Based on the example sentences I would think that “per” is an option for the meaning of the word. Can someone smarter than me explain why that isn’t the case??
yeah I dunno why, it is included under “patterns of use” but I guess maybe they just don’t include all uses.
Or maybe there is a reason that I’m unaware of, I usually go by Jisho though if I’m unsure of something
In a lot of cases WaniKani won’t list all possible meanings, but often they are whitelisted, so you won’t be marked wrong if you answer it during reviews. The reason is probably just that it would complicate things too much since a lot of Japanese words have a lot of meanings depending on context, writing about all of them would take too many resources and put more strain on the customer.
In the case of 当たり, my dictionary lists 13 definitions:
The thing about an SRS system is that it can only really teach you one meaning, because you get the card right if you answer with one right response. So for words with multiple senses it’s generally better to go with something that’s the more central meaning rather than an English word that it might be translated as in some situations, and to prefer a common simple sense over a more specialised one. You’ll pick up the other uses and nuances as you encounter them in the real world over time later.
Not to mention that suffixes are specifically shown with a ~ on wanikani. Since it doesn’t have that in this case it’s not too surprising they don’t have the definition for the suffix either.
I do find it very odd that they show it used in this way 3 times in the common word combinations but then don’t give it as a potential meaning.
At that point should’ve maybe added it.
Requiring to answer two answers, one from each group, can be done – but they would complicate the UI design and the algorithm. On a dictionary, Jisho too, works like that.
- hit
- success
- guess; prediction (answer one)
- per; each (answer one)
Correct requires one from (1 or 2), 3, and 4, etc.
Although this way may confuse new learners in Apprentice, it may be helpful for older learners who want to ensure they know multiple meanings. Also, probably helpful for learners after Guru’d.
I think 当たり is just a tricky outlier in that it doesn’t map directly to any word/expression in English and instead you have a large assortment of meanings and idioms attached to it. That doesn’t work too well for a translation-based SRS system but at the same time it’s such a common word using such a common kanji that it would be strange for WK not to teach it.
There are a handful of other words that have this issue I think: 参る、召す、下る… You can’t really encapsulate the whole range of meanings in two or three English words and listing a dozen of synonyms would probably be overwhelming and counterproductive, so WaniKani focuses on a subset.