My Kanji Adventure: Week 2 End

So, since I decided to no longer write out EVERY SINGLE kanji that I am learning, I also decided that I no longer need to update EVERY SINGLE day. It's time to do things differently!

Anyhow, Guillaume's back from France, and I've gone back to working every day, I have WAY LESS free time, and I'm actually finding it somewhat hard to keep up with the kanji. And I have had WAY less time to to watch drama. I'm presently watching Hanazakari no kimitachi he (花ざかりの君たちへ　or For you in Full Bloom), which is absolutely AMAZING! I started it after finished Gokusen, and I am happy to say: no Matsumoto Jun. There IS Oguri Shun, though, and he is totally adorable in it. I've still got a few episodes left, though (though I'll admit I practically ran home today to try to get an episode in!).

I've also been listening to the Kiddie a LOT, and I am presently OBSESSED with this song:


In week 2, I managed to study 193 new kanji. Not quite as many as the 205 kanji that I covered in week 1, but I still think it's pretty good. At the end of the week, I decided to take a day off of learning new kanji and just review all of the kanji that I did in week 1. There were a few I didn't remember. :-P

Kanji I Had Forgotten From Week 1
填 - inlay
God laid truth in all the soil of the Earth; and I imagine a giant footprint in soil with the word truth in it
寸 - measurement
I somehow only remember this as glue, and I still haven't come up with a good story for it as measurement
昭 - shining
The sun comes down and seduces people by shining so brightly
唄 - pop song
a stream of clams or money, spewing out of the mouth of the person singing the pop song
嘲 - derision
morning mouth
了 - complete
I can't believe I forgot this one! It's a kid wrapped up COMPLETELY, with only its head sticking out.
旭 - rising sun
At the baseball field, watching as the baseball rises up like a rising sun
願 - petition
I just got the two elements of this backwards. So basically, you FIRST go to the meadow where Oz's gigantic head is waiting, and you petition to it.
吐 spit
Also got the two elements of this one backwards. Have to remember that the soil is in your mouth FIRST, then you spit it out, and it is beside your mouth.
昌 - prosperous
Is there anything more prosperous than two suns?
胃 - stomach
Brains are on top of the flesh that is stomach, but the stomach controls the brains.

So far week 3 has been rough. I immediately regretting skipping a day, especially thinking about the 10 days I will be in Louisiana, when it will DEFINITELY be hard to find time to study. Despite that, I had MEGA trouble finding time the day after to study, so I only managed to do 13 kanji. Since then, I've been trying to do at least 35 a day, but I think it might be too much for my memory, and I'm afraid I'll forget them too easily. I think I've got to stick to 30 max a day.

Annnnyhow, that's all for this week!

My Kanji Adventure: Week 2 Days 1 and 2

So An Cafe's newest song is out!!!! Or, at least a preview of the PV is. Aaaand, they are all dressed up as girls in it. Miku, the singer, is soooo beautiful that I always thought he would make the most amazingly gorgeous girl. And somehow, his face just looks big. To the point where I can almost understand the Japanese people thinking of small faces as a sign of beauty.
It doesn't work for him NEARLY as well as I thought it would. So I guess it's settled - he's just a beautiful boy. Or maybe it's just that the hair doesn't suit him. I dunno. Anyhow, watch the video and let me know what you think.


WEEK 2 DAY 1
木 - tree
林 - grove
森 - forest
桂 - Japanese Judas tree
I have NO clue if it's actually the Japanese Judas tree or not, but I just imagine a tree with lots of vines going up it, and as they go up, they start moving and come alive.
柏 - oak tree
枠 - frame
梢 - treetops
I just imagine a GIANT Christmas tree with lots of beautiful candles at the tops.
棚 - shelf
I imagine a wooden shelf with a big smile following me around everywhere I go, being my companion.
杏 - apricot
桐 - Paulownia tree
Again, I don't actually know what this tree looks like, but I pretend it looks like bamboo, and I imagine the beautiful bamboo forest outside the temple in Kyoto, and then I imagine monks walking around enjoying the nature, and I've got this tree.
植 - plant
椅 - chair
I imagine a giant wood chair with a giant St. Bernard sitting in it with its mouth nailed shut.
枯 - wither
朴 - crude
町 - village
相 - inter-
A tree that is alive with giant human eyes; very inter-species
机 - desk
本 - book
札 - tag
暦 - calendar
案 - plan
燥 - parch
未 - not yet
末 - extremity
昧 - obscure
The sun shining beautifully on ALMOST everything. Except one little OBSCURE area which we can't yet see because the sun hasn't reached it yet.
沫 - splash
味 - flavor

WEEK 2 DAY 2
妹 - younger sister
朱 - vermillion
株 - stocks
若 - young
草 - grass
苦 - suffering
苛 - bullying
寛 - tolerant
薄 - dilute
葉 - leaf
莫 - graveyard
So, according to my phone, this means "must not" or "do not," not graveyard. But remembering it as graveyard helps me remember so many other kanji, so I guess that's what I have to do.
摸 - imitation
漠 - vague
Usually, if I'm in a graveyard, I'm sad, and I'm therefore crying. Through my tears, I can't see very well; everything looks vague.
墓 - grave
暮 - livelihood
I spend my days working just for what? To end up eventually in a graveyard.
膜 - flesh
苗 - seedling
兆 - portent
Yay! I get to imagine the turtle from the Neverending Story, talking of bad things to come.
桃 - peach tree
眺 - stare
犬 - dog
状 - status quo
荻 - reed
狩 - hunt
猫 - cat

My Kanji Adventure: Days 6 and 7

Anyone that knows me knows that An Cafe is one of my favoritest bands of all time! I have loved them for AGES, since I was in France, and my love of them hasn't waned at all. Every time I listen to them or see a picture of them or even think about them, I am overwhelmed with happiness, and I remember why I started loving visual kei (and think; yappari, An Cafe really is still the best).

When they came back, though, after their 3 year break, as much as I LOVED the music, I was a little bit disappointed with the look (see above). They were still my beloved An Cafe, but their look was a bit ridiculous, over the top, like they were trying to hard for a comeback. And I was sad.

Since then, though, they have had 2 different looks, and both of them were perfect and wonderful and amazing (see above for the first of the two). And I was able to fall in love with all of the members all over again. And remember just WHY I am in love with Teruki. And I was looking at pictures of them this morning and thinking that, and I am happy. :-) It's good that all it takes is a new look to make me happy. :-)

Teruki, my future husband (shhh, don't tell Guillaume).

Anyhow, kanji! I managed to seriously study kanji for a WHOLE week!!!! And then some, as now I'm actually in the middle of week 2. I'm super proud of myself, but really, I wonder how long this will actually last. Given my laziness, probably not too long.

DAY 6
汰　- cleanse
The problem here is that, according to the dictionary, this kanji means "select." According to Heisig, it means cleanse. So which is it. Maybe I should just stop learning the ones that he seems to get wrong. Hmmmm. . .
汁 - soup
沙 - grains of sand
潮 - tide
The tide is water that comes in with the mist and is controlled by the moon.
源 - source
活 - lively
消 - extinguish
況 - but of course
Yet another one where the meaning he gives isn't in the dictionary. This kanji seems to ACTUALLY mean condition, not but of course. How I remember it: if a mom asks a teenager is he's taken a shower, he's CONDITIONed to say "but of course." That way, both of the meanings are in there!
河 - river
泊 - overnight
湖 - lake
Here, I actually imagine an episode of Game of Thrones, where they are sending a dead man's body away in a lake, and someone keeps trying to shoot an arrow at it to light it on fire and missing. As such, we've got that the lake is the water in which you put old flesh.
測 - fathom (in the sense of measuring)
土 - soil, gournd, dirt, land
吐 - spit
圧 - pressure
埼 - cape
Growing up, I used to read this series of books about this group of kids that grew up on the cape and had minimal access to outside people. Craaaazy things used to happen on the cape. As such, the CAPE is the LAND where STRANGE things happen.
垣 - hedge
填 - inlay
圭 - square jewel, vine, ivy
涯 - horizon
寺 - temple
時 - time
均 - level
火 - fire
炎 - inflammation
煩 - anxiety
This head is on fire! with anxiety.
淡 - thin
Drinking lots of water is a great way to THIN out any inflammations that the body may have.
灯 - lamp
DAY 7
畑 - farm
災 - disaster
灰 - ashes
点 - spot, points
照 - illumination
The sun reaches down its giant, seductive arms, with licks of fire coming off to illuminate everything around us
魚 - fish
漁 - fishing
里 - ri (measure of a rice field), computer
黒 - black
Fire comes up and chars everything in the land that is the rice fields black
墨 - black ink
The black that marks the land
鯉 - carp
The carp is the fish you most often see swimming near Japanese homes, in their gardens, around their rice fields
量 - quantity
厘 - rin (the measure of something REALLY small)
If you look at a ri from the top of a cliff, it looks about 1000 times smaller, a rin
埋 - bury
同 - same, monks
洞 - den
胴 - trunk, torso
向 - yonder
尚 - esteem
字 - character
守 - guard
完 - perfect
宣 - proclaim
宵 - wee hours
安 - relax
宴 - banquet
寄 - draw near
I imagine a GIANT St. Bernard with his mouth nailed shut, sitting in the window of a house. If I'm running by, and I see that, I imagine that I wouldn't be able to stop myself from DRAWing NEAR to the house, to check it out a little more closely.
富 - wealth
貯 - savings

My Kanji Adventure: Days 4 and 5

I am soooo loving not working full time right now. I realize that I'm going to have to get over that soon as, yknow, money, it's an issue and all. And I've got to be a productive member of society and all. But for now, I'm only working a few hours a week, and I am having SUCH a great time learning kanji and watching dramas and learning Python. And I've even started trying to learn Russian. Of course, I'm still working on the alphabet (which is, for some reason, harder than learning the Japanese alphabet - perhaps because I find it so much more difficult to pronounce the letters), and I can say hello! Preevyet! Or, to my boss, Zdrastvuytye!

Anyhow, I just finished watching １ポンドの福音 (One Pound Gospel), and I absolutely LOOOOOOOVED it! Seriously! I'd heard from people that it was only so-so, and, since it was about boxing and nuns, I wasn't convinced. I'm glad I finally found the time to start it, though, as I absolutely ADORED it! Kamenashi was adorable beyond words. And I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed at the end. I want more!!!!
Now, I've started 夏の恋は虹色に輝く (Summer love shines like a rainbow), and it's okay so far. But I've always kind of thought that Matsumoto Jun looks like a sewer rat, and this drama is no exception. Also, I feel like the female lead does NOT look the part she's playing at all. She just seems to old for it, somehow. I dunno, there's just something. . . wrong about her.

Anyhow, this is NOT about the dramas I've been watching. It's about the KANJI I've been learning. And I have been learning!
DAY 4
切 - cut
召 - seduce
昭 - shining
I imagine the sun sending giant rays down to people, shining on them, seducing them. People are seduced by the shining of the sun.
則 - rule
副 - vice-
別 - separate
丁 - street, nail
町 - village
可 - can
頂 - place on a head
子 - child
孔 - cavity
I have a bit of trouble with this one. If I see the word cavity, I can write it. But looking at it, I couldn't remember what it was. I think of a child in the dentist's office. He has a big hole is his tooth and is super afraid because the dentist is coming at him with a giant hook to take out what's in the hole.
了 - complete
女 - woman
好 - fond
如 - likeness
This one is somewhat vulgar. When a child comes out of a woman's hole, it is a likeness of her and the man that made it.
母 - mother
貫 - pierce
呪 - curse
克 - overcome
If I had 10 teenage older brothers, I would be OVERCOME by big brothers, overcome by teenagers. Agh!
小 - little
少 - few
大 - large
多 - many
Many moons ago. . .wait, I don't remember what happened many moons ago. It's so far away that it's clouded in my memory.
夕 - evening
汐 - eventide
外 - outside
名 - name
石 - stone, rocks
DAY 5
肖 - resemblance, candle, sparks
If a little bit of flesh is the same, there is a resemblance
硝 - nitrate
砕 - smash
Take a rock and throw it down, SMASH it into 9 pieces; no, that's not enough, 10 pieces!
砂 - sand
妬 - jealous
削 - plane (i.e. shave wood)
光 - ray
太 - plump
器 - utensil
臭 - stinking
嗅 - sniff
If this is ACTUALLY how the kanji is written, with a drop to make the bottom right kanji dog and not big, it's written wrong in the book.
妙 - exquisite
省 - focus
厚 - thick
奇 - strange
川 - stream
州 - state
順 - obey
水 - water
氷 - icicle
永 - eternity
Find eternity in a drop of water
泉 - spring
腺 - gland
原 - meadow
願 - petition
泳 - swim
沼 - swamp
沖 - open sea
汎 - inter-
The wind goes around the WHOLE word, picking up drops of water in one place and dropping them off in another. Very INTER-continental!
江 - creek
A CREEK is WATER that has been CRAFTED into what it is.

I actually had to look up quite a few of the kanji this time, to know their pronunciations to be able to type them. And some of them didn't seem to have the meaning that Heisig has given them at all. I wonder if I should be worried about what I'm learning. At the same time, the meanings that he has given them have really helped me in remembering how to write some of the ones where the meanings are what they should be. Still, I'm nervous. And I wonder if I shouldn't try to remember them with their proper meanings. It just seems weird that he would give them meanings that don't exist. Like 召. According to him, it means seduce. According to jdic, it means a summons or a call.

That's all for today. Wish me luck in my continued kanji learning journey! I'm off to watch more Natsu no Koi ha Nijiiro ni Kagayaku!

Learning and Remembering the Kanji, an Adventure

I started this blog as a place for myself to talk about Japanese things, in the hopes that, just maybe, I would want to talk about them in Japanese. Which would in turn help me to practice Japanese and not forget it, being away from Japan and all.

Unfortunately, my laziness and business combined to bring you. . . ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! I would get afraid of writing in Japanese and so just not write anything. My Japanese since moving away from Japan is limited to short conversations every week or two. (oh, and also of course lots of listening practice via music and dramas. Though less than I would like). I hardly ever talk, I never read, and I never write. As such, my level in Japanese is getting closer and closer to non-existent, and this makes me SAD. :-(

I've always been extremely awful at kanji. People would regularly make fun of my because my kanji level was WAY lower than you would think for someone speaking at my level (I'm sure it still is, but just because the number of kanji I've forgotten is proportional to the amount of Japanese I've forgotten).

Once, though, I had a teacher tell me that I was something like a genius - because I could read through and understand Japanese texts without being able to read any (or almost any) of the kanji. I was able to do this because, somehow, through it all, I had managed to remember the MEANINGS of the kanji without having any clue how to pronounce them.

And then, I was looking through some of my Japanese books the other day, and "Remembering the Kanji" by James W. Heisig caught my eye, and I realized that that's what it's all about. Remembering the MEANINGS of the kanji without knowing how to pronounce them. And then I thought "Hey, I can do that! That's what I've been doing all along!"

And then I thought "If I know the meanings, it will be MUCH easier to learn the pronunciations after." And then I read the introduction and realized that that's EXACTLY what Heisig's Remembering the Kanji is all about.

So now I've decided that I WILL learn the kanji his way, and I will do it in a maximum of 3 months, meaning that I'll be learning about 25 kanji, more or less, a day. And I've decided to use this much-neglected blog to document that process, in the hopes that it will help me to hold myself accountable and actually LEARN them!

The goal: Learn the meanings and the writings of the 2,200 kanji in Jame's W. Heisig's Remembering the Kanji
The time limit: Do this by September 22, 2013
The way: Using Heisig's Remembering the Kanji and learning stories for each one! (and them documenting what I've hopefully learned in this blog!)

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooo on it!!