Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Kanji Pict-O-Graphix Over 1,000 Japanese Kanji and Kana Mnemonics

    Uploaded by

    Asma
    14K views213 pages
    How does one learn kanji, the characters of written Japanese? The traditional approach is rote memorization. Japanese children write each kanji hundreds of times at their desks, and eventually they are acquired. Michael Rowley offers a different way, a mnemonic-association approach that provides a hook on which to hang the meaning and retrieve it easily when the kanji comes into view. The concept is simple: each character is represented under the word or concept it stands for (such as turf, bamboo, eat, or duty), followed by the pronunciations of the word in Chinese and Japanese, and a drawing that captures the meaning and resembles the character enough so that it'll come to mind whenever the kanji is seen. Organized thematically in chapters such as "Power," "Places," "Tools," "The World," "Food," "People," and "The Body," Rowley's book lets you learn the root symbols before teaching the words that add to them for further meanings. For example, the character for water is a splatter of three dashes that Rowley pictures as three splashing water drops. Later, you see that steam, float, boil, dirt, and bathe all build on the water character. For steam, there's the water character plus a series of lines that Rowley exaggerates to resemble swirling, vapory tendrils, and the association helps. Building on units of memory and relationship, recall is aided considerably by the simple yet evocative drawings. Rowley even manages to help with the hiragana and katakana syllabaries, providing appealing pictures that look a bit like the letters in question and begin with the same sounds. So the na letter looks like a knot, nu resembles Rowley's drawing of noodles held by chopsticks, and it's easier to remember which symbol means te when you picture a telephone pole. It's hard to do Rowley's book justice with words, since the visual element is what makes it tick. He does a wonderful job, blending insight, imagination, and drawing technique, in a book that far surpasses the old rote method, making kanji learning both appealing and accessible. --Stephanie Gold

    Copyright

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    How does one learn kanji, the characters of written Japanese? The traditional approach is rote memorization. Japanese children write each kanji hundreds of times at their desks, and eventually they are acquired. Michael Rowley offers a different way, a mnemonic-association approach that provides a hook on which to hang the meaning and retrieve it easily when the kanji comes into view. The concept is simple: each character is represented under the word or concept it stands for (such as turf, bamboo, eat, or duty), followed by the pronunciations of the word in Chinese and Japanese, and a drawing that captures the meaning and resembles the character enough so that it'll come to mind whenever the kanji is seen. Organized thematically in chapters such as "Power," "Places," "Tools," "The World," "Food," "People," and "The Body," Rowley's book lets you learn the root symbols before teaching the words that add to them for further meanings. For example, the character for water is a splatter of three dashes that Rowley pictures as three splashing water drops. Later, you see that steam, float, boil, dirt, and bathe all build on the water character. For steam, there's the water character plus a series of lines that Rowley exaggerates to resemble swirling, vapory tendrils, and the association helps. Building on units of memory and relationship, recall is aided considerably by the simple yet evocative drawings. Rowley even manages to help with the hiragana and katakana syllabaries, providing appealing pictures that look a bit like the letters in question and begin with the same sounds. So the na letter looks like a knot, nu resembles Rowley's drawing of noodles held by chopsticks, and it's easier to remember which symbol means te when you picture a telephone pole. It's hard to do Rowley's book justice with words, since the visual element is what makes it tick. He does a wonderful job, blending insight, imagination, and drawing technique, in a book that far surpasses the old rote method, making kanji learning both appealing and accessible. --Stephanie Gold

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    14K views213 pages

    Kanji Pict-O-Graphix Over 1,000 Japanese Kanji and Kana Mnemonics

    Uploaded by

    Asma
    How does one learn kanji, the characters of written Japanese? The traditional approach is rote memorization. Japanese children write each kanji hundreds of times at their desks, and eventually they are acquired. Michael Rowley offers a different way, a mnemonic-association approach that provides a hook on which to hang the meaning and retrieve it easily when the kanji comes into view. The concept is simple: each character is represented under the word or concept it stands for (such as turf, bamboo, eat, or duty), followed by the pronunciations of the word in Chinese and Japanese, and a drawing that captures the meaning and resembles the character enough so that it'll come to mind whenever the kanji is seen. Organized thematically in chapters such as "Power," "Places," "Tools," "The World," "Food," "People," and "The Body," Rowley's book lets you learn the root symbols before teaching the words that add to them for further meanings. For example, the character for water is a splatter of three dashes that Rowley pictures as three splashing water drops. Later, you see that steam, float, boil, dirt, and bathe all build on the water character. For steam, there's the water character plus a series of lines that Rowley exaggerates to resemble swirling, vapory tendrils, and the association helps. Building on units of memory and relationship, recall is aided considerably by the simple yet evocative drawings. Rowley even manages to help with the hiragana and katakana syllabaries, providing appealing pictures that look a bit like the letters in question and begin with the same sounds. So the na letter looks like a knot, nu resembles Rowley's drawing of noodles held by chopsticks, and it's easier to remember which symbol means te when you picture a telephone pole. It's hard to do Rowley's book justice with words, since the visual element is what makes it tick. He does a wonderful job, blending insight, imagination, and drawing technique, in a book that far surpasses the old rote method, making kanji learning both appealing and accessible. --Stephanie Gold

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 213
    eT O:'GRAPHIX OVER 1,000 JAPANESE KANJI AND KANA MNEMONICS, Michael Rowley | |] tally, Cao Contents INTRODUCTION KANA .. The Sun ... The Moon The Day 20 Tine ae) Wind, Rain, & ‘Clouds see 2h Woter Wosh . Fire... Mouniains & Vale Sones Cave (CHAPTER 2: FOOD csessrestseneesrenens Field & Plant ae Rice FT en nnnrnr ence 52 Wine nnn 54 Tray ene 55 Met. 56 ‘CHAPTER 3: ANIMALS . ‘Cow, Pig, & Sheep . Hors0 onsen 60 Bligh cicero aan a2 Snakes & Birds. 63 Plumage .. 64 Heron’ on 66 DOG oven 107 Forest Animals son 6B Sea Creatures 70 CHAPTER 4: PEOPLE sarsenssrnenennetnene 71 People 2 arsonist eaten aattctaadis deere 7a POpUIDCE nn 7 People’s Burdens ... 7 Woman & Man oon. 80 Ma (rtage Snceuiusaneiaitenntcittceinnst RZ Family retort epee | Self : 86 CHAPTER 5: BODY sessessnnensnnnnmenees 87 Body 88 Flesh & Bone ... . 90 SiN oss : % Tooth, Fang, & Claw 3 Heart. oa love a ones 9 Hote n 7 Head, Neck, & Hoir — %8 Eye 100 Bart sntiriaer 101 Mouth 102 Hand 104 HOU Me greiccoaeeeen sett e ralenut nana TOT, CONTENTS Reach “ seeseeenee 108 Give 109 leg 10 Stand n2 CHAPTER 6: SPIRIT na SPAR iach cesieteaanisei aed fal esau eee Seg Dead Bodies ... a alanis cetacean PO Post 120 Temple 122 Shrine 123 Religion 124 CHAPTER 135 Money on : 126 Wealth snes 128 Master ...... 130 King .occssnmnnnnnnsnnnnnnnennn 11 Power 192 Soldier enn 133 (Never Budge an) Inch von 194 Enclosed - os veseos 136 Attack sanenansenstnnten seve 138 Strike with a Stick seseeeee 140 a2 va ua as ua 150 182 154 156 158 Positions 140 Thread Baskets Needles Cloth Knife Equipment Brooms Build .. Building & Roof Shelter (CHAPTER 11: JOURNEY ..... Move .. Escape .. Boot Cort Road Crash! Stop & Start Again. Come nner 1198 194

    You might also like