Nihongo Diary

Did an untimed mock exam from the Kanken lvl 10 past questions book

Finished (almost) 1 step in the Kanken Learning Steps book (translating words/sentences and writing notes took almost an hour)

Bought an erasable hiragana/katakana practice board from Daiso and wrote the hiragana and katakana alphabet once (because the way I write some characters is not the best; it didn't matter for the JLPT, but it does matter for Kanken)

Also bought an erasable red pen to grade my Kanken mock tests with (I love Pilot Frixion pens, but I need to get used to not pressing the top to click the pen lol)

I graded myself pretty strictly (e.g. if a single stroke in a kanji I wrote was straight rather than curved, I marked the entire kanji as wrong) and got 120/150.

Kanji: Reviewed writing all Kanken level 10 kanji on Ringotan and did some practice questions online (Kanken Jitenon).

Work is tiring, but I bought 2 books from Kinokuniya today and am excited to get started with them! 🥳🎉

漢検 10級 漢字学習ステップ 改訂二版 (yellow and red book) Kanji Proficiency Test Level 10 Kanji Learning Steps Revised 2nd Edition Listing in Kanken Store: Link

漢検 10級 過去問題集 (yellow and green book) Kanji Examination Level 10 Past Questions Listing in Kanken Store: Link

This video was super helpful for understanding the general format of the Kanken exam (14 minutes):

Kanji: Reviewed writing all Kanken level 10 kanji on Ringotan.

EDIT: I found a good website with Kanken practice questions: https://kanken.jitenon.jp/mondai10/ .

I think I enjoy resources in this order: websites > apps > books

Kanji: Reviewed all Kanken level 10 and Genki lesson 11 and 12 kanji on Ringotan.

Also found out how to mark an answer as incorrect/correct on Ringotan even when the software thinks it was correct by clicking on the bottom left green check/red X mark .

Practicing when tired is not a bad idea. I want to be able to recall kanji easily as if it's part of my muscle memory. Although there is something to be said about writing kanji slowly. It helps me think about each stroke more deeply.

Kanji: I tried revising Genki lesson 11 kanji on Ringotan, but stopped halfway because I was tired.

Kanji: Reviewed writing Genki 1 Lesson 11 and 12 kanji on Ringotan.

Vocabulary: Started going through the 'Kanji Kentei - Level 10' list on Renshuu since I may know how to write the kanji on their own, but I need to learn the readings and meanings for the vocabulary.

Grammar: Learned about 〜た こと が ある to talk about past experiences or the lack thereof (e.g. Have you ever...? I have never...).

This colorful website explains it well:

寿司 を 食べた こと が ありますか。 Sushi o tabeta koto ga arimasu ka? Have you ever eaten sushi?

はい、(寿司 を 食べた こと が) あります。 Hai, (sushi o tabeta koto ga) arimasu. Yes, I have (eaten sushi).

I'm very tired today, so just reviewed writing Genki 1 Lesson 11 and 12 kanji on Ringotan.

Will try to get a good night's rest.

EDIT:

Did 6 もんだいs in かくすう 2 (kanji stroke count) practice for Kanken level 10 on Kanken START.

Briefly tried the Akebi app for kanji recall/writing practice and it seems interesting albeit difficult to use. One problem with Ringotan for me is that when I choose lessons to review, the kanji is not scrambled so I end up essentially remembering the order. I think Akebi scrambles the kanji.

EDIT 2:

I finished the 13 もんだいs in かくすう 2, which means I've done all the Kanken level 10 かくすう problems in the app (excluding the mock exam, I think):

- The problems ended up feeling pretty repetitive (which I suppose is a good thing). I guess what they consider hard tends to be counting the last strokes of a kanji, rather than what I may consider to be tricky strokes at the beginning or middle. Although there are only so many questions you can ask about 80 kanji.

- I was initially tracing out the kanji in the air with my finger, but by the end, I was following the strokes with my eyes. I think following the latter is better for the exam so that I'm not accused of helping others lol.

- I need to start focusing on remembering the vocabulary words with kanji in them. After all, kanji usually aren't found alone in the wild!

Practiced writing Genki 1 Lesson 11 and 12 kanji on Ringotan (yes, I should have done this before taking the JLPT N5).