Japanese Mnemonics and Memory Tricks

日記　にっき

sounds like “need key”

just think of your diary padlocked shut, so you NEED a KEY to open it right? remember, the “sounds like” is supposed to remind you of the key sounds of the word, NEED KEY will bring you to NI KI. if you expect to have perfect mnemonic sound key words then you will really cut yourself down on usable mnemonics. you want to try and make mnemonics that will serve to remind you of the word, not a exact sound for sound match (though when it does happen, don’t complain…). if it sounds like this won’t work at it will be confusing, trust me, it won’t. try it with this word, if you say it aloud a few times, even though its NEED KEY, you’ll know that that is just reminding you of the real word, NI KI.

btw, ni ki is used in blog entries, like “diary/journal entry”.