N4 kanji

At N4 kanji start to be built from repeating pieces, the radicals, and seeing them turns raw memory into reading. 語 (language) has 言 (word) on the left, as do 話 (to speak) and 読 (to read). 海 (sea) and 池 (pond) carry the three drops of water. The radical usually gives the meaning and the other half often gives the reading: 洋 (ocean) reads よう like 羊 (sheep) inside it. There is no need to study radicals separately: it is enough to ask, with each new kanji, which part you have seen before.