October 28, 2021

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.

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