12 SUPER SITES FOR KANJI LEARNING

(All sites are linked to www.kanjiclinic.com. Check 'em out!)

Rikai.com (www.rikai.com)
An online kanji translator that will allow you to tackle Japanese Web pages. Enter the URL of the homepage you want to read, and Rikai will open it for you. Run your cursor over any kanji in the text, and its pronunciation, along with a definition in English, will appear. You can also paste-in text (such as e-mails from your Japanese friends) and Rikai will do the same kanji translation job. Seeing is believing!

Goo's Furigana Service
(http://sp.cis.iwate-u.ac.jp/sp/lesson/j/doc/furigana.html)
An easy-to-use English page for accessing "Goo's" amazing service. ("Furigana" are little hiragana written above kanji to indicate pronunciation.) Enter a Japanese URL and the page will be returned to you with furigana added to all kanji characters.

Jim Breen's Site (http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/wwwjdic.html)
Extensive online kanji dictionary, plus many other features. You can search for a character by entering its pronunciation, English keyword, or radical number; by cutting and pasting the kanji itself; or with the handy Multi-Radical Kanji look-up tool: Simply click on any of the radicals you happen to know within the desired kanji. You may also look up characters by writing them yourself with your cursor in an input window.

E-Kanji (http://www.geocities.com/easykanji)
Reading Tutor (http://language.tiu.ac.jp/index_e.html)
At these sites you can read extensively--without constantly reaching for a kanji dictionary. Essays on a variety of levels and subjects of interest to adults are provided, and every kanji they contain is hyperlinked to its prounciation and definition.

Kanji Game (http://www.msu.edu/~lakejess/kanjigame.html)
Kanji Challenge (http://webjapanese.com/wj/kanji-c)
These interactive kanji quizzes are addictive! At Kanji Game, test yourself on the general-use (approximately 1000) characters, as well as on 600 compound words. There are 67 different levels. Kanji Challenge mercilessly gives you 30 seconds each to answer an endless string of questions, set to a wide range of levels from low to the very high Kanji Otaku ("Kanji Nerd").

Java Kanji Flashcards 500 (www.nuthatch.com)
These online flashcards enable you to review the 500 most commonly occurring characters. Each card includes on/kun readings, English meanings, and common compounds, as well as a nifty animation feature demonstrating the correct stroke order. (For more extensive flashcards, see the free downloads below). Kiki's Kanji Dictionary--containing 3,401 kanji, 19,366 compound words, and a unique jump-around browsing feature--is also located at this site.

Gakushuu Anime no Yakata (http://meiko.web.infoseek.co.jp/)
Aimed at Japanese youngsters, but fun for all. Watch the components of kanji for Japanese first-, second-, and third-graders come alive on the screen. The construction of each kanji is demonstrated through animation, and is accompanied by a short script-- written in easy to understand Japanese-- which gives information on the character's evolution.

The Kanji SITE (www.kanjisite.com)
Great help in preparing for levels 2, 3, and 4 of the Japanese Proficiency Examination, held every December in 37 different countries: (1) kanji lists for each level; (2) detailed information for each of those characters; (3) a random kanji testing feature; (4) advice and info on the exam.

A Door to the World of Kanji (www.neverland.to/kanji/)
Takes kanji off the printed page and allows you to see how characters are used in everyday life in Japan through photos of electrical appliances, traffic signs, and train station notices. There is an English meaning and explanation for each character.

Kanji Clinic (www.kanjiclinic.com)
Includes: (1) all previous Japan Times "Kanji Clinic" columns, with tons of kanji-learning tips; (2) reviews of kanji textbooks and dictionaries; (3) responses from kanji learners all over the world; (4) links to the best kanji-learning sites. The Kanji Clinic is YOUR kanji-learning forum.

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Kanji-learning freeware:

JFC Intelligent Flashcards and JWPce (Japanese word processing software)
http://www.physics.ucla.edu/%7Egrosenth/japanese.html

Kanji Gold (flashcards)
http://web.uvic.ca/kanji-gold

Kanji Invader (interactive kanji game for Mac use only)
www.sla.purdue.edu/academic/fll/JapanProj/KanjiInvader/KanjiInvader.html

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