Japanese People's Kanji Writing Ability

[samihu]

One of my Japanese friend's told me that Japanese people can't actually write a lot of kanji(compared to the amount that us as learners hear they know...he gave me the impression of around 1000 or so). He said they can read plenty, but they can't right nearly as many. He said it's just not that important, and that I should just focus on reading them. The few other Japanese people I've met through him seem to agree.

I was wondering how true this really is. Is it a general thing, maybe just the younger generations, or maybe just some groups of people?

[Belton]

If you think about the situation in English I'm sure it's similar in Japan. You forget what you cram for in school. Computer assistance means spelling and handwriting has gotten worse compared to several decades ago. More writing is done on computers but you still need to be able to write things by hand. Common words are easier to remember than more obscure ones. And different peoples abilities are going to be quite different.

Based on the amount of books about kanji and calligraphy aimed at a popular Japanese audience I'd say Japanese are much better (and interested in) writing their own language than English speakers are at writing English.
I've never seen a similar amount of calligraphy classes as a popular pastime or something children practice in English culture. Nor have I seen tests similar to the Kanken series.
I had to go through about a hundred handwritten envelopes recently and I must say they were without exception beautifully written. I willing to bet on an overall higher standard of handwriting in Japan.

As a foreigner, reading is the more important skill (IMHO).
Especially if you use computers where the skill in writing is being able to read and chose the correct kanji.
The beauty of Japanese is it is possible to write perfectly in kana if you know the correct sounds. There are no obscure spellings. But the more literate you are (or want to appear) the more kanji you can use. It is very satisfying to be able to write kanji as well as read them.
You'll have to decide for yourself how important handwriting is based on what you want to do with your Japanese.

Perhaps your friends were alluding to the fact that 1000 kanji account for 90 percent of everyday usage.

[Jessi]

I think Belton's response is right on the money. As a foreigner, reading is the more important skill, and it's ultimately up to you to decide how much effort you want to put into learning how to write kanji based on what your goals are. I will say that what your friend says has some truth to it - thanks to computers and cell phones that do all the work for you, people don't write kanji nearly as much as they used to and therefore don't know how to write as many. You can see examples of this on game shows where Japanese participants have to write kanji correctly - some of the kanji they can't write will really surprise you.

[untmdsprt]

I've seen that game show, and it makes me feel a lot better when I'm trying to write kanji myself. Even a friend had trouble with certain kanji and had to ask the real estate agent how to write it. They both had trouble.

As far as writing it, I mainly have to write my address, and prefer to write the kanji on official forms. For English, I can't remember when I had to write a complete sentence by hand in English. I mainly email all the English speakers I know.

For what it's worth, writing the kanji will actually help you remember them better. I've bought the kanji practice books, and am having fun writing the kanji.

[samihu]

Thanks everybody.

untmdsprt- I also find that writing out the kanji help me remember them.

I guess it just seems kind of weird to me cuz when it comes to English I actually remember a lot of what I've learned in school. To the point that my family and friends occasionally make fun of me. Also, although I do write things by hand far less than I used to, my handwriting has improved quite a bit over the years...

Yeah, I'm a bit of an oddball I guess. I figure I'll keep practicing writing them out, but not worry so much about remembering them perfectly.

[louis89]

The reason I learn how to write kanji is that if I can write them, I can read them as well. You kill two birds with one stone, and that doesn't work the other way around. Plus, you get much better at distinguishing similar kanji. I remember in my early days I would often misread 持 as 待 and vice versa, because if I just remember them based on shape, I don't notice the small differences.

[jbraswell]

The reason I learn how to write kanji is that if I can write them, I can read them as well. You kill two birds with one stone, and that doesn't work the other way around.

Depends on what you use as the prompt for remembering how to write them. If you use meanings to prompt your kanji recall, then you won't be able to read them.

Japanese people in general aren't that good at writing kanji. They can distinguish them if they are written side-by-side, but I'd guess that the average, educated Japanese person can hand write less than 1,000.