Wasif Asif – Don’t panic. It’s OK.

If my advice doesn’t work for you, then don’t use it. At some level you’re going to have to make sense of it in a way that works for you. I described it the way that works for me. I was hoping it was universal, but it’s OK if it’s not. You’ll find a way.

I’m suspecting you’ve just accidentally over thought it. If you give yourself some time away from it, then I’m sure it’ll seem not so bad when you come back to it.

The more you work with it the more your mind will make sense of it.

You can’t lose!

Also remember, they say that the average Japanese high school student needs to know roughly 2,000 kanji before he graduates. If they take 12 years of school, like in the US, then that’s roughly 167 kanji a year they learn. They are submersed in kanji, and they don’t take on more than that. I’m not saying you can’t learn more than 167 in a year, you most likely can, but if you don’t you have a very good reason.

It’ll leak out, but you just keep putting it back in, and you know someday it’ll stick. It gets easier.

Most importantly, relax. :)

Another thing to consider is what kind of learner are you? I’m a very visual learner. As a result I tend to remember Japanese words by the symbols more often than the sounds. Pay attention to your success, and failures. Learn how you learn. It’ll take time, but the investment is worth it.

Although Missing didn’t cover some of this with me he was the one who taught me about the top 100 kanji trick, and many other things that have dramatically improved my understanding of Japanese.

He single handedly nearly doubled my effectiveness after learning from him. I can’t recommend listening to his advice enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-BbpaNXbxg

I don’t know if this thread is even really about this anymore, but… After a long hiatus, started season two in late august, I finished season two last week and KO’d Katakana this weekend. I didn’t intend to take that long of a break but changing jobs coupled with a long commute then finally moving in late December really took its tole. So I finally got back into it a restarted season two a few weeks ago. It feels good to be learning again.

Thanks hey.

That is great advice, though I actually stumbled upon it myself when I got started again. Even though the Anki app is a bit pricey, at least for iphone, I wholeheartedly recommend it. Even on my busiest days I have been able to keep up with my reviews on it.

Anki app is gold.

Congrats on jumping back on the train Wasif Asif!

I finished season three a few days ago but wanted to get all the verbs down before moving on. Only six of them are giving me any problems now so I’m going to continue on to season four.

I also started WaniKani and am on level 3 there. So I have removed all my textfugu kanji from my anki decks. There are only a few that I had on TF that I don’t have on WK yet and I think I’ll have them as soon as I guru the level three radicals, tonight or tomorrow morning.

Anyway, still loving the journey.

They say it gets easier. I’ve seen small signs of that, but only small signs.

Remember it’s a marathon, and not a race. I’ve studied fairly consistently for a long time, and for about 3 weeks I only did my Anki. I’ve started covering new material again, but I needed that 3 weeks of only Anki to not burn out. I should be good for another 6 months.