Is it necessary to be able to write kanji?

みんなさん、たすけてください I'm slowly chugging through kanji, but I've noticed that it's quite easy to read kanji, but when I start learning stroke order, difficulties come. So what I'm asking is how often would one have to actually write Japanese in everyday life in Japan? Or is being able to read them enough? --also, my favorite Japanese manga importer closed down, so if anyone knows of some good sites to order from, could you recommend them? ありがとうございます。

Hi! well i dont know kanji but what i can guess is kanji is important too be able too read not write, mostly japanese people are not that good in writing becuase computer supports hiragana and katana and kanji so you dont really need to know how to write them. i have almost already forgot how to write hiragana but i can read them and it is enough for me. So try too learn too read them and if you really want to be able to write you can do so too, but it is not needed really. http://onepieceofbleach.com is a great site またね

どうもどうも。：）

I am slowly learning to read kanji- writing it is difficult. I don't often use the correct stroke order as the book I am studying from doesn't have it and it is complicated.

Meghan O practise makes perfect, check on internet instead for stroke order, there is many sites, who can show you how the stroke order should be. http://www.saiga-jp.com/kanji_dictionary.html

I am kinda a little new to Japanese language and i am learning the language i finished all my audio courses in stage 1. And i only have free trial. I want to learn as much as i can before my trial is over plus i want to learn KANJI HIRAGANA AND KATAKANA. I am 12 years old and i am not allowed on the computer on weekdays. What should i do?!! is there any websites like rocket japanese that will last forever when i sign up and no limited time?

kanji takes long time too learn so wait a little with that, hiragana and katana dont take long too learn. http://www.learn-hiragana-katakana.com/hiragana-chart/ buy a book like ex: Genki, very good book and you dont need internet at all, but some times you need little, but just search for it :) http://thejapanesepage.com/ this site is great, it is free and you can find about everything here. Ganbatte Robin

Minasan konnichiwa! All three alphabets - Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji are important in the Japanese language. You need all of these three to read and write Japanese. However, as Robin has said - yes, it is true that now computers do it all for you. You type in the syllables - such as I-KI-MA-SU and vola! it gives you the Kanji automatically. The key thing is to know WHICH kanji is correct as the computer may give you a range of options to choose from. So, being familiar with Kanji is important even with the computer's doing most of the writing job. ;) Sayaka

If you're worried about Kanji, allow me to plug James Heisig's Guide to Remembering the Kanji. All it teaches is stroke order. Pair it up with http://kanji.koohii.com, and you have a match made in heaven. The koohii site either has a free pdf of the first few chapters, or will have a link to the site you can get it (I think). And to Pascal, if you were looking for manga in Japanese, try yesasia.com or www.cdjapan.co.jp. If English... good luck? :)

Thanks everyone for your help. @Jessica, yep, I use Heisig's book already, and supplement it with other literature etc. (Natsume Soseki is fantastic), but thanks for the kanji site though. I was more concerned about whether actually learning the necessary stroke order would be necessary, but I figure I might as well get it done anyway. Oh, and I found a really good importer: www.nippon-export.com . I used to get all my books from benippon, but they closed down after the earthquake. :( Yesasia is great too though, I've got some stuff from them before, especially since they offer free shipping on orders over $50. Thinking of doing the JLPT N3 :/ so if anyone has any tips on how to learn the required kanji and their compounds, please share! Thanks again. ;)

Hello, I have learned Chinese before (I know 2.000+ characters) and can say it takes a very, very long time (8+ years). However, learning to write them by hand is the best way to remember them and stroke order is extremely important. And yes, you forget how to write them soon, but it is very easy to reproduce them on computer. As for me, Japanese is much more difficult then Chinese. Is there anyone who knows a computer learning tool for Japanese as there is Wenlin for Chinese? This would be most helpful. Thank you!

To help me with reading Japanese, there is an app I downloaded from iTunes called JLPT Study. From what I can recall there is a free version for JLPT N5 (beginner), but it costs about $5 or so from memory for the full version. It has flashcard lists for both kanji general meanings (ie excluding particular readings), and also vocabulary lists with the option for testing vocabulary with and without kanji. I find it's good to practice with on the train / bus. I hope that this helps! Cheers, John