Kanji Study

[ianmcadams823020]

Mina-san konnichi de gozaimasu. Namae wa Ian desu. Yorusiku onegaishimasu.
I have just started my long journey into the world of Japanese language study. My question for the forum is about the study of kanji. I have become proficient in Hiragana and Katakana but now would like to start Kanji. I would like suggestions on the best way to learn it and what Kanji are the best to learn as in the frequency that it is used. I look forward to reading the responses. Arigato gozaimasu.

[community.japanese]

Ian-san,
kon'nichiwa!
If you brows our site, we have kanji video lessons that you can probably learn from!
Also, what I usually recommend is to use Lesson Note. We have script in "normal Japanese", which means
using all hiragana, katakana and kanji, and script in kana only (and also we have roma-ji version).
There're thousands of kanjis, so the best way I think is to learn them in context, or at least as a word.
Just memorising kanji would take a lot of patience without real fun, but if you learn them as actual words,
you can understand meanings and also see the reason why you're making so much effort!

Now, "what kanji do the best"...
Once you get used to the real Japanese in reality, you'll find sentences or any writings using kanji
a lot easier to read and understand. Also, if you see kanji in somewhere, you'll probably recognise the meaning
first, then the read it afterwards For example, you see "bookshop" written in kanji; you see the writings and
you know what place it is. You don't really have to read it. You just recognise it like symbol!

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com

[languagealert9490]

You should learn to speak first. There is not a person on the planet that learned to read and write their first language before they could speak. After you can say the basics, and have basic grammar down OK, then worry about Kanji. You will find that if you already know a word, and later learn the kanji for the word, you then get the kanji meaning and pronunciation as it is in context. Vs... trying to learn a new word, meaning, kanji shape and strokes, kanji readings, and processing the grammar at the same time. Speak first, then read. This is how the human brain has developed to learn language.

[community.japanese]

languagealert9490-san,
That's a great advice. Thank you very much!

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com