Kanji Handbook: (Jlpt All Levels) This Japanese Character Dictionary and Kanji Textbook Uses an Innovative and Effective System

1189 Pages·2013·14.832 MB·English

by  Vee David

The
Kanji
Handbook

The
Kanji
Handbook
Vee David
TUTTLE PUBLISHING
Tokyo •Rutland,Vermont •Singapore
FrontMatter-1.0_KanjiHB.q6 8/17/06 2:33 PM Page iv
Published by Tuttle Publishing,an imprint of
Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd,with editorial offices at
364 Innovation Drive,North Clarendon,Vermont 05759 and
Copyright © 2006 Vee David
All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying,recording,or by any information storage and
retrieval system,without prior written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Library of Congress Control Number:200629281
Printed in Singapore
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North America,Latin America and Europe
Tuttle Publishing,
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TUTTLE PUBLISHING®is a registered trademark of Tuttle Publishing,
a division of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
想magination is more 要mportant than 知nowledge...
— Albert Einstein
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Chapter
Preface
Linguistic scholars largely agree that Japanese as not to confuse them. Diligent practice of writing the
is the most difficult second language to learn. Veemuenics will serve the purpose of differentiating
With four different writing systems, those eager between similar-looking Kanji characters.
to learn Japanese have a long and demanding journey Another major hindrance for Kanji beginners is the
to undergo. Thus, the Kanji Handbook was conceived lack of adequate learning tools. To find a Kanji
to map out learning strategies to systematically guide character in the dictionary, one must know the Kanji
learners from beginner to advanced level in Kanji character’s stroke order, radical, ON-yomi or KUN-
literacy. Unique learning tools were designed for this yomi readings. These prerequisites make it frustrating
book to resolve the many aggravations commonly and utterly confusing for beginners. How does an
encountered by Kanji learners. All 1,945 Jōyō Kanji absolute beginner search for豊and農without knowing
characters—the most commonly used Kanji characters anything? To that end, the Flip-It Index was created to
as officially prescribed by the Japanese Ministry of allow absolute beginners to search for a Kanji character's
Education since 1981—can be learned through this meaning without knowing any basics whatsoever. To
book. The Kanji Handbook was fashioned to offer an use the Flip-It Index, all one has to do is decide if a Kanji
end to some of the most discouraging problems facing character is flippable, looking the same when inverted
those who study Kanji characters. The biggest struggle horizontally, non-flippable or partially-flippable to a
in learning the 1,945 Kanji characters is the mission certain degree. This simple, artistic way of finding the
of memorizing them, their shades of meaning, myriad meaning of a Kanji character is a revolutionary learning
pronunciations and compounds. To encourage memory tool designed to take the prerequisite guess work out of
retention, all Kanji characters in this book appear as Kanji study. Finally, a new indexing system was created
KanjiHybrids, or the combination of a Kanji character for this book to address some inadequacies. Usually,
and its English meaning to form one, integral and Kanji indices only list the page number in which to find
indivisible unit. In addition, the pioneering concept of each Kanji character, without the English core meaning.
Veemuenics—where similar looking Kanji characters are This process of first finding a Kanji character in the
placed as KanjiHybrids in a rhyming English sentence or index, and then having to search for its corresponding
phrase—will further help learners remember each Kanji page to know the core meaning, is time consuming
character and the slight differences between them. For and cumbersome. Additionally, sometimes learners
example: confuse similar-looking Kanji characters and look up the
KanjiHybrid: 皇mperor,星tar, 星lanet wrong page, and have to begin all over again. These
Veemuenic: Roman皇mperors shine like annoyances are quickly resolved in this book's indices
星tars even from星lanets afar... of all 1,945 Kanji characters together with their English
The concept of Veemuenics was created to help core meaning and corresponding page number.
learners differentiate between the similar-looking Kanji
characters nearly undistinguishable to beginners. Some These innovative problem-solving novelties make the
Kanji characters may only differ because of a dash Kanji Handbook radically different from other Kanji
or a stroke, or a radical. In many cases, these slight books. The study of Kanji characters has never been
differences only become visible after years of careful easier or enjoyable. With the publication of this book,
study and consistent use. How does one discern the learners will ideally find their journey to be a rewarding
difference between皇 and星? To manage this problem, experience, thereby enriching Kanji characters as one of
each Kanji character presented in this book has a the most powerful mediums of world civilization.
corresponding list of similar-looking Kanji characters
vii
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To My Loving Mother...
In Collaboration

with
西西浦浦勝勝男男
Katsuo Nishiura
Juri Kathryn
Sara Marina
Yuko Hirota
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