The EASY way to learn KANJI (& read Japanese)

To illustrate an easier way to learn to read Japanese (and, as a byproduct of that, kanji), here is the Japanese sentence that was flying around during the video: カーテンの隙間から海が見える。 kaaten no sukima kara umi ga mieru. I can see the ocean through a gap in the curtains. This sentences sounds like something you might encounter in a novel. It is based on a similar sentence we teach in NativShark ( nativshark.com/ ). Looking at this, my brain instantly recognizes the words 隙間 (sukima // gap), 海 (umi // ocean; sea), and 見える (mieru // to be visible). Of these three words, 隙間 is the least common, and one might argue that it is also "more difficult" from a Japanese-learner's perspective. I am pretty good at reading Japanese these days, but if you showed me the kanji 隙 all by itself, out of context, I probably wouldn't be able to tell you what it means. (隙 means something like "crevice; fissure; gap", by the way.) But when my brain sees it in the word 隙間, it instantly knows that it is the word 'sukima' and that this word means something like "gap", "opening", "crevice", etc. My brain knows this because it has seen this word hundreds of times in various contexts. It also helps that, compared to 隙, the kanji 間 is quite common, and it means something like "interval" or "space (between)". What's more, it appears in a lot of common words in which it is read/pronounced as ま (ma). What helps even more is that it makes sense for the word 隙間 (sukima // gap; opening) to be used in this sentence: カーテンの_____から海が見える。 kaaten no _____ kara umi ga mieru. I can see the ocean through a _____ in the curtains. I am not consciously processing all of this information when I see that sentence. My brain does that in the background. It picks up on the variety of patterns I have encountered and from that is able to inform me of what word I am reading. The specific strokes in the character 隙 are not especially relevant to being able to read the above sentence. That pattern is not heavily weighted in my brain, at least not separate from all the other patterns/context described above. This is why in the video I recommend a "zoomed-out" approach to learning kanji. It is much easier to learn to read by exposing yourself to: characters (including kanji) → in words → in sentences → in specific situations The main problem with this kind of approach is that, if you don't believe 100% that it works, you are prone to second-guess yourself, feel you are not making progress, etc. and ultimately quit or try to pivot to some other kanji-learning method. ↑ I can't tell you how many hours I wasted by falling into this exact trap. I am not anti-mnemonics or even anti-writing-kanji-over-and-over (to get good at writing, not reading). I just don't think these are necessary. Ultimately everyone learns to read Japanese the same way: Consistent, high volumes of exposure to level-appropriate written Japanese over a long period of time. (And note that "written Japanese" means Japanese written the same way you'd encounter it in the real word — so, in high-context situations, and usually in sentences.) That's how both native and non-native speakers ultimately learn to read. So it is possible to just skip all the mnemonic and rote stuff if you'd like, and then just learn words in sentences in rich contexts. So, sure, zoom in to examine kanji when you first see them. It is fun to look at the parts, to divide up a single character, to write it with a pen or in the air with your finger. But count on your brain to read that kanji in zoomed-out contexts, where it can pick up on a variety of patterns in addition to the miniscule strokes in that one character. Your human brain can certainly learn to read Japanese with enough exposure to enough context-rich patterns. That's why 99% of the adult human brains in Japan are able to read (that's their literacy rate, by the way). We are equipped with high-powered pattern recognition machines in our skulls. But we can't recognize all these patterns until we actually see them. So please zoom out a bit, and take in as many patterns as you can. I hope you found this video helpful. Please do check out NativShark ( nativshark.com/ ) if you are serious about learning Japanese. We provide A LOT of Japanese patterns for you to start recognizing. ^_^ It may help to check out our guide "Learning Japanese: The Essentials": help.nativshark.com/guides/learning-japanese-essen… --- Kana charts mentioned in the video: www.niko.blog/kana/ If you have a question or concern about your own Japanese studies, comment or come join our Japanese-learners' Discord community: discord.gg/nativshark ← good vibes Good luck with your studies! ^_^ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:23 What are kanji? 1:55 How kanji make Japanese easier 3:05 Rote memorization 3:51 Mnemonic systems 4:11 Zoomed-out approach (best) 6:17 Optional kanji learning 7:23 Necessary kanji learning 9:16 Learning to read Japanese