Question in regards to the Heisig Kanji Method.

[haydenkaye4668]

I've been studying Japanese a while, but when it comes to Kanji, I know little of how it works.
My question is if the Heisig method is a good way to learn kanji? As it doesn't teach Japanese pronunciation and use.
The reason I decided to make a post was because I got a little confused.
Heisig volume 1 stares that
況 = 'but of course'
Whilst when asking a Japanese person about this kanji, he said it means 'condition' and cannot be used alone.
For example 好況 means 'economic boom'
Another small matter is that he labels the 好 kanji as 'fondness', but for anyone studying kanji, I think it is more important to know that it is this kanji that is used in suki/like.

So if anyone can give me any advice on kanji learning, using the book, or helping me understand, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Jessi]

Hi Hayden,
Thanks for your post!
I'm not sure how many Heisig method users there are in this forum, but there is a very active forum on the Reviewing the Kanji website that is all about the Heisig method:
http://forum.koohii.com/

I recommend looking through some existing threads for more information about how the method works.
I hope this helps!

[winterpromise31]

I studied and completed the first volume. I would highly recommend it! It changed my entire outlook on kanji and made them meaningful. I no longer look at kanji and wonder what in the world that scribble is. I can pick apart kanji and make educated guesses as to what a vocabulary word means even if I've never seen that word before. And it has made learning vocab SO much easier to recognize and memorize because the kanji each mean something.

Sorry for my poor explanation but it's late here. Takeaway - great for conquering fear of kanji.

[phileuro]

I am a bit on the fence about Heisig and RTK (Remembering the Kanji). I would agree that the method works... my problem is with the fact that a) you learn nothing about pronunciation and b) the 'meanings' he gives the Kanji are often wrong, or at the very least, inaccurate.
So, after doing the first 300 or so I found that I actually could not read anything in Japanese. I could point to a Kanji and say 'this means x' to which someone who knew Kanji would respond 'no, it doesn't'.
Kanji characters are often used in groups (phrases, for want of a better term) which again changes their meaning (and I am not talking about two radicals being used together, but two characters).

So - I think yes you will 'learn' characters, just not their real world meaning.

That all being said, I have found that at least I know a lot of characters - and how to write them - and now I can figure out what they really mean. Maybe this 'two phase' approach is not such a bad thing.

It is also unfortunate that the characters in RTK are not in the order of use in everyday life, or in the order of JLPT... but I understand why he did that.