Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. We have many students from non-kanji countries, and kanji is one of the most difficult parts of the Japanese language. They are asking, “What’s the best way to learn kanji?”
[Point 1]
Start with basic dashes and lines. All kanji, even ones that look complicated, only use six different kinds of line. Knowing basic structure makes learning kanji much easier.
1. Dashes (standing or slanted)
2. Straight lines that stop
3. Straight lines with a jump
4. Curved lines with a jump
5. Folding lines
6. Sweeping lines



[Point 2]
Pay attention to radicals, or resuable components. Most kanji are made up of a phonetic and semantic component.
Example 1: 交、校、効
Example 2: 海、洗、泳
There are also several kanji that are cominations of simpler characters.
Example 1: 木 + 木 → 林
Example 2: 山 + 石 → 岩

February 6th News, from NILS Japanese language school.