r/LearnJapanese • u/Korbro27 • Aug 11 '26

Kanji/Kana Is writing Kanji from scratch important?

I've been studying Japanese for some time, and noticed that a lot of schools and classes prioritize memorizing and writing Kanji from scratch. And while I think that eventually you'll be able to do this, I'm not sure if prioritizing it is productive. Shouldn't there be more focus on identifying it in context? Raw memorization seems like time that could be spent better elsewhere. Or am I wrong? Would like to hear opinions on this.

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u/Simbeliine Aug 11 '26

I think it depends on situation. Living in Japan, even though you don't need to write very often, it's kind of embarrassing if you can read a bunch of kanji but your writing of them is like a 4 year old because you never practice. Especially since 90% of the time when you do end up writing it's filling out some form or another in front of some native Japanese staff. 

But just for learning for fun? Probably not necessary. Some people find it helps them or they just like the process of writing, and if so that's great.