasp on the keyword for each character. If there is a primitive in the character, be sure you are employing it in your mnemonic story correctly. The first part of Heissig's book provides all the stories and cues for the reader, but in later chapters just keywords and or primitives are provided.

9. Consider joining a support group or the website Reviewing the Kanji (see below) where you can manage your stories, keep track of your progress and identify weak spots.

10. Devote time to the writing practice. Writing Kanji with pencil and paper is good, and you'll want to concentrate on developing a clean stroke style. But you might also want to invest in a paintbrush and wet board (Buddha Board), that will allow you to write characters repeatedly without the waste. In Japan, pupils often draw the characters on the palm of one hand with the index finger of the other.

11. Practice, practice, practice. Heissig's method is wonderful, but things don't always stay in memory. Be sure to return to earlier Kanji to review so that they'll end up in your long-term memory and serve you throughout your Japanese studies.

Tips & Warnings

• Be persistent and review every day.
• Photocopy the kanji index at the back of the book and keep it with you, so you can review whenever you have a few moments
• Remember that while this method is meant to shorten the length of time required to learn Kanji, speed is not everything. If you don't develop a firm memory of characters and their meanings, you will create problems for yourself later.