How long did it take you to understand Kanji? (~ 2,000 characters)

[ryuurui]

Originally Posted by fatum

Slightly unrelated, are these two phrases identical?

わたしはねこです and 私は猫です

Their meaning is identical. On a side note, I find it amusing that the kanji 猫 has a dog radical in it.

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by fatum

The software that I use to insert Japanese characters

I hope you know Windows, Linux, and OSX all have this built-in already. You don't need software unless your copy of Windows is over ten years old.

[ryuurui]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

I hope you know Windows, Linux, and OSX all have this built-in already. You don't need software unless your copy of Windows is over ten years old.

You need to remember that Windows offers a (very) limited and rather frustrating (for me personally) pool of characters (especially that during calligraphy related research, on many occasions i use kanji or phrases that even Japanese do not understand...). There is a special software (quite a few of them actually) that offers similar amount of characters to what 大漢和辞典 (『大漢和辞典』記念室) does.　ATOK is one of them.

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by ryuurui

You need to remember that Windows offers a (very) limited and rather frustrating (for me personally) pool of characters (especially that during calligraphy related research, on many occasions i use kanji or phrases that even Japanese do not understand...). There is a special software (quite a few of them actually) that offers similar amount of characters to what 大漢和辞典 (『大漢和辞典』記念室) does.　ATOK is one of them.

I was talking to fatum, not you. Fatum is using software to type 私!

[ryuurui]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

I was talking to fatum, not you. Fatum is using software to type 私!

Not sure what is your point, except that he doesn't need it. I was refering to those who may need it and read this thread. Since you say that "I speak Japanese nearly fluently, but not fluently" you may find it useful.

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by ryuurui

Not sure what is your point, except that he doesn't need it. I was refering to those who may need it and read this thread. Since you say that "I speak Japanese nearly fluently, but not fluently" you may find it useful.

It seemed like, when I told fatum he doesn't need software to do his kanji studies, you were telling me I was wrong because Windows's built-in kanji support is bad.

The point was to respond to that perceived criticism.

In any case, thanks. I've heard of ATOK before, but I've never looked at it seriously. It seems I ought to, though.

[ryuurui]

It is so frustrating to type stuff in hiragana and try to find the kanji on net every single time I write. Also, Windows has serious issues with converting hiragana of longer phrases into correct kanji / grammar, etc. Yeah, sorry, that was aimed at more advanced users, or those whose area of expertise is narow and specified.

[p47koji]

This is an interesting thread. Good question to have asked...

I'm somewhere in the middle; after being raised in L.A., I suddenly found myself in a regular classroom with hundreds of other Japanese kids (Nihon Jidousha Seibi Gakko)...complete with Japanese textbooks. It was sink or swim...

How many kanji can you learn? At the end of four months, I was able to read all mechanics-oriented textbooks without any problem. How many kanji was that? Who knows? But don't ask me to pick up a book on politics... I'd be lost.

But as someone said - if you don't use it, you lose it. Even my mother (who is Japanese and saw B-29s in the skies above Tokyo) cannot read Japanese now after immigrating to the US in 1960.

[delacroix01]

Originally Posted by ryuurui

You need to remember that Windows offers a (very) limited and rather frustrating (for me personally) pool of characters (especially that during calligraphy related research, on many occasions i use kanji or phrases that even Japanese do not understand...). There is a special software (quite a few of them actually) that offers similar amount of characters to what 大漢和辞典 (『大漢和辞典』記念室) does.　ATOK is one of them.

This is the first time I've heard of 大漢和辞典. I think I may save money for that later. Thank you for introducing a big dictionary.

By the way, I've used ATOK before, and honestly it's not very convenient for me, mainly because I need to type English and Vietnamese often xD. When it comes to Japanese, I just type everything with NJStar. Aside from the built-in words, it also allow users to create their own typing, which works very well for me. ATOK has a built-in Koujien, but it's not easy to use compared to the standalone version of the dictionary.

[ryuurui]

Originally Posted by delacroix01

This is the first time I've heard of 大漢和辞典. I think I may save money for that later. Thank you for introducing a big dictionary.

By the way, I've used ATOK before, and honestly it's not very convenient for me, mainly because I need to type English and Vietnamese often xD. When it comes to Japanese, I just type everything with NJStar. Aside from the built-in words, it also allow users to create their own typing, which works very well for me. ATOK has a built-in Koujien, but it's not easy to use compared to the standalone version of the dictionary.

Oh good to know. I still need to research which software to get. I read good and bad reviews of ATOK. I know that my friend's colleague in Bloomberg Tokyo use kanji input software but i forgot its name. There is quite a few of them on the market.

Heh, yeah, that dictionary is quite expensive. You can always go for 広漢和辞典 全4巻セットAmazon.co.jp

or 学研新漢和大字典　Amazon.co.jp