What would everyone recommend for someone in the west to learn Kanji? Is there any book somebody would recommend with a complete set of kanji that are used? I've found one with 2,100 of them, but I feel like that I would be missing some, especially if I were to read old historical stories or even play some games based on japanese history. Does anyone have a book to rexommend, or would the book with 2,136 kanji be good enough? I want to make sure I can read it all. Thanks!
You could also use a dictionary when required. I don't think everyone would memorize all kanji characters.
@sp193 I'll look into getting a kanji dictionary. Thanks for the idea. Well, people probably could memorize them all, but it would take a long time.
One thing with language learning you get used to is there's no "learning it all." You're going to be learning for the rest of your life. If you're just starting out then don't put too much pressure on yourself. Kanji is most easily learned through noticing patterns (the radicals primarily) and repetition in seeing it in stuff you read daily. If you're habitually looking at historical stories or games based on such then you'll probably pick it up by looking up the stuff you don't know each time. The only secret to learning is just repetition, really.
Try some children's books in Japanese. But I'll warn you...I studied for a bit and enjoyed it, but unless you're using it daily, I would forget most of it after a while.
Living in Japan won't help you learn Kanji. Not enough to make a difference. It's daily repetition, and by that, I mean writing each one a few times a day, every fucking day of the week for about 2 years. Use flashcards... and don't forget to learn actual words with them (not just the kanji). When you get a decent amount of vocab under your belt, go the manga route but don't ever stop w/ the flash cards. Note: I can't write shit anymore by hand, and it's a common issue. It's not really necessary though now, except for school. The phone/computer does the writing for you.
Download Anki and find a good kanji deck that appeals to your study style. Aim for 10-20 new kanji per day, depending on how much time you have for it. Expect to use Anki for many years if you really want to remember them.
