i was just wondering what methods you all use to learn new hiragana/katakana? i find it a bit difficult to start ingraining them into my head. i also find it quite challenging to use the mnemonics as, they are tedious to memorize. thank you for your help.
Start using them. Write your name in all variations using kana, both kinds. Write down new words you learn. Read whatever you can. Song lyrics are a great place to start.
it may be a bit obvious, but learn new simple words with them helped me a lot, creating my own associations instead lf boring mnemonic. even as an intermediary with hiragana very well stuck in my head, when i see ね i'll always think "neko. haha, you know, because it has a tail!"
I learned them by using flashcards and just flipping through them every time I went to the bathroom lol. Is that gross? 😂 I also recommend reading kids books if you can get your hands on them. Super simple vocab and it's all in hiragana. Good luck ✌️
Adding Japanese to your phone's keyboard helps a lot as it's the same sounds to the different characters of hiragana and katakana (and you get a little glode button to change back). Then you can change renshuu's settings so that you have to type in the characters when you get questions wrong so then you're hearing, seeing and using them all at the same time. (おはよう)
For my Japanese class we had to learn Hiragana and Katakana in a week... which is totally doable, but I would recommend to take your time especially with the basics.
What helped me was memorizing the chart.. like a i u e o, ka ki ku ke ko.... and then write them down over and over again. Make sure to actually write them down on paper. It's pretty boring, but a great way to memorize them. After you know how to write them start using Flashcards. Once you feel like you can write and read them I would start with easy hiragana and katakana words. Look up words that you have an interest in. Way easier to learn something you like 👍
I also would recommend starting with hiragana before you start with katakana.
During one week, all my freetime was dedicated to handwrite the kana chart. For exemple, when u take public transport, you write it. You bored during a lesson. You write it. You're watching a boring movie. You write. You watch a Naruto filler episode. You write it multiple time.
The repetition is the key. I also do that for kanjis.
Seconding what everyone else is saying to write them down over and over again. There are printable worksheets online that show you the stroke order and let you trace as well, if you think that might be helpful for you :)
One of the additional assignments was practice writing the kanas. First it was with our names, then some basic sentences, and then simple composition of about less than 100 characters.
One of the best way I find to memorize is to build many associations with the thing we are trying to learn, in addition to rote-learning memorization. As you might have realized from renshuu, there are many study vectors, which hints to how learning and memorization works.
Although writing may not always be needed, it may be a good way to practice.
I find that something like flashcard/anki helps with the different study vectors with a few dimensions: - visual - hiragana - katakana - romaji - one simple word that starts with the kana - one personal mnemonic (may separate list for hiragana and katagana) - audio (may be substituted with romaji for english speakers)
So considering the Gojuon, picking only the modern standard basic kana, you will have 46 characters, or 46 items for each of the dimension, for a total of 46 x 5 = 230 items
A simple way is to pick a one-to-one match e.g. hiragana-to-romaji, mnemonic-to-katakana, romaji-to-katakana, katakana-to-hiragana.
if you are not able to find a suitable tool, or make your own flash cards, then using a simple list with a random picker can also help.
Example list items for one character, for random picker: - の - ノ - no - のびた (doraemon's nobita) - bad pretzel (hiragana mnemonic) - bendy north-eastern cheese stick (katagana mnemonic)
But you could probably try what renshuu already have to offer in "quick draw" and "japanese basics".
https://www.tofugu.com/japanes... Tofugu has a guide to learn hiragana and katakana. I used their mnemonic guide to help me remember both, it really helped stick in my head. They also have a free pdf workbook where I printed out the sheets and practiced visualizing each character and wrote them out. They also have a quiz tool which I used only after familiarizing myself with kana. https://www.tofugu.com/japanes...
Alongside Tofugu I used Duolingo to help me practice what I’ve learn since it tells you right away if you’re getting the answers correct or not. I find Duolingo helped with kana because there was so much simple practice to do.
I only downloaded Renshuu recently but there is also a hirigana and a katakana schedule you can add which does the same as Duolingo. There is also a feature under settings to add a voice so you hear the pronunciation after each question which I found helpful to make sure I was saying it correctly. I’ve been only been using Renshuu now to help review kana everyday.
