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Learning Kanji 2008/3/26 19:03
I have 6 months before I go to Japan, and want to learn a range of Kanji that will be helpful to me during my travels - the phrases that I will be encountering most likely in hotels, on train stations, when purchasing tickets etc.

Is there a website or resource that has lists of kanji that are appropriate for travellers? I have no illusions that I will be fluent in any way, I just want to know a smattering so that I can make a fair stab at deciphering some signage as I travel.

I also intend to learn Katakana - I learnt Hiragana, but have found that it is not very useful as once I have translated the word, I am left with a Japanese word that I still don't know the meaning of, just in Romanji!

Your advice on how I might best tackle this would be most appreciated...

Cheers

Aleph
by Aleph28  

stick to kanas 2008/3/27 07:46
I strongly suggest you just learn hiragana/katakana.

Hiragana is good for lots of stuff (trainstation names and food packages is the first thing that comes to mind for a tourist). If you can read katakana you can read all the foreign (engrish) words as well.
There are some basic kanji that are useful to know as a tourist (male/female is one you really want to know), but unless you intend on seriously learning the language you shouldn't bother with kanji.
by jimmyvh rate this post as useful

you should know Hiragana / katakana 2008/3/27 09:04
Hiragana and katakana are the most commonly used written systems. When it comes to kanji, for now you can skip learning it until your japanese is up there.

If you know how to speak Japanese, memorizing the hiragana and katakana is all you need to do now.

if you dont know what a kanji means just ask: kono kanji no imi o nan desu ka.

that basically means: what does this kanji mean?
by Mike B rate this post as useful

, 2008/3/28 17:54
wouldn't it be
"kono kanji no imi WA nan desu ka"?
by Miyuki rate this post as useful

To Aleph 2008/3/29 15:46
to my memories in Japan, the teachers teach first kanji to the school children by familiarizing them with writing numbers in kanji. then basic words such as right, left, north, south, east, west, hand, face, ,eyes, leg, feet, ears, hair, book, paper, car, train, subway station, airplane, store,...etc.
That's basically how it start.

by cc rate this post as useful

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