How to Learn Japanese Kanji the Fun way (Heisig) 

Japanese: Thousands of characters English: "26. Take it or leave"

*2000 basic characters* *10000 characters overall* F U C C

2013: "Kim Jong Un has no heart" 2020: 😳

I great man once said, “there is no shortcut to becoming hokage

I learned hiragana and katakana easily. I saw Kanji and died internally.

Even I Japanese had a hard time to memorize kanji characters. I'm so impressed with how foreigner learns Japanese including Kanji Characters.

As a Japanese, I can assure you that kanji is the most deep and interesting part of the Japanese language. I think you'll be surprised at the range of expressions once you master them. Good luck!

Here’s a fun one you may recognize! 日 Sun 本 Book (The book kanji has a secondary meaning, which is origin) A “Sun’s Origin” is a Rising Sun. Japan is the land of the Rising Sun, and that makes the combo kanji “日本” mean Japan. Kana: にほん Romaji: Nihon

2,000 *basic* characters

I noticed that compared to tree(木), book(本) has one additional dash. I just think of the book kanji as a tree that got "slashed" (by the extra dash) for its bark to makes pages for a book

I've picked up learning Japanese again after watching your 'Fluently in 6 months' video. I've also got a Hiragana & Katakana chart out so I can cross reference the symbols & begin to learn the patterns as well. I soon figured out almost half of the symbols were Kanji & with a little research, that they were like hieroglyphs but made more uniform over time (only just seen the term is logographic). As soon as I knew the distinction between the 3 main characters I was hyped! Nearly every Kanji symbol I've seen so far still holds the original story it's trying to portray for it's meaning & learning them looks like a ton a fun. Definitely grabbing the book, thanks!

Other people: kanji is difficult and we can only read hiragana and katakana Chinese: kanji is the only thing we could read

'I'd end up with the last supper, instead of the healthy delicious salads that i thought i had ordered' LMFAO LOVE THIS DUDE

木: tree 本: book The tree has a line cutting through. Then the leaves are turned to paper. With paper, you can make a book. Easy

Me: *learning Japanese* My dad: you’re learning a hard language, learn the language I’m currently learning rn Me: but what language? My dad: Chinese Me: の Edit: haha, My dad stopped learning Chinese because he got bored, lol. I’m still learning Japanese but lately, I’m taking a rest.

I hate when I find the most helpful and interesting videos at midnight

Well now I’ll never forget the kanji for Sad Thanks Update one year later: you’ll all be happy to know that I do, in fact, still remember the kanji for sad.

"People who have nothing better to do" Felt that one.

Hiragana and katakana: How many characters do you want? Kanji: *Yes.*

3:32 If anybody is wondering the song is kyu sakamoto - sukiyaki

I'm studying for a spanish test, why am I watching this?

How to learn kanji: Learn Chinese How to learn Japanese grammar: Learn Korean How to learn hiragana &/or katakana: p f f t

It's really cool to see this video after so long. It's still fun content and helpful. Definitely love to see how you've developed over the years.

Ordered it! Your videos are great, thanks for what you do. You make the idea of traveling to Japan seem so much easier than I originally imagined

Funnily enough, kanji is just mandarin with a DLC

Me: *"I'm so good at Japanese."* Me: **Hears people talking and writing Japanese** Also me: *"Oh. Nvm."*

I took japanese for 2 years in high-school and between this channel and duo lingo I have learned more nihongo than I ever did in high school, also I'm moving to okinawa next year so this definitely helps. This channel is funny, entertaining and educational. Keep up the great work!

Started using this book just recently and it's fun to see how much our experiences with it are the exactly same!

"Kim Jong-Un has no heart. SAD" - @realdonaldtrump

I'm 1500 kanji in and you LIED TO ME CHRIS! OH GOD THIS IS BORING AND IT TAKES SO LONG BUT I CANT STOP NOW CAN I

9:32 i'm actually leaving this video with a positive outlet, i started learning kanji a week ago (already knew hiragana/katakana due to a failed attempt to learn before) and i'm currently at 127 vocabulary words, even though i have a hard time remembering half of them, or not remembering some at all, i still got more motivation to learn more thanks to this video! i learned about your channel only something like a year before but never checked out old videos, now i'm finding a lot of "hidden" gems, thanks a lot!

every time I finish one of your videos I do get a more positive outlook while laughing out loud! you're awesome man.

Every time when i'm stuck with Kanji, i watch this video "Can Japanese actually write Japanese kanji?" It's kind of a relief 😄.

duolingo: *do your lessons or you will not see you waifu*

5:45 "kim jong un had a heart" not anymore

stumbled across this video in my recommended. i have no plans to learn japanese any time soon, but i really enjoyed watching this video. thank you for uploading.

Learning kanji is like balancing on the edge of madness and “ah ha” moments while laying in a pile of memory cards and sadness lol. Worse is trying to explain your method to other people and not sound crazy.

"5 kanji a day, keeps your sanity at bay." - グレース (I literally just popped up in my head lol)

I'm Chinese, and when I saw the Kanji characters at first, I sighed a breath of relief, but when I saw that the pronunciations were entirely different, I screamed inside my head. Though, I can still understand what most of the characters mean.

thank you for the advice, I just ordered the book and am excited!

I laughed my ass off AND learnt something. Thank you man, this was absolutely amazing!

There are a lot (a looooot) of videos on RU-vid (particularly I'm speaking of non-Japanese, talking about Japanese culture or how to learn Japanese), with people trying to interject humor into informative or instructional videos, and just failing miserably. It makes the videos not only not funny, but annoying to watch as well. You however, Sir, are both funny AND highly informative and helpful. It's probably in part because you are British, and good humor is just in your 血 (lucky man). But your videos are good. がんばってくださいね？ Do you're best! You're ahead of the rest!~

PLEASE DO MORE OF THESE!!! Amazing!

This was great! Thank you for sharing!

lol i'm chinese and kanji is easy for me i fail at all my chinese tests

100 characters in 4 days. My memory isn't perfect but I did remember over 90 of them without reference. It really works. The key is to do exactly as it's instructed in the book and to do at least a lesson a day. It's fine if you miss a day here and there but 5 days a week sounds fine. On the days you don't do a lesson, just review what you've already learned, especially the most recent kanji.

THANK YOU FOR THE SUGGESTION!!! I have a problem with Kanji, and I'm really happy I found this video!

I was so excited when I went to Japan and could read the Kanji on the toilet. I've only learned 35 Kanji so far. Looking forward to trying this strategy, Chris.

"and i was very excited to learn all 25 characters, but there's not 25." i cRACKED UP

I'm crying oh my god. When I go to Japan I'm just gonna go around saying "The horse is necessary!".

Just wanted to say thank you for recommending this method! I finished the book in June and haven't revised kanji since then because university got busy. It is now December and I'm back to studying Japanese and I'm recalling kanji with relative ease. Heisig is the MVP!

I know this was uploaded forever ago, but I just now found it and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this! I am learning Japanese as part of my core requirements at uni (also because I'm a huge nerd) and will be starting to learn kanji in the upcoming semester. I was so nervous about it, but this video helped ease my mind about the whole thing and I think will be a great help

ATTENTION EVERYONE WHO WILL USE THIS METHOD: This method is indeed awesome and is the best way to learn kanji. But there's one fatal flaw the book have and which Chris has used, and this is the reason why Chris still after 6 years says he doesn't know kanji well. It's because the book instructs to practise being able to write a kanji upon seeing a keyword. This is wrong, as many people can report that this does not make you able to read. You should instead do as following: 1. Go through the book learning how to write 15 new characters per day (you can change the number to your liking) 2. When you create flashcards put the kanji on front and the definition on back 3. Learn Japanese and practise reading (takes some time) 4. When you feel confident reading Japanese go through the book again but this time do it as Heisig reccomeds, that is flashcards having keyword on top 5. Congratulations you are fluent in kanji

I've been studying Chinese for four years and I just started teaching myself Japanese and the Kanji reads exactly like the Chinese. My problem now is that I keep saying all the Kanji in Chinese >_

With a bit of experience I can honestly say that everything in this video is true. The book makes learning kanji incredibly easy. I haven't finished the book but I can write 200 kanjis out of thin air without much trouble.

Ik this is a super old video but the algorithm recommended it to me and it gave me that extra boost of motivation that I needed to stay on track. Thanks so much, Chris. I watch many of your videos and I love your content whether it's the new ones or the old ones. Keep doing what you're doing. -- Roan E. J

60 Kanji per day is crazy, though. I'm already forced to regularly re-learn old Kanji that I forgot while doing 5-10 new ones per day in the anki droid app and it takes me between 45-60 minutes a day to clear all my cards. I'm currently at Kanji #1312

"Kim Jong-Un and heart, which don't really go together" sentence of the month

this man is just too funny, whenever I have a breakdown while I'm studying I just come here and watch him and I swear I feel better

All jokes aside, this video is actually helpful for learning kanji. Also, Chris thank you so much for the book recommendation. I had reached a point that I could not memorise any more kanji and this video finally helped in getting my gears moving!

Kanji?!?, Kanji is one of my favourite characters from persona 4!

You learn kanji thoughout your life. You never finish learning a language, even your mother tongue.

I can't believe I was already lowkey doing this when I started studying. I'm glad that there's an actual book that would help me as a reference. Thank you!

This was really helpful Thank you so much I've been learning Japanese for some months now and Kanji is really hard to memorize but this makes it so easy

when i first looked at this after finishing hiragana and katakana i thought that this method wouldnt work for me but i tried it out and after 4 days i have learnt 70 the first 70 kanji in the book which i think is absolutely phenomenal

Albus Yodabond, I salute you!

This is a great recommendation! Thank you! Will give it a try!

I got this book based on this video a few months back. It's brilliant and the way the little stories are written at the start to describe the kanji radicals somehow just lodge in your brain. It really sticks without a whole lot of effort. Thanks for the suggestion chris if you're reading this 👍

1:06 HAHAHA I keep laughing at "O-oh yeah, I live alone" after the music lmao!

I literally said NOOOOOO.... :O when i heard, "each kanji has multiple readings", WHYYYY :L

Wow! Thank you so very much! Kanji has been soooo hard to learn. I will definitely get this book! Thank you! I love the method that you are teaching, I will try this. Neat to see the world of Japan open up as you are able to read Kanji. Thank you sempai-Albusyodabond! Funny hearing Kyu Sakamoto’s Ue o Muite Arukou (Sukiyaki) in the background. The title means, “I look up as I walk” and has nothing to do with Sukiyaki, but for Americans, it was named Sukiyaki. Credit for this information goes to Dearly Departed. Mr. Sakamoto passed Aug. 12, 1985 in a plane crash. I enjoy your videos immensely, you make learning so very fun. Please stay well.

I love you for that advice, thank you!

I can speak 2 languages and all my needs are satisfied if i learned japanese , then subs will feel like dubs and then those subs will bother me

I learnt Chinese first, and learning Japanese afterwards made studying a lot easier!

Great video. This video helped me find the book I need, which ended up not being Remembering the Kanji(which looks lovely), but The Complete Guide to Japanese Kanji

Thank you so much for making this video Chris, it helped me a lot, even in 2021 :D I've just ordered the book and I'm gonna try it out :)

This method is how I learn all my languages, to be honest. Even if there's not a picture to go with it in languages that don't use symbols like japanese, making a story or connection to another concept helps loads

“Come in here look at this!” ... “Oh yea I live alone....” Haha my future

Omg I am so grateful for this video! You literally changed my life! I am learning Japanese and I already know hiragana and katakana. Every time I thought about learning kanji I was like: "will I actually >learn< kanji?" "how would I learn kanji?" (like.... The main reason Im learningJapanese is so I could undrestand anime :D so it is more important for me to know grammar and vocabulary than kanji.)... But now?As a really creative and artsy peron I actually want to study kanji by this metod, and I want to do it more than study grammar and vocab :D. Ok yes, I wont actually learn kanji all day and stuff, but I definitely have a motivation now, thanks to you! I am really grateful!

Yes having a more positive outlook on life that’s great thank you

I came for Albus Yodabond.

"A horse is necessary!" - I have never laughed so hard. I have been watching your videos for a while now, filmed well, very interesting and funny monologues, and great atmosphere (music etc). SUBSCRIBED!

Man you help a lot. Gave so much info. Thank you.

Returning to the originals after rewatching Journey Across Japan for the nth time and it's like a whole new experience! I'll never get bored with this channel! And I thought I'd add a short history of Kanji or rather, the whole character system as a whole. I think it would be reasonable to assume that Kanji originated from the Chinese traditional character system (or very strongly influenced by, if you prefer), given how similar they are - pronunciation is different but writing is the same (I find it pretty cool when I can understand the gist of a Japanese message when there are Kanji characters present). The characters are derived from representations of the environment - almost like hieroglyphics in a way - so using simplified pictures and piecing them together, characters were created. Before China was united, every kingdom had its own written language and when Qin Shihuang of the Qin Dynasty (approx. 200 BC) came into power after uniting all of China, he also unified the language and since then, the characters developed into the traditional Chinese characters. It was during the Cultural Revolution in the 20th century that Mao Zedong simplified the traditional characters due to the fact that lower- to middle-class people weren't literate (which made up a majority of the population), making the characters easier to memorize and promoting literacy, which is why now you see a traditional version and a simplified version. This was also the very reason why a king (or emperor - sorry, I'm not familiar with Korea's history) in Korea decided to create Hangul, which eventually replaced Hanja as the official national script.

Okay. Not only is this pure comical genius, but this is genuinely the best video I’ve found on Kanji throughout all of RU-vid. Thanks!

I was so happy too the first time I understood 大　and　小 at a restroom!

A standing ovation to all Chinese people. They're entire language is kanji

Thanks Chris, great insight.

Haha I'm attempting to learn Japanese and I'm Chinese, so the words in kanji are pretty easy for me as I can write them and the meanings are almost exactly the same ;except for the pronunciation which are both so different, it puts me off learning Japanese D: But I'm determined so wish me luck haha

Captain Jack Sparrow... that's who you remind me of... I love your humour and I think you're absolutely brilliant. :)

Thank you for making this vids, it gives me hope to keep learning japanese.

As an English speaker, I had an extremely hard time learning Spanish (supposedly the easiest language for English speakers to learn) if I can't learn Spanish then I think it will be impossible for me to learn to speak/write in Japanese. I'm always impressed with those who know how to write/speak at least 2 languages (sometimes I get jealous but I'm more often impressed over being jealous). Good on those people and I hope them the best :)

This video is actually wonderful and makes it feel like my studies are somewhat more doable and less totally, horrifically daunting. Thank you!!

not to take away from this video, because i do agree that writing it out and memorizing the meanings of the kanji is an important thing, but there's a site called wanikani that uses basically this exact same method of using anecdotes to help you remember the kanji and also the sounds they make and such! it's what i use and it's fantastic

Thanks for the video! I've been learning Japanese for 3 months now originally hoping to join the JET programme (though I'll probably have to wait a year with current virus problems). This video was a great help for my biggest problem so far which is how scary kanji is!

Coming back to a very old video to say this along with the Human Japanese app has been the best experience with learning Japanese!

if you can’t remember every characters, don’t worry. i’m chinese and even i can’t remember all of them.

Sometimes I walk back in time and watch this video from 7 years ago and then some. Amazing how time has flown. Keep up the good work Chris!

It's all context clues and how you look at it. That's how I learned to understand Spanish in my early 20s, or at least understand what people are saying when everyone is talking very very quickly when you're very suddenly immersed in the language and your only Spanish speaking friend refuses to teach you. I don't remember much anymore, but I knew I could pick up on the gist of everything that was happening from what I just had to learn. It's context clues and correlation. You were correlating what you viewed as pictures into things you can use as a memory. It's a very good way to go about it. Good job.

I am just wondering. *WHAT THE HELL IS THIS BACKGROUND MUSIC?*