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The Kanji Code

The Kanji Code

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The Kanji Code is a textbook with a systematic method of learning ON readings.

09/07/2024

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported this page.
Unfortunately as a busy teacher I don’t currently have time to maintain the page. So I am going to deactivate it this week. The website will remain active. https://thekanjicode.com/the-kanji-code-study-guide/

Photos from The Kanji Code's post 09/10/2023

I recently had the honour of presenting a guest lecture for the Helsinki Summer University. I shared some of my personal Japanese learning journey, and some of the key concepts from my Japanese textbook The Kanji Code. The students had already been exposed to my list of phonetic components, which featured as a link on their Moodle learning system. It was a pleasure to present and field questions from the switched on Finnish students. I look forward to presenting again next year. Special thanks to Outi Smedlund for facilitating the event!
 


#漢字 #日本語 #日本語能力試験
#日本語勉強

14/09/2023

I'll be voting YES in the upcoming Australia referendum. Because I want to live in a country that recognises 65,000 years of Indigenous culture in our constitution. Listening through a Voice means we'll work together to create a better future. Want this selfie? https://imvoting.yes23.com.au

22/08/2023

Last week I introduced the idea that there are some visual patterns that link kanji shape and ON reading or sound.

I noticed that a number of high frequency kanji with the ON reading SHI are simple, with only a few strokes, and have a symmetrical or centred
look.

All of these kanji have the reading SHI.

Can you see the similarities?

I’ve recently started studying Chinese on Duolingo. It’s been fascinating to see the links between the meaning and sound of kanji and Mandarin hanzi characters.

You can read more about visual patterns in kanji ON readings in my book The Kanji Code. Link in bio.

#漢字 #日本語 #日本語能力試験
#日本語勉強

15/08/2023

Is it possible to ‘see’ kanji ON readings? The usual answer to this question is “No”.

But, if you sit down and start analysing kanji for a few hours (or weeks or months!), you might be surprised to find that there are indeed some visible patterns related to how a kanji looks and its ON (Chinese) reading.

Warning: These patterns may be hard to see if you tend toward the literal and away from lateral or creative thinking. Arty Japanese learners who like to make leaps of connection will probably find these patterns the most useful.

For example, if you look closely at these four kanji you will see a square shape. It could be that the kanji itself is a square shape, such as口. Or the square could be the overall shape between the outside lines, such as with 工 and 向 In the case of 高 the square is within the lines on the bottom half. And of course, the shape 向 - which contains a small square - can be found on the bottom half of 高 (apart from the little diagonal line at the top).

Here’s the headline: all of these kanji have the ON reading of KOU. Is this just chance or coincidence? Or is there in fact some method to the madness of kanji ON readings after all?!

Either way once I identified this pattern it really helped me memorize the ON readings of these four kanji characters. It also helped me to create associations between these kanji, which is an important step when learning a new language and especially when learning a complex script like kanji.

And don’t you think that the reading KOU fits the shape? It’s a hard, rigid sound to go with an angular, rigid shape.



Can you see it now?

What patterns have you noticed between kanji shape and reading?

You can read more about visual patterns in kanji ON readings in my book The Kanji Code.

https://thekanjicode.com/the-kanji-code-study-guide/
#漢字 #日本語 #日本語能力試験
#日本語勉強

09/08/2023

Could I please ask you a small favour? As a micro publisher, I don’t have a lot of sway to get my books on bookstore shelves around the world. If you happen to be in a bookshop that sells Japanese textbooks, would you mind asking at the information desk if they have The Kanji Code by Natalie Hamilton? You don’t need to put your name down or promise to buy it. But maybe if a few people ask if they have it, they will be more likely to stock it. If it’s on the bookshelves then more people will see it, flick through and possibly buy a copy. And if you see it on the shelf, I’d love it if you would snap a picture and post it here with the location.

I had a pinch me moment recently when I saw my book on the shelf at Kinokuniya in Sydney (and I didn’t even plant it there myself this time!). This is truly a dream come true! But I’m pretty sure most of the major bookstores around the world aren’t stocking it yet.. or I would be selling a lot more copies!

13/07/2023

Seventeen years on and analysing kanji in a cafe is still one of my happy places. Where do you like to study kanji? #漢字 #日本語 #日本語能力試験
#日本語勉強

08/07/2023

Currently #1 in Japanese Children’s Books on Amazon. The ratings are holding pretty firm too after 78 reviews. #漢字 #日本語 #日本語能力試験
#日本語勉強

20/12/2021

We're now displaying the on readings of phonetic components in katakana as well as romaji. I know this has been a point of contention in the past . (BTW if you're interested in hearing the reasoning behind the choice of romaji, there's a blog post on the website). Are you open to using romaji to learn on readings, or are you a kana purist?
https://thekanjicode.com/list-of-phonetic-components/

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