i have been learning japanese for last 2 month constently but before that i used to study on my own with texbook. and before when i was learning vocab i always tried to learn it via writing it down and i felt like knowing how to write kanji was so important but is it?i burnt out twice because of that i was forgetting how to write kanji. after a week i completely forgot how to write around 300-400 vocab (written in kanji) and now i stopped writing completely. my goal is passing jlpt N2 exam in 3 years and wanna go to college in japan, school requires jlpt n2 at least. i have no idea if i am doing it wrong. currently my study materials are; Wanikani for kanji, Bunpro for grammer and vocab(n5 desks) right now i dont practice reading and listening tbh, is there anything that i am doing wrong or any better way or advice for me?
There is no perfect answer here, but what I have to offer is a potential reframing of your mindset.
You say your goals are to pass N2 and go to college in Japan. You need to ask yourself what those goals demand of you.
For N2, the focus is on being able to understand - can you read the questions / listen to them and interpret them correctly? Can you understand the correct answer based on what you read? These are receptive skills. If your only focus was N2, you technically do not have to worry about writing anything on paper.
However, you also want to go to college in Japan. Depending on the program this includes not only receptive skills but productive skills. You will almost certainly need to be able to hand write in Japanese, you will need to be able to produce comprehensible answers orally, in short you will need, at the very least, an intermediate all-around understanding of Japanese.
Goal 1 is easier than goal 2, and what I’ve described for goal 2 is perhaps only true if you intend to do a Japanese language program. There are maybe programs taught in English that would require less of you, but I am not familiar enough with the system.
Basically, you need to take some time to understand what your goals actually entail, and then you can ask yourself if you’re studying effectively.
In my opinion, based on what you’ve described, I would study to pass the N4 exam and then reexamine my study habits/ability level after I’d passed it.
actually the program that i wanna follow is washoku which is traditional japanese culinary art program and in first years the lessons are 70% practice and i am not sure about writing i mean it would be much easier if i just use laptop but yeah idk if while living in japan i encounter with a situation and i must write things down. but tbh right now my only focus is passing exam and saving money( a bit expensive) XD. and could you be more spesific about this part? “I would study to pass the N4 exam and then reexamine my study habits/ability level after I’d passed it.”
I would say yes, writing is important. Especially if you say you want to stay in Japan long term (college, etc.) You will most certainly need to know how to write for the kanji kentei exams if you choose to do them in addition to the JLPT. I dont believe the kanji kentai is required for any program I know if but it would certainly not hurt anything. Also, for college, and general life you will be expected to write to a certain degree for things like filling out medical forms, paying bills, signing up for classes, etc. I lived there for a time and was expected to fill out these exact things. I was able to use my phone to help me out but it was a huge inconvenience for myself and those around me.
That said, I have been doing things such as picking a random sentence and translating it to Japanese (by hand) to the best of my ability, to include kanji. I have a spouse who is a native speaker so I can have them check my handwriting out, but you may benefit from posting in various threads or downloading kanji apps do use on your phone so you dont forget. I have had luck with ringotan on android.
thank you. are you still living in japan? and what level of writing are we talking about? tha all 2200 joyo kanji/ then kill me but if its like most common words etc. i think you are right living in japan isnt all about school. can you be more spesific about what level am expected to able to write?
I lived there from early 2014 to late 2015. I had my spouse but if I didn’t have her, I would have needed things like my Japanese address, work address, Japanese telephone, guarantor info if you need one for things like a loan or a lease. If you have certain medical conditions that would be beneficial to know as well. I remember a ton of things were incredibly analog and paper based, and from my friends who still live there, many things are still that way. But your phone will be able to help you a ton. If you can afford it, I would recommend getting a 電子辞書。They are geared toward Japanese people learning English, but they are perfectly fine the other way around as well. Using dictionary apps like, Imiwa, Takoboto, or the website jisho.org to learn the stroke order and stuff is extremely helpful.
wel i dont really have any problem with stroke orders en writing i used to practice my writing a lot but the problem is i dont remember the kanji unless i see it i can use in while speaking and read, understand it but i can not write them from memory because there is so much similar kanji that i ended up mix them.
I live in Japan and can understand/speak/read Japanese at a level more advanced than JLPTN1 and I work in Japanese… but I can barely handwrite anything (except my address!). And it is a problem and a barrier for me, which I’m now studying to correct. I work in a predominantly manual area and that actually means that my lack of handwriting ability is even more of an issue. If I worked in an office all the time I’d be on a computer and could type which would be no problem!
However, I am definitely not telling you that you must learn to write by hand or you’ll never succeed. I fully agree with what is written above - that you need to learn to write if that will be required for your goals. I didn’t realise it was required for mine, and I now regret neglecting that in favour of other skills, because it would have been much more efficient to learn along the way! Why don’t you contact the college you want to apply to, and ask them if they would require a handwriting test/qualification for entry?
If you do wish to learn to write, I recommend using the kanji kentei text books (even if you can’t take the test in your country) and practice materials, rather than those designed for foreign learners. The ones aimed at Japanese elementary school children are great! That way you encounter lots of basic everyday vocabulary. I also recommend writing a diary every day ( a couple of lines is fine), even if at first it’s 95% hiragana/katakana and only a couple of kanji. And even if what you’re writing is nonsense designed to use a kanji you’ve just learned!
Finally, I recommend taking it quite slowly, because recall takes a LOT longer to master than recognition, which is probably why you are feeling overwhelmed. For example, I can read the newspaper but if you ask me to tell which kanji make up even the most basic words without any visual help, I probably couldn’t tell you! Which し is in 仕事 and which is in 使用？ I can type it but can I remember it when I’m looking at a blank piece of paper… nope! 
If you do decide to write, I suggest putting some effort into making your handwriting look neat. In my experience Japanese people judge someone’s character based on handwriting. You’ll get a pass for sloppy handwriting if you look foreign, of course, but if your handwriting is neat (and you get a chance to show it off), people will like you more for it, doubly so as a foreigner.
You can google what the handwritten kanji are supposed to look like, as it can be pretty different from the computer font.
Important? Depends on goals.
Valuable? Yes. Hardens memory. Here’s a fun graphic that explains it a bit.
Short version: comprehension and production practice both strengthen the abstract concept of the targeted knowledge. Want to remember something? Comprehend and produce it in as many ways as possible.
How valuable? Depends on your goals.
I would think this is the least convincing reason to spend extra time on handwriting. Instead of caring about what others might assume of you, focus on practicing more on the actual language.
Having said that, I do think that writing is useful regardless of your goals. At least focus on a few basic Kanji and definitely Hiragana/Katakana (if you cannot write those yet). Even if you don’t need to be able to write, it will help cement those kanji in your memory.
I’d recommend that you give yourself a bit more kindness here, because burning out without completing even N5 means that you’re pushing yourself too hard, and won’t help you hit your goals. What you’ve been trying to do is INCREDIBLY difficult, and it makes sense that you’ve been struggling with it. You should 100% give up on handwriting most kanji until you’re at a higher JLPT level at least because it will take too much time.
Handwriting kanji is not necessary for most foreigners unless they want to be translators. I have lived in Tokyo for about eight years now, and I almost never handwrite kanji. If I do, it’s my address, and even then, I can get away with romaji, or hiragana, or katakana. If you live outside of Tokyo, you’ll need to write a little more, but once you know more words, it’s easier.
If your school only requires N2, then the school very likely doesn’t require you to handwrite kanji, and if they require you to write at all, hiragana or katakana should suffice. (It’s what they do for illiterate Japanese people.) They WILL need you to listen and comprehend though, so I would focus on Comprehensible Input for your listening skills. Being able to listen and read is so much more important than handwriting kanji, because most Japanese people won’t expect you to handwrite anything.
I think a bit of perspective would help you as well… Japanese study Kanji for YEARS. From grade 1 - 6 they only learn about 1000 kanji. That’s not even 200 per year. For you to hit N2, you will need that same amount of kanji, and by your own admission, you want to do it in only three years. Do you think you can learn the sounds, learn the vocabulary, learn the readings AND learn to handwrite it in half the time of a native speaker? It would be incredibly hard, with very little pay off.
If you really care about handwriting, it’s okay to practice it and prioritize it, but be reasonable with it. Memorize the kanji with 1, 2 or 3 strokes. Assume it will take six years to learn that first 1000 kanji. Remember that the fact that you struggle with it is completely normal. Learning to handwrite is all about hours put into it - not about any innate skill or ability.
If you’re struggling to remember how to write things because – as you’ve identified – you don’t use them, I’d recommend you use them.
Get a new notebook, write “My Japanese Journal” on the front, and every day some time after you’ve studied, write a few simple sentences in Japanese using grammar and vocabulary you studied recently. So if you studied 自転車 (じてんしゃ）(bike), and the pattern Xがあります you could write a sentence like “私は青い自転車があります” (I have a blue bike). Then you get the benefit of reinforcing what you’re studying and connecting it directly to your life. Thinking about real situations and coming up with language used to talk about those situations on your own is a fundamental step in language acquisition.
If you can, something like texting or writing letters/notes to a Japanese-speaking friend would be even better, but not many people have that readily available. If you’re really serious, you could look into apps or penpal-style programs that may be available through your school.
Separately, I strongly recommend reading and listening practice. Even if you pass N2, you will be lost in Japanese-language classes if you don’t have a lot of practice listening to Japanese people speak and reading paragraphs of Japanese. Practice that mirrors the real situations you will be in is essential.
Me too. I’m glad I studied kanji because it makes learning vocab easier, but I don’t regret that I can’t write them anymore.
Writing your own example sentences using new grammer and vocab solidifies the knowlage, but I don’t do it cause it’s too hard. When I speak or text, it’s with the most basic grammar and simplest vocab.
Going to college in japan in 3 years is a balanced goal, as you keep sticking with it. If writing burns you out, then it isn’t worth it.
I’m not grace, but more specificly: First learn 1,500 words and study bunpro’s n4 and n5 grammar decks. Once you have done that (maybe 1 year?) then decrease new cards perday and spend that time studying Japanese in other ways, such as reading, listening or writing practice.
Wanikani and bunpro are good. Since your goal is to cook in Japan, I recommend cooking from Japanese recipies and adding cooking words to your vocab deck. I made this recipe on Tuesday たっぷり野菜のシェパーズパイ 作り方・レシピ | クラシル