Character Recognition



Learning Japanese kanji is like meeting new people. At first this neighborhood is full of complete strangers, but we will begin to remember the faces we've seen before as we go about life.

Introductions are made, and we hear the names of a bunch of characters, then quickly forget. In order to really understand a character, we need to see them in context. So we watch what they do in various situations - how they work with others.

Time goes by and the neighborhood seems less strange. We've finally learned some names, and know several characters well enough to guess what will happen in new situations.

Finally, we begin to notice familiar details in new characters - patterns that hint at meaning and pronunciation. Kanji do not mind being grouped.

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