Que? Habla Nihon-go? Nani?
The best thing i did for kanji is to learn ancient chinese.
All the symbols came from a place, and if you understand that, you can get close to the meaning of any kanji from its radicals.
However, "trepidation" (anxious) is a horse (radical) on water which is frozen.
So, you learn that from the roots of the word.
Well, i know lots of kanji, and i cannot speak Japanese at all.
I can honestly say "Watashi wa nihongo o hanashimasen"
And everyone would correct me "…wakanai", but that isn't true.
My problem is i do not remember words. (as in the spoken part)
And it might be because i do not talk to people.
RE: Being Fluent in Japanese....