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I’m having a lot of difficulty with Kanji radicals and i just started. i think it would be very helpful if i could talk to someone via Skype or Line to help explain what im suppose to be doing here I’m really confused here and would like to move on to other lessons.
if you could help please send me an email or at CharlesD.D@me.com my name is Les but messages on here with any help it very much appreciated. thanks for reading
I don’t really have Skype or Line, but I’m happy to help here if I can. What precisely is the issue?
Ok thank you.
it might seem simple but I’m having a problem with trying to learn the mnemonic and the radicals meaning I don’t know if I’m supposed to just learn the mnemonic of all the radicals then later on figure out the meaning. Does that make sense?Well, the mnemonic is intended to help you remember the radical (and the meaning). If they’re not working for you, then feel free to come up with your own. The best method is the method that works best for you – if Koichi’s method isn’t working, then toss it out.
You can toss the meanings too, if you’d like. The radicals have “meaning” only because they come from other kanji which each have their own meanings. For example, the left hand side of 校 is 木, which means “tree”, but only because the kanji 木 itself means “tree”. Some radicals do tend to lend their meaning to kanji that they’re in – for example, kanji containing 水 or the radical that Koichi calls “tsunami” (but which is actually just a compressed, radical version of 水) tend to have meanings relating to water or liquids (水 = water).
For that matter, Koichi has just invented some of the “meanings” out of whole cloth. The radical that he calls “fish tail” is actually the compressed radical version of 火 = fire.
In summary: the meanings and mnemonics are just a stepping stone to help you learn the radicals, which in turn are just a stepping stone to help you learn the kanji. If the stepping stone isn’t working for you, come up with another. =)
thank you so much for your help. I think I understand now. I changed the way I took my notes and I’m using Wanikani to study my radicals now.
No problem. That’s what I’m here for. =)
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