alt Hacker NewsThis is a hilariously common thing with studiers of Asian languages. There are countless posts with people spending years, even more than a decade, just trying to memorize every single kanji and how to write it before even beginning vocabulary or basic grammar, then lamenting how difficult the language is and how they can't pass kindergarten level tests. So then they spend loads of money on apps, make custom tools, and find countless other ways to burn time.
Meanwhile others read books and get pretty good at their language of choice in a couple years.
Replies
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47804903 - they can speak it, but not read it.
The polyglot og Chaz Freeman is interviewed on the CGTN YouTube channel and has amusing thumbnail sketches on his language learning journey.
I agree completely. I will focus of Japanese because it’s the language I have experience with.
With a good order (RTK), optimal reviews (SRS) and putting 30 minutes a day it is possible to learn keyword to Kanji writing in a couple of months to one year. Make it two if you are a busy person. After that you need 10 minutes to maintain the knowledge per day. (I’m assuming 2200 Kanji).
People that did that successfully will recommend it to be done as early as possible as they know the boost in learning it provides.
I think it’s a trap, because it’s possible to get to a very useful level in the language while ignoring Kanji, and most people will be perfectly happy staying there. At that point you will have a much better idea if you really need to go all the way.
I'm at HSK3 level and struggle to find things to read outside of my actual textbooks with precisely-calibrated texts. If I can't read am average billboard, what should I read to improve?
Lived in Taiwan for years while studying traditional Chinese. This is spot-on. There’s this bizarre almost Pokémon level obsession (gotta catch'em all!) among foreign language learners with a STEM background where they fixate on amassing huge numbers of “memorized words.” Learning words in isolation is exactly what you don’t want to do, you need to see them in their context.
It’s like thinking you can get good at chess by just memorizing how each piece moves. You need the board, the surrounding "context", and not just study in isolation.