There are many ways of studying Kanji, or anything, for that matter. Some are fun, and some are, well, less fun.
Some people don't bother learning Kanji by itself. Learning vocabulary will expose the learner to Kanji. However, at the beginning, you do need to study Kanji.
Each person has a different learning style - what is yours - are you a visual / auditory or kinesthetic learner? -> https://www.learningstylequiz.com/. To get the most of learning, it would be best to match this.
Here are 7 ways of learning Kanji.
1) Calligraphy - By drawing the Kanji while learning
It is rare that you will have to write Kanji. The most you will do is to read Kanji / type on a computer.
If you just want to get a handle of the stroke order and the feel of the Kanji, or if it helps you to remember,
or you just like writing Kanji with a pen,
or even a brush,
you you can try one of the Kanji paper worksheets that takes you back to pre-school days.
http://Renshuu.org has a worksheet maker of Kanji you want to print out (where you can write the Kanji again and again.. and again.. and again.. OK.. and again.. )
If doing the JLPT, use the unofficial JLPT lists to know what to study:
https://www.mlcjapanese.co.jp/basic_kanji_120.html
2) Heisig's Remembering the Kanji or Kondansha method
The author, James Heisig essentially assigned a meaning per "piece" of each Kanji and he made stories about them which you will have to stick to since the stories just build and build as the characters become more dense. There are pros and cons to using his method.
https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/en/files/2012/12/RK-1-6th-edition-sample.pdf
Kodansha method has a similar approach and is highly rated due to the focus on building blocks, important Kanji, and the focus on distinguishing similar Kanji - learn 2300 Kanji:
3) Kanji stories (your own stories method)
Similar to Heisig but using your own "stories" to remember stuff:
https://kanjiclinic.com/kanjibreakthrough.pdf
4) Spaced Repetition System / SRS
These are "optimized" flashcards - the system shows more of the stuff you get wrong, but stuff you get right gets shown at the right time (just right before you begin forgetting). You can use your smartphone anywhere while waiting in line, etc.
Tools:
http://www.renshuu.org is a good drilling tool -> for everything Japanese - Kanji, vocabulary, listening, grammar, etc.
Anki - there's a computer-based app and Android app -> then load the lists from the free content repository. https://apps.ankiweb.net/
5) Typing up lists of similar Kanji.
Many Kanji look alike. OK, a lot of Kanji look alike. Or maybe everything looks alike in the beginning.
Examples:
日 - day / sun
白い – white
百 - hundred
目 - eye
自 - self
貝 - shell
In my case, if I'm still confused after all the spaced repetition and stories, I make lists of the confusing similar Kanji and their meanings. Seeing the similar Kanji side by side makes their differences more evident and memorable.
I make typewritten cheat sheets / memory aids and post them on the wall where I can see them everyday. In the bedroom you can see them at night and in the bathroom you can see the Kanji again in the morning. There's no end to Kanji nightmares. It's easy to setup Japanese typing on a computer, there are many guides online for Windows.
6) Study while relaxing
No downtime here, we're still studying even when relaxing.
Games that are about learning Kanji:
https://anime-manga.jp/en/ -> web game
https://lrnj.com/ -> old school RPG game where you type the Kanji
Or any Japanese game that lets you read Japanese.
7) Reading
Read actual text / news / Japanese Wikipedia - NHK has a Japanese news for beginners.
Yomichan Firefox or Chrome plugin makes reading Japanese much easier like a dictionary pop-up for any word on the page. It also integrates with Anki SRS, so you can save words you want to remember.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/yomichan/
After installing Yomichan, import the Japanese-English dictionary you'll download from the Yomichan dictionary page https://foosoft.net/projects/yomichan/#dictionaries
Conclusion:
Each person will have different ways of studying that works for them, because, well as the yojijukugo* goes:
"十人十色 jūnintoiro (jū ten + nin person + to ten + iro color)",
which means "to each their own; So many people, so many (colors / styles) minds, or also, in this case, learning styles."
And also, studying language is (usually) not a sprint (unless you're trying to cram for the JLPT in a month), it's (usually) a marathon. But aren't marathons also difficult?
Maybe I should say studying a language is a walk (in the park), if we take it
"一日一歩 ichinichiippo (ichi one + nichi day + ichi one + po step) -
one step each day, which would also be too slow in real life, but figuratively, it could be the way to go.
**Yojijukugo are 4-character phrases or proverbs or simply words.. see more of them here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yojijukugo
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