Support NeoGAF

[BluWacky]

Don't know if this is the right thread. Sorry.

I got an email from my Japanese teacher and unfortunately I have no idea what she is talking about, but as she is 78 and it's been so hot out I've been very concerned. If someone could please translate this for me I'd be very appreciative.

It says something like:

"Something went wrong with my e-mail; I'm sending it again. Sorry! My IT skills are bad. Please help me out, everyone.

NEW AP Japanese students,

This is the first time we're in touch.

July's pretty much over. It's hot every day and I'm a little tired... I'm studying on a summer course, and I've caught a summer cold because the aircon's so powerful. I've finally stopped coughing.

Anyway, you've got loads of homework over the summer. How are you getting on? I'm worried about this e-mail getting to all of you. All students who get this, please would you reply saying "I received it"? I'm waiting for your response.

Kimura-sensei"

 

[Crayons]

It says something like:

"Something went wrong with my e-mail; I'm sending it again. Sorry! My IT skills are bad. Please help me out, everyone.

NEW AP Japanese students,

This is the first time we're in touch.

July's pretty much over. It's hot every day and I'm a little tired... I'm studying on a summer course, and I've caught a summer cold because the aircon's so powerful. I've finally stopped coughing.

Anyway, you've got loads of homework over the summer. How are you getting on? I'm worried about this e-mail getting to all of you. All students who get this, please would you reply saying "I received it"? I'm waiting for your response.

Kimura-sensei"

Thank you so much! I was helpless trying to interpret all the kanji and new vocabulary she hasn't taught us yet.

 

[Zoe]

Thank you so much! I was helpless trying to interpret all the kanji and new vocabulary she hasn't taught us yet.

If you get a browser plugin like Rikai-kun/chan, that will help you parse kanji you don't understand.

 

[John Rabbit]

so i'm reading this page:
http://www.taito.co.jp/gc/special/taito_classic_posters.html

i'll be in tokyo when this happens. if i'm reading this right, they're selling 500 of each poster, each poster is ¥2000. what i'm not clear on is what the 400 refers to, something about the first 400 people to buy?

 

[StayDead]

so i'm reading this page:
http://www.taito.co.jp/gc/special/taito_classic_posters.html

i'll be in tokyo when this happens. if i'm reading this right, they're selling 500 of each poster, each poster is ¥2000. what i'm not clear on is what the 400 refers to, something about the first 400 people to buy?

I think it's saying there's a restriction of 400 posters sold either per day or on the first day and in the circumstances they sell out they won't be selling anything else.

 

[kitsuneyo]

I made another video about learning Japanese by singing. This time I did the opening song from My Neighbor Totoro.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls1KK5-vmiI

Would love to get some feedback on this. I went into a bit more detail on things like grammar this time, but maybe it got a bit boring towards the end. What do you guys think?

 

[TheFightingFish]

Hey folks, I'm still super early in my learning of Japanese so I don't think that I'm really ready for this yet. But is there anything on that internet that would be like a general topics news site in Japanese aimed at like a late elementary / Junior High aged audience?

As I said this is still probably too early for me, as I'm just digging in on Heisig and grammar basics. But I really want to start some reading on real material, even if it's a struggle. And lots of the sites that I see online are kinda focused on learning via stuff like manga or anime. And not that I'm anti that, but I would kinda like something on more general topics, but I know that I'll get crushed with a straight up newspaper online, so I was wondering if there was a lighter alternative, hopefully will less vocabulary requirements to get into.

Something sorta like these, but in Japanese:
http://www.timeforkids.com/news
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/scholasticnews/index.html

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

NHK News Web Easy

 

[TheFightingFish]

NHK News Web Easy

Hey that's perfect. Thanks much.

 

[angelic]

Would someone be able to do me a favour, to explain the difference between these 2 results. Looking for japanese translation of "squeaky" and these are the 2 options i get. Need to know the difference please..

きしる

squeaky, creaky


ちゅうちゅういう

squeaky

 

[Kilrogg]

Would someone be able to do me a favour, to explain the difference between these 2 results. Looking for japanese translation of "squeaky" and these are the 2 options i get. Need to know the difference please..

きしる

squeaky, creaky


ちゅうちゅういう

squeaky

Wouldn't the first one be the verb "to squeak" and the second one "to say in a squeaky voice/manner"? It has いう in it after all.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Wouldn't the first one be the verb "to squeak" and the second one "to say in a squeaky voice/manner"? It has いう in it after all.

いう doesn't necessarily always mean "say/speak." It can be used for inanimate objects and such as well. It's like the "makes" in "It makes a squeaky sound."

Although in this case, it may very well be referring to a mouse's squeaks.

 

[Kilrogg]

いう doesn't necessarily always mean "say/speak." It can be used for inanimate objects and such as well. It's like the "makes" in "It makes a squeaky sound."

Didn't know that, thanks!

 

[angelic]

Thanks, i appreciate the help, it's for a tattoo and its the name of an animal "squeaky", would i be right in thinking this would be most apt in that case

きしる

 

[GYODX]

Thanks, i appreciate the help, it's for a tattoo and its the name of an animal "squeaky", would i be right in thinking this would be most apt in that case

きしる

It would look awkward. First off, you're trying to translate a name (that also happens to be an adjective) into a Japanese verb. Secondly, the first impression I get from the word 「軋る」 is not that of a squeaking animal/mouse, but rather a harsh, grating metallic sound.

But if you insist on getting a tattoo in a foreign language, I would say a katakana-fied version of "squeaky" 「スクイーキー」might be the least awkward choice you can get away with.

My 2 cents.

 

[Midou]

So I came here a while back and this app was recommended to me and I used it to learn Katakana and Hiragana and I tried for a time to find out where to go next and kind of gave up. I've been wanting to put serious effort into getting back into it though.

I would sort of prefer to start learning sentence structure and basic conversation instead of jumping right to memorizing a ton of Kanji, though I know there will come a time for that too.

Are there any up to date resources whether websites, books or apps that would help with this sort of thing?

Thanks.

 

[Grimpadlock]

The Genki series of textbooks published by Japan Times are a good starting point. It's been a few semesters since I used them and all my books are in storage currently but from what I can remember, they use skits to introduce grammar points and each chapter teaches you a few new points of grammar as well as kanji. They're relatively cheap as well.

I do have to say that I used them in a university environment so I don't know how good they are for self teaching.

 

[shanshan310]

It would look awkward. First off, you're trying to translate a name (that also happens to be an adjective) into a Japanese verb. Secondly, the first impression I get from the word 「軋る」 is not that of a squeaking animal/mouse, but rather a harsh, grating metallic sound.

But if you insist on getting a tattoo in a foreign language, I would say a katakana-fied version of "squeaky" 「スクイーキー」might be the least awkward choice you can get away with.

My 2 cents.

Agreed.

But mostly, don't get a tattoo in a language you aren't proficient in...

 

[Adamm]

So I came here a while back and this app was recommended to me and I used it to learn Katakana and Hiragana and I tried for a time to find out where to go next and kind of gave up. I've been wanting to put serious effort into getting back into it though.

I would sort of prefer to start learning sentence structure and basic conversation instead of jumping right to memorizing a ton of Kanji, though I know there will come a time for that too.

Are there any up to date resources whether websites, books or apps that would help with this sort of thing?

Thanks.

The Genki series of textbooks published by Japan Times are a good starting point. It's been a few semesters since I used them and all my books are in storage currently but from what I can remember, they use skits to introduce grammar points and each chapter teaches you a few new points of grammar as well as kanji. They're relatively cheap as well.

I do have to say that I used them in a university environment so I don't know how good they are for self teaching.

Yes Genki is fantastic, even for self teaching. There are a lot of people who post here have used or are using Genki.
It gradually teaches user Grammar, Vocabulary and Kanji with each chapter & comes with a CD so you can hear the conversations in Normal Japanese & learn pronunciation.
There is also a separate Genki workbook that I would recommend, just to make sure you learn everything

 

[NinjaCarrot]

any idea why Genki is like £50 on amazon UK? Anyone got any alternatives? Like, would importing it from amazon.jp/J-list be cheaper?

 

[Adamm]

any idea why Genki is like £50 on amazon UK? Anyone got any alternatives? Like, would importing it from amazon.jp/J-list be cheaper?

I paid £70 when I got it, so count yourself lucky

But if you can find it cheaper then go for it, amazon JP has i for around £25

 

[Desmond]

Hey guys, gonna be a lot more active in this thread. Just back after spending two months living in Tokushima Prefecture. I feel a lot more confident in my oral Japanese, but my lack of Kanji definitely is hindering, especially if I'm trying to stay in contact with people! I'm finding it really hard to remember them. I've started using Remembering the Kanji but as far as I can tell, it doesn't teach you the On/Kunyomi?

 

[I'm an expert]

Hey guys, gonna be a lot more active in this thread. Just back after spending two months living in Tokushima Prefecture. I feel a lot more confident in my oral Japanese, but my lack of Kanji definitely is hindering, especially if I'm trying to stay in contact with people! I'm finding it really hard to remember them. I've started using Remembering the Kanji but as far as I can tell, it doesn't teach you the On/Kunyomi?

Pretty sure I asked you in the other thread 2 months ago what you were doing/where you were going. Tokudai I assume? Or Bunri? I lived for 3 years in Tokushima (5 on Shikoku) so I'm interested in hearing how well Awa-ben treated you. Though I find it hard to believe you left before Awa Odori.. what was even the point then, =/

 

[Desmond]

Pretty sure I asked you in the other thread 2 months ago what you were doing/where you were going. Tokudai I assume? Or Bunri? I lived for 3 years in Tokushima (5 on Shikoku) so I'm interested in hearing how well Awa-ben treated you. Though I find it hard to believe you left before Awa Odori.. what was even the point then, =/

Yeah, I was in Tokudai. Well basically, there was 1 or 2 exams (not Japanese ) I felt not too confident in from June. If I had to resit an exam it would have been the week of Awa Odori. Just didn't feel like risking it and having to spend more money to come home earlier. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford to change my flights to after the festival upon hearing I had no resit exams.


Awa-ben was ok most of the time haha. I assume its because I was talking to students, but in everyday speech does everyone omit so many particles? It surprised me at first. Haha




I also regret not buying an electronic dictionary there. The second-hand ones in Japan were of great quality and so much cheaper. :/

 

[I'm an expert]

In normal speech particles are dropped all the time, but Awa and Kansai-ben in general do so more often. That's the difference between studying from a book and actually being immersed. Hopefully you had a good time. The prefecture has changed quite radically in the last 2-3 years, especially the city.

 

[Desmond]

In normal speech particles are dropped all the time, but Awa and Kansai-ben in general do so more often. That's the difference between studying from a book and actually being immersed. Hopefully you had a good time. The prefecture has changed quite radically in the last 2-3 years, especially the city.

Oh I had a great time. I'm contemplating returning to Tokushima next year as we have to study in Japan for the year. Or perhaps go to a big city.

Also did quite a bit of travelling (and in true Japanese fashion, took a lot of photos), went to Ehime (Matsuyama), Kagawa (Takamatsu, Marugame), Kyoto, Osaka (very briefly though) and Hiroshima.

 

[I'm an expert]

You hit all the other places I lived. Tokers is a great jumping off point to see a lot of Japan. It really does suck you're not there..like this minute.. my friends/family are spamming me with Awa Odori pics. Honestly the best festival in Japan imo, just above Sake in Hiroshima.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I wonder if I should give up after 15 years of procrastinating and being distracted by life

maybe I'll never learn Japanese like I want to.

I am trying so hard this month to just say my only focus for the next 3 years should be learning Japanese as my top hobby

 

[kitsuneyo]

I wonder if I should give up after 15 years of procrastinating and being distracted by life

maybe I'll never learn Japanese like I want to.

I am trying so hard this month to just say my only focus for the next 3 years should be learning Japanese as my top hobby

Try different methods that fit in with your life a bit more. I just started reading the Doraemon manga, it's a fun way to pick up new words. The language is not all that simple, but it has some furigana and the pictures give useful context.

Edit - deleted link

 

[ComputerMKII]

nvm

 

[shanshan310]

Hey guys, gonna be a lot more active in this thread. Just back after spending two months living in Tokushima Prefecture. I feel a lot more confident in my oral Japanese, but my lack of Kanji definitely is hindering, especially if I'm trying to stay in contact with people! I'm finding it really hard to remember them. I've started using Remembering the Kanji but as far as I can tell, it doesn't teach you the On/Kunyomi?

aaah awesome What a great opportunity! You've made me super pumped about going back myself.

I think the important thing to remember with learning the kanji is that it's not a kanji learning tool. It's simply a tool on how to remember how to write characters, and should thus be used in conjunction with another text. For that I'd recommend kanji look and learn or for more advanced kanji the So-matome series is pretty well received. Keep at it! It can be frustrating at first but after a while you start to pick up patterns in reading, and RTK certainly helps in remembering how to write it!

I don't speak Japanese but for some reason I need a transcript of the following text (it's from Ghost in the Shell):



Since I didn't know where to look on the Internet I've used two OCR tools and tried to correct the mistakes as best as I could given my knowledge of the language (I am familiar with hiragana, katakana and a few kanjis) and I ended up with this:



Could you confirm whether this is correct or not? It's so easy to mix up characters.

Also, I need a French translation of this text but the French subtitles don't seem literal or natural enough (probably due to technical constraints). It says:



Now, the English subtitles are longer so they might be more accurate. I could use them to get a better French translation somehow (ideally, I'd rather have someone to translate directly from Japanese to French). Could you confirm if the following translation is right?



Thanks!

You have mixed a couple of characters up.

企業のネ`ツ卜が星を被い亀子や光が駆け縄巡っても国家や民族が消 ぇてな〈なるほど傭報化されていない近未来一

Should be　

企業のネットが星を被い電子や光が駆け縄巡っても国家や民族が消 えてなくなるほど情報化されていない近未来一

The translation is a bit liberal with the grammar but it seems fine to me!

 

[I'm an expert]

Anyone here study Korean? Any online resource recommendations?

 

[Desmond]

I intend to in the future eventually, so I too would like some resources. lol

 

[Adamm]

The thread is dead, but there should hopefully be some info in it.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=437256

 

[I'm an expert]

The thread is dead, but there should hopefully be some info in it.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=437256

Excellent thread. I appreciate it.

 

[shanshan310]

Excellent thread. I appreciate it.

Might seem like a weird suggestion, but I honestly recommend that you look into Japanese-Korean language resources. There seems to be a lot more available in the way of text books, and the dictionaries tend to be bigger and better quality (don't bother with an English dictionary, most of them don't have hangul making them functionally useless). There are so many similar words and grammar that it really felt a lot more natural for me at least to go from Japanese to Korean rather than back to English.

 

[I'm an expert]

I've actually worked with Korean clients for years and know Hangeul/my-field-related-Korean. I was kind of looking for something specific, which I did find in a link that was in that thread. I just had a feeling this was the place to ask as the only other Korean related thread seems to be that kpop one and that's..a travesty. I agree though, I completely think Japanese->Korean when I use it. Truth is I do the same for English, which sucks because it replaced my native language as my "main" and I constantly fumble my English now.

 

[shanshan310]

I've actually worked with Korean clients for years and know Hangeul/my-field-related-Korean. I was kind of looking for something specific, which I did find in a link that was in that thread. I just had a feeling this was the place to ask as the only other Korean related thread seems to be that kpop one and that's..a travesty. I agree though, I completely think Japanese->Korean when I use it. Truth is I do the same for English, which sucks because it replaced my native language as my "main" and I constantly fumble my English now.

haha, I completely understand. I often have to pause and think about how to say something in English (sometimes screwing up the grammar completely), so people sometimes mistake me for a non-native speaker :/ I think if I could speak freely it would just be this jumble of English and Japanese glued together with some horrible hybrid grammar.

My Korean is quite honestly shocking. I've actually finished my major in it now, but I still struggle a lot with listening in particular. Any advice for someone who finds most dramas obnoxious? I do have Korean friends but we've only ever spoken in Japanese so I feel weird switching over, especially when my skills are still pretty poor.

 

[I'm an expert]

My Korean is quite honestly shocking. I've actually finished my major in it now, but I still struggle a lot with listening in particular. Any advice for someone who finds most dramas obnoxious? I do have Korean friends but we've only ever spoken in Japanese so I feel weird switching over, especially when my skills are still pretty poor.

I'm not as good at remembering posters as I should be, but I thought you primarily studied? worked with? whatevered Japanese. You majored in Korean though? My Korean was for very specific cases and I can't really compare it to my other languages, more a byproduct of work. Not to mention my wife would kill me if she ever heard me utter Korean.

As for dramas, I was always a huge J-drama fan so K-dramas were kind of second nature to me. I'm pretty sure I've stated I'm not a big fan of drama/anime/manga studying before, but I dunno, is there any better way than tv to practice listening if you aren't in Korea? I could literally drive 15 mins now and be in the middle of 100 Korean people, but not everyone has that option sadly. Doesn't have to be dramas, there's plenty of good stuff on KBS. Though honestly.. shows like Dream High are a MUST WATCH. Also, Korean pronunciation is so much more.. technical.. than Japanese that I feel like it requires way more listening practice. Its easier writing system is the trade off.

 

[shanshan310]

I'm not as good at remembering posters as I should be, but I thought you primarily studied? worked with? whatevered Japanese. You majored in Korean though? My Korean was for very specific cases and I can't really compare it to my other languages, more a byproduct of work. Not to mention my wife would kill me if she ever heard me utter Korean.

As for dramas, I was always a huge J-drama fan so K-dramas were kind of second nature to me. I'm pretty sure I've stated I'm not a big fan of drama/anime/manga studying before, but I dunno, is there any better way than tv to practice listening if you aren't in Korea? I could literally drive 15 mins now and be in the middle of 100 Korean people, but not everyone has that option sadly. Doesn't have to be dramas, there's plenty of good stuff on KBS. Though honestly.. shows like Dream High are a MUST WATCH.Also, Korean pronunciation is so much more.. technical.. than Japanese that I feel like it requires way more listening practice. Its easier writing system is the trade off.

I majored in both, but I've been doing Japanese for much longer. It's interesting that you learnt it on the job though! I think I'd find that pretty stressful, but probably pretty effective. I think I'll try giving dramas another go. I'm hoping to study it again in Kobe next year, but right now it's kind of a use it or lose it situation What kind of other stuff can you watch?

EDIT: and yeah, the pronunciation is a lot harder to wrap my tongue around.

Speaking of dramas though, have you seen 日本人の知らない日本語? Not only was it interesting, I also found it to be an awesome learning tool. I recommend it to everyone actually.

 

[I'm an expert]

I wouldn't say there was pressure, just more of a necessity. Also I was much younger and in that "learning mode." I honestly don't think I can ever do anything like how I learned it or Japanese again in my life, which is kind of sad. Obviously I still want to fill my brain or else I wouldn't be here asking for resources, but at this point it's at a leisurely pace. But damn, if you majored in both, well..pick one and move there yo.

I've pretty much drowned in Asian comedy/variety/news/music/drama shows for the last decade so it's hard to recommend anything that isn't inherently cheesy like one would expect them to be. I enjoy shows like Running Man or 우리 결혼했어요 or Star Date. Sunday usually has the big shows. Personally, I think any drama or movie (Architecture 101) Suzy has been in is insanely good, which I think is attributed part to coincidence and part to her being surprisingly talented.

I was aware of the show when it was broadcasting but I've never seen more than a few snippets to be honest. I'll be glad to search it out. edit: looks like a good chunk of it is sitting on youtube

 

[ComputerMKII]

nvm

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Questions: So I started over from square one this month putting a lot of effort in time into this having a lot of fun. Finally got my Kana behind me so moving into Kanji

So here I am trying a whole bunch of iPhone Apps to see what is the most fun and what is helping me the most to recognize and remember Kanji but I ran into one app that kinda made me question if some of these apps don't have some serious errors which could hurt my learning

is it common to see the kana for HA when the sentence is I AM followed by the sound WA?

I was expecting to see a hiragana WA and saw a HA instead so now I am wondering is this a grammar lesson I do not know about of a plain cheap app error?

it was in the app where I was learning the kanji for (Me, I)

watashi wa gakusei desu

but above it was written in kanji+kana so I am a little lost to why I see the kana for HA where I expected to see a WA

my second question is just asking for advice on how to learn your Kanji?

I just purchased RTK book a second time since the version I had ordered before years ago in this thread was 5th edition so now I have the 6th. I have not been using the book much since my vision issues suffer more reading paper. So on my iphone apps most of them just give me the english meanings for the Kanji

I try to read the on and kun for each but I find I am not remembering them or unable to say them

so the issue is even if I know what the Kanji means in english I'll need to go back and learn how to say it in Japanese

I wish I could find an app that has the audio for each Kanji but so far I have not been able to find this

Still just knowing and remembering what a Kanji means in english has been very encouraging so far

Try different methods that fit in with your life a bit more. I just started reading the Doraemon manga, it's a fun way to pick up new words. The language is not all that simple, but it has some furigana and the pictures give useful context.

Edit - deleted link

I've been doing a little better since my post finally seeing some results in remembering

 

[I'm an expert]

Why doubt anything when you have the internet at your disposal. Simply typing "wa and ha" into google will give you 9000 sites that explain why the particle is written as は.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Why doubt anything when you have the internet at your disposal. Simply typing "wa and ha" into google will give you 9000 sites that explain why the particle is written as は.

thanks so in other words I don't need this thread okay got it

once people use to talk to each other, then we had forums so we talked on forums now people say why talk on forums use google!

did a search as you said found good answers

 

[I'm an expert]

thanks so in other words I don't need this thread okay got it

Lol, I just don't get why one of the options in your head was "these are terrible bugs in this app." If you really thought that, any type of research on the subject should have cleared up the confusion. Then coming here to talk about the actual topic of how particles are written makes sense.

Your edit is hilarious and overblown.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Lol, I just don't get why one of the options in your head was "these are terrible bugs in this app." If you really thought that, any type of research on the subject should have cleared up the confusion. Then coming here to talk about the actual topic of how particles are written makes sense.

no I really started to question my purchase when I saw the 1 star review calling the guy out for errors and saying he will never buy another app from a gaijin lol

so I thought I better check on GAF lol

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Lol, I just don't get why one of the options in your head was "these are terrible bugs in this app." If you really thought that, any type of research on the subject should have cleared up the confusion. Then coming here to talk about the actual topic of how particles are written makes sense.

Your edit is hilarious and overblown.

there was a lot of wisdom in your reply but it was also rude just saying we are on a forum. If I do not want to interact with living humans search google is easier at least google wont be giving you are hard time and making you feel stupid for not understanding something. Or not clever enough to research.

not overblown just reacting to what is real

 

[Ledsen]

Questions: So I started over from square one this month putting a lot of effort in time into this having a lot of fun. Finally got my Kana behind me so moving into Kanji

So here I am trying a whole bunch of iPhone Apps to see what is the most fun and what is helping me the most to recognize and remember Kanji but I ran into one app that kinda made me question if some of these apps don't have some serious errors which could hurt my learning

is it common to see the kana for HA when the sentence is I AM followed by the sound WA?

I was expecting to see a hiragana WA and saw a HA instead so now I am wondering is this a grammar lesson I do not know about of a plain cheap app error?

it was in the app where I was learning the kanji for (Me, I)

watashi wa gakusei desu

but above it was written in kanji+kana so I am a little lost to why I see the kana for HA where I expected to see a WA

The particle "wa" is indeed written using the hiragana for "ha". In the same vein, the particle "e" is written with the hiragana for "he". If you don't know what a particle is yet, just keep studying.

 

[shanshan310]

my second question is just asking for advice on how to learn your Kanji?

I just purchased RTK book a second time since the version I had ordered before years ago in this thread was 5th edition so now I have the 6th. I have not been using the book much since my vision issues suffer more reading paper. So on my iphone apps most of them just give me the english meanings for the Kanji

I try to read the on and kun for each but I find I am not remembering them or unable to say them

so the issue is even if I know what the Kanji means in english I'll need to go back and learn how to say it in Japanese

I wish I could find an app that has the audio for each Kanji but so far I have not been able to find this

Still just knowing and remembering what a Kanji means in english has been very encouraging so far

My advice would be to try and learn the traditional way, at least for the first 100 or so characters. And then add Heisig in as a secondary tool to your primary kanji study. The thing with Heisig is that it's supposed to teach you how to write kanji, but it's not a complete "kanji learning tool". Once you start learning more kanji, you'll see that it has different meanings and pronunciations in different circumstances (着る kiru means to wear, but 着く tsuku means to arrive), which can make heisig a bit confusing. And combined characters often have another meaning altogether! Heisig will only give you one meaning because it's primarily meant to be a memory jogging tool to help you remember how to write. The good thing is that once you have been studying for a while you will notice patterns. Characters with the same element will have similar meanings or pronunciation. I only know about half of the joyo kanji, but I can kind of guess how a lot of them are pronounced anyway.

In the scheme of things, knowing how to speak Japanese is much more important than learning how to write kanji anyway (though reading is important). Most communication nowadays is done through the PC, even if you are typing a letter, and you need to know how to pronounce things to type them in (and the PC just changes it into kanji for you).