Specs
Commonly Paired With
Reviews
(4.55/5)Solid reference book
It's been a little while since I worked my way through this book; I used it to build up my vocabulary by adding flashcards of each example word given for each kanji as I read through the entries. I remember it being a solid resource with the caveat that I did find the occasional vocab error. I was going to list one or two errors as examples, but flipping through my copy doesn't yield any results, so I either didn't mark them down in the book as I found them (and/) or they're so infrequent that a casual flip didn't surface anything.
The best kanji textbook, hands-down
Despite not being quite perfect, I think KKLC is the closest we've come to an ideal kanji learning method. It combines the best attributes of other systems into one complete system:
- Like Heisig's Remembering the Kanji, it teaches you to look at kanji as combinations of simple components.
- Like Henshall's The Complete Guide to Japanese Kanji, it uses vivid image-based mnemonics.
- Like Kanji in Context, it teaches you vocabulary alongside the kanji.
- Like P.G. O'Neill's Essential Kanji, it only teaches vocab that use kanji you already know.
And unlike any other resource, it is accompanied by graded readers using authentic native material, so that from the very first day you can practice reading kanji without furigana.
You might be thinking "this sounds a lot like WaniKani" and it is; so why would someone choose KKLC instead of WaniKani? Honestly if you're already doing WK and it's working for you, keep doing that. If instead you think WK sounds great but you just can't handle the subscription costs or the rigid schedule, KKLC is a cheaper alternative that gives you complete control over how quickly (or slowly) you want to learn new kanji.
But KKLC is, admittedly, not quite ideal. In my opinion, the book would be even better if the learning order prioritized the most common and useful vocabulary first in order to get the reader to an elementary level of literacy as quickly as possible. In other words, I think the book should be designed so that if the reader only has the fortitude to get through the first 1,000 kanji before quitting, they are still getting the bulk of the value of the book, and they have enough of a foundation to move on to native material immersion. Or, to put it even more briefly and in gamer terminology, enable the reader to low percent speedrun kanji. But this is a tall order and probably not feasible, so even despite this I still whole-heartedly recommend KKLC.
First - why this book? Because it has the best mnemonics for associating kanji with meanings that I could find.
There are already 2 good reviews, I'll just add some thoughts on how to use it as a beginner as it's worth being aware this books is conceived for people who already have an intermediate level of Japanese and who are going to move relatively quickly through learning all kanji in the book.
There are two use cases: You're at the intermediate+ level of Japanese but have weak kanji knowledge or big gaps in your kanji knowledge. Then use the book as described in the intro from start to finish, or however you like really.
However, for beginners, the vocab included is too advanced and the ordering isn't the most useful for you imo. So you can't easily follow as a complete beginner from entry #1 to #2300. But as a complete beginner, you can use it as a great reference for mnemonics in any order that you like until your language level is high enough that it makes sense to go through the book in order as intended. You need to have gone through the first 50-100 entries in order to get the most basic mnemonics, but after that, you can normally find new ones related to a later entry in the entries preceding your target entry, or he will reference it.
A the very beginner stages (level 0), e.g., someone learning grammar with Genki I, then I suggest getting the related kanji workbook Kanji Look and Learn (KLL). Learn kanji in the order of Genki and KLL, cross-referencing them here. There are lists online and it's easy to set that up in Chase Colburn's kanji study app. Use the kanji reading exercises in Genki and KLL until you can read at Natively 20-23, from that point, the KKLC graded reader sets are going to be brilliant for you.
At some point, (for me it happened when I was comfortably reading at Natively 23+, had N3 grammar down, and >3000 words solid), it was more effective to then go back to my earliest unread entry and go through this book in the order presented. Also at this level, the related graded reader sets (GRS) became useful.
Even then, as you come across other kanji you need to know, e.g., from N3, or Grade 4 lists, then cross reference them, read the related entries/mnemonics of surrounding entries with related kanji, and there you go. Then go back to going through in order.
A note about a compatible apps There are some fantastic resources that couple well with this approach. Chase Colburn's Kanji Study App can sort kanji according to KKLC and has integrated the KKLC graded reading sets (add-on purchases). And I could sort in other orders (JLPT, school grades, etc, or make custom sets). Also there is single click anki card creation for all kanji / words / sentences. Furthermore, the app has integration with Satori reader, so as you mark off kanji as known, then the furigana will be removed on the Satori app (also 100% highly recommended).
Update: Satori Reader now has integrated support for KKLC, so if you are learning kanji in order and don't want the above Kanji Study integration, you can just enter your kklc entry number and it will remove furigana for all previous kanji.