Do you have a love hate relationship with Kanji?
Everyday in Japan I hear people talking about their love hate relationship with it. Just today in class a teacher was writing on the board and struggled to remember the characters, last night my son had a kanji test to prepare for, he was struggling to remember the characters.
Why do people love and hate it so much?
My theory is that it all stems from they way Kanji is taught in schools. It is taught to be hated. Teachers tend to teach it in the most boring way that shuts off all creativity and any desire to learn it.
Kanji is and should be a creative thing. It is not a linear dry black and white subject. Kanji should be colourful, engaging, fun and full of action and feelings.
Even just tonight I was studying Kanji with my son. We were learning the Kanji for 幹. You can look at this kanji and then sit there and write it our 10 or 20 times or you can make it fun, make it visual, turn it into a story and have fun!
Thats what we did! We first pulled the Kanji apart. You have several bits, 十 ten, 早 early 人 person 干 and to hang out. The left side looks like the Kanji 朝 or morning. So we imagined that an old lady was hanging out the washing early in the morning. but this was before clothes lines, so she was using tree trunk instead.
Then we looked at other words that use the Kanji 幹 one of them is 新幹線. so basically the Kanji for Shinkansen or Bullet train in Japanese is a 'New Tree trunk on Tracks'. super easy and something that will be hard to forget!
Every time I see a Shinkansen I will see a giant log moving on tracks.
Kanji should be FUN!
Have a look at the below images and see how you can learn Kanji! I always us the Kanji Go Method to learn a new Kanji. It is fast, fun and helps you remember the Kanji much better than just writing them out again and again!
To find out more about the Kanji Go Method click the link below.
With these 10 pictures you can learn the kanji for 'Moon' or '月'. Grab a note book and have a go learning it. Write them out, draw the pictures and write your own sentences.
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