A This-Year's Resolution for learning 100-ish kanji

What can you do before the year is finished? こんにちは、 If you were to join a Japanese class on the first day of 2018 (that's about 345 days ago now), you'd likely know around 100 kanji today. That's... not that many. But, it makes sense in a class because you always have to move at the pace of the slowest group of students. So, I was thinking of sending you an email all about what you can do next year that's even better (presumably for a well-intentioned New Year's resolution). I was going to tell you how you can crush that measly 100 kanji! But then I got to thinking: there may still be time to beat a year's worth of classroom kanji learning in 2018 using this year's remaining 20-ish days. You can do it for free, too. It's not going to be particularly easy. Anyone telling you that learning anything is easy is selling you instant microwave learning. But, if you have a little grit, and some extra time this holiday season, you can make it happen if you want it. Here's exactly how to do it: ①If you aren't able to read it already, start with hiragana. Hiragana is kind of like the Japanese version of the alphabet. You can use Tofugu's system for learning hiragana, which includes worksheets, mnemonics, and exercises. It's free, too. If you have a day to kill, you can learn to read them all before you go to sleep. If you're busier, expect it to take 3-4 days. Check out our [Learn Hiragana Guide]( and just follow the instructions. ② When you can read hiragana (even if it's slowly), it's time to get started on kanji. I recommend you use some kind of "radical mnemonic method." This has you learning components of kanji (radicals) that you will use to learn the kanji. Think of it like learning the ABCs before learning how to read words in English. It'd be silly to learn to read the word S-I-L-L-Y without even knowing the letters s, i, l, and y (yet, that's how most people learn kanji). One system that uses this method is [WaniKani]( (full disclosure, this is a thing we made). Levels 1-3 are totally free, though, and you'll be able to learn nearly 100 kanji and 200 vocabulary words (that use those kanji you learned) in less than 3 weeks. How long do we have until the end of 2018? Oh... 🤔 The reason the WaniKani system is this fast is because it's slow. [Proof of knowledge takes time]( after all. On WaniKani, you're never allowed to move on until you've proven your knowledge of a kanji or vocabulary word's foundational pieces. For example, the kanji 右 requires you to show you know the radicals ナ and 口. The vocabulary word 左右 requires you to know both the kanji 右 and 左 (and, to even unlock 左 you must show you know the radicals ナ and 工). On the inside it's a complicated system, but on WaniKani you as the learner will just be given the right things to learn at the right time. You simply have to sit down and do it (that, arguably, may be the hardest part). To learn more about this method, or to put together your own system using this method, check out our [radical mnemonic method guide](. It's awfully detailed and heavy, though, so consider it optional. If you use WaniKani and do your reviews every day (yep, even on Christmas, nobody said it would be easy... okay, I take that back, Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, Duolingo did), you'll learn approximately a year's worth of kanji in 2-3 weeks. That's before New Year's resolutions even begin. In case you didn't click on anything yet, here are the two steps for you again: - [Learn Hiragana (free)]( - [WaniKani Levels 1-3 (oh hey, free too)]( Simple but it will require work on your part. If you want to do it, anyways. I'll check in before the end of the year to see how you're doing. We've got a Tofugu Store sale coming up soon, too. And a WaniKani one (though, I recommend you try out the three free levels to see if it's a match with your learning style––no point in you making a compulsive purchase with this much time to try it out). If you have any questions at all about learning hiragana or kanji after reading our linked guides, don't hesitate to reply to this email. We'll help you to make it happen. Remember, just 20-ish days left. Don't wait for New Year's to do something. Time is probably just an illusion, anyways. ♡ Koichi & the Tofugu Crew Copyright © 2018 Tofugu, All rights reserved. You are receiving this e-mail because you signed up to get Tofugu Newsletters. Our mailing address is: Tofugu 117 SE Taylor St #303Portland, OR 97214 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](.