JapanForum.com  


Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
(#1 (permalink))
Old
rasdf (Offline)
New to JF
 
Posts: 3
Join Date: Jul 2011
Beginner question about kanji - 07-22-2011, 05:44 PM

What can I do if I stumble upon a kanji that I just don't know what it means? And of course I don't know the hiragana for it either.
Reply With Quote
(#2 (permalink))
Old
KyleGoetz's Avatar
KyleGoetz (Offline)
Attorney at Flaw
 
Posts: 2,965
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Texas
07-22-2011, 06:01 PM

You look it up in the dictionary. There are a number of kanji lookup methods. WWWJDIC: Kanji Selection

The "selection type" drop-down lists a number of lookup methods.

Now, if it's on the computer, the easiest way is, within Firefox or Chrome, use the add-on Rikai-chan or Rikai-kun, respectively, and just mouseover the kanji.

I often use my Kanji Learner's Dictionary with the SKIP method, but I also use my electronic dictionary to look some up, too, first. There are, as I said, many different methods.

Now, if you mean without using a reference, you can't really know, but sometimes you can guess at its meaning or pronunciation. Meaning through context. Pronunciation sometimes through parts of the kanji. Oftentimes, parts of a kanji hint at its pronunciation. You will discover this over time, which will help in learning more kanji. I noticed this really started paying off once I knew about a thousand kanji already. Learning the reading of the next thousand was much easier because of this.

Last edited by KyleGoetz : 07-22-2011 at 06:04 PM.
Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




Copyright 2003-2006 Virtual Japan.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.0.0 RC6