Comments on: Kanji Makes Japanese Easy

By: Katherine in Tasmania

Katherine in Tasmania — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:20:01 +0000

I agree with Ryan, Chinese is very different from Japanese. There are some similarities, but a lot of the characters are completely different. I have been studying chinese for 4 years and have just started Japanese this year. I find that my chinese has helped me a lot with kanji. But I am keenly aware of the differences and I check every time to make sure I am getting it right.

good luck with you chinese studies and your japanese!!!

By: Kanji learner

Kanji learner — Fri, 06 May 2011 23:10:36 +0000

Definitively one very awesome aspect of Kanji is how they compress a lot of meaning in just a very few characters… not like hiragana, or even worse: Romaji! Great post DumbOtaku!

By: Japanese Level Up

Japanese Level Up — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 18:20:47 +0000

Very true. Kanji makes the Japanese world so much easier.

By: bakagaijin2010

bakagaijin2010 — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 02:45:17 +0000

Yes it should be が

By: Robby in Japan

Robby in Japan — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:55:34 +0000

Nice post on Kanji!

My experiences have been similar: when you start leanring Japanese focus on Kanji. It will make everything so much easier lateron. They will help you read, help you learn more advanced vocabulary.

I always have to laugh when I hear people say they "know Japanese", but then after 5 minutes they correct themselves with "I can speak some, but I can't read or write anything"…

By: kevo

kevo — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:37:15 +0000

I’m Chinese by birth and I am fluent in the language, and knowing kanji made learning Japanese and reading so much easier. You said it best, kanji makes sentences simpler, more elegant, easier to understand (since East Asian languages are full of homophones), and way easier to read. Many Westerners learning Japanese dislike kanji because of the memorization and seemingly random character constructions, and learning hundreds (or for Chinese, thousands) of characters is a pain, but after getting used to them, you really do realize how invaluable they are.

私も漢字が大好きですよ。　漢字をたくさん勉強して！

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 07:29:49 +0000

Although some bits and pieces of this are grammatically incorrect, no less I understand what you are trying to infer, and by virtue of that, it really does prove a point. You may have used the incorrect particle in places, but it's the kanji that makes the sentence, therefore you are still able to understand the sentence, even if the rest is a little misleading. Which is more or less the same as not understanding a full sentence, but simply picking out the kanji, right?

You make some interesting points, however what I must say is that if you are going to move on to learning Chinese, then be prepared that a great deal of the kanji that you are learning via Japanese will either be a) used in a different context or in a completely different way in Chinese and b) some have been simplified so much that they do not look anything like their Chinese counterparts anymore, therefore it is going to be like starting from scratch when you begin your Chinese studies; and of course, that all depends on which strain of Chinese you choose to learn… Nothing is ever simple, is it!

By: DumbOtaku

DumbOtaku — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:53:09 +0000

I understand that for sure. However, for studying purposes I don’t consider the two the same. I see them as two seperate things to learn.

By: Blue Shoe

Blue Shoe — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 06:13:38 +0000

Interesting perspective. I think that living in Japan you would change your mind, though, as far as not considering kanji to be Japanese. While it might be historically true that kanji come from Chinese, they are everywhere over here and a part of daily life…thus they are for all purposes a genuine part of th language.

By: Tweets that mention Kanji Makes Japanese Easy - Dumb Otaku -- Topsy.com

Tweets that mention Kanji Makes Japanese Easy - Dumb Otaku -- Topsy.com — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:16:45 +0000

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