KanjiPro

Japan Day in Auckland (NZ) is this Sunday. A free event for all who want a taste of Japan. KanjiPro and the team will be there too, where teachers can get a sneak preview of our software product that we have been working on and hope to launch in institutions later this year. Michael Mackinven will also be there to answer your questions!

Japan Day 2015 @ Auckland, New Zealand The Japan Day 2015 is the biggest one-day Japanese cultural event in New Zealand welcoming everyone to experience, learn, watch and taste the culture of Japan under one roof.

Michael Mackinven and the team were at Japan Day in Auckland, New Zealand to spread the word of KanjiPro. Thank you to all who came to our stall and a special thanks to all of you who purchased a copy of KanjiPro. We will be holding webinars in March/April so if you did not leave your contact details please PM us or email [email protected] if you would like to take part.

A special announcement to our New Zealand followers in and around Auckland. Michael Mackinven and members of the KanjiPro team will be at Japan Day on Sunday February 23. "KanjiPro" will be on sale for a heavily discounted price and you'll also have the chance to take part in some interactive learning and have a word with Michael.

Do you prefer starry nights or sunny days?

It was great to see so many people contributing with their original mnemonics. Here is the KanjiPro version that we came up with for 星 (STAR).

Today we introduce two kanji, 生(LIFE) and 日(SUN). Combine them together and you create 星(STAR). What could be a mnemonic to remember 星?

What is the MEANING of the SOUND of your HEART?

We’re excited to be back in 2014 after a refreshing break.

Today's kanji is「 意 」which means "MEANING". It is made up of two components, 音 (SOUND) and 心 (HEART), both of which we introduced in previous lessons.

Using the words MEANING, SOUND and HEART, in this order, can think of a mnemonic to help you remember 意?

We'll post our mnemonic and images in a few days. In the meantime, we encourage you all to give it a go and create your own mnemonic. COMMENT below with your mnemonic.

A quick note to let you all know that we'll be back with our lessons in just over a week once we get back from our New Year break.

We wish you all the best for a smooth start to 2014!

See you soon!

IMPORTANT note to KanjiPro users:

Please treat all stories in KanjiPro as fiction. While KanjiPro pictographs and components are aligned with true character etymology we always give precedence to a set of rules that are based on simplicity which teach correct stroke order and incorporate kinaesthetic learning. For higher study, we encourage students to delve into academic debates on character etymology. At that time, it is our hope that students will be pleasantly surprised at the accuracy of KanjiPro and where KanjiPro deviates from the actual origin - that students will be able to appreciate why.

Well done to all who provided a mnemonic for 「音」!

Our KanjiPro mnemonic is below.

Today is YOUR chance to create a mnemonic to help you remember the kanji 「音」which means "SOUND".

音 is made up of TWO components:

i) STAND - from a picture of a person STANDING on the ground.
ii) SUN - from a picture of the SUN.

COMMENT below with your mnemonic to help you remember 音. The mnemonic must use the keywords "SOUND", "STAND" and "SUN" in this ORDER. An accompanying story would be great too!

It's time to let your imaginations go wild!

Tomorrow we will be asking YOU to create a mnemonic to help you learn kanji using the KanjiPro method. For our new readers, the KanjiPro rules are:

1) The KEYWORD is the FIRST word in the mnemonic followed by, in stroke order, the COMPONENTS.
2) You can add words such as is/are/do/does/and/the etc but the general rule is to include no other NOUNS, ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS or VERBS.

Below is an example of the kanji for "CAPITAL" which is made up of the components (in stroke order) of "LID", "MOUTH" and "SMALL"
We use these words, in order, to form the mnemonic, "CAPITAL has LIDS on the MOUTHS of the SMALL".