Quote:
Originally Posted by jammie
Hi, i've been learning japanese for 2/3 weeks now and i know all my kana really well and about 15 kanji (only there english meaning though)
problem is, i want to learn the kanji so i can start reading japanese literature and hold a few conversations.
problem is, every time i seem to read a kanji, it has a different kana pronouciation! i.e. "1"
ICHIgatsu (January)
TSUItachi (the first day of the month)
HITOtsu - (one thing)
anyone care to shed any light on this? my learnings ground to a halt now i have to learn Kanji; problem is i love learning them and i want to know atleast all of them upto grade 6 by the end of the year!
thanks for any help!
Jamie
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Kanji has two readings Kun-yomi (Japanese reading) and On-yomi (Chinese reading) you have to learn each of these. Sometimes there can be more then one on/kun reading. Also there are compound like kanji. This are called ginkun where the reading are neither On- yomi or kun-yomi but just a part of each. For example 今朝 is neither imaasa (kun) or konchou (On). Its broken in to pieces of each reading so it becomes Kesa (not all words are like this mind you).
Understanding of how to Read Japanese isn’t as easy as learning how to read English, where as you can sound it out. With Japanese even a native speaker must have prior knowledge of how to read that particular kanji. You can’t just look at how a Kanji is drawn to understand how it’s read. You must learn each individually.
In my studies I found one should learn Japanese spoken or written (kana) first, and then when that is understood well, kanji should be introduced. Not the other way around (could do the other way but it’s much easier this way).
I suggest starting on easy 1 – 5 stroke Kanji as it would be less confusing using my previous example (Kesa). Try and study easy words, like the ones you know Ichigatsu Tsuitachi and Hitotsu and remember what other kanji goes with each word as this is your key to how you read the kanji. Then try and use them in a sentence if you can. Find a work book with Japanese Kanji as this would be your best reference.
I like this site as it has no romaji you can cheat on ^__^ and gives you a multitude of words you can use for studying (by hitting go)
Genki Kanji
Hint (This is Kanji for one not Hyphen)
一 reading イチ; イッ; ひと Ichi and tsui are On-yomi, hito is Kun-yomi. Can you see the difference in the kana?