212 Days In – Just About To Reach Level 10! Is This an Average Pace?

Hey everyone,

I am just about to hit Level 10 after 212 days of using WaniKani. That’s about 23.5 days per level on average. I’ve been consistent and doing my best, but I’m curious—would you say this is a normal pace?

Also, I have dyslexia, which can sometimes make retention and reading speed a bit more challenging for me. I’ve noticed that while I can remember meanings fairly well, readings take longer to stick, especially with similar-looking kanji or vocab.

Would love to hear from others—how does my pace compare?
Any advice or encouragement from fellow slow-and-steady learners (or those with dyslexia) would be awesome.

Thanks and がんばります to all of us!

10 Likes

well, as someone who DOESNT HAVE a good pace AT ALL
you are doing better then me.
ive been on lvl 2 for ~270 days :+1:

as long as you are learning it doesn’t matter what pace you take, and if you understand everything you learned so what if it takes 1000 days, you got there in the end :person_bowing:

7 Likes

Honestly, I think 23.5 per level is a great pace! The best pace is one you can keep up with, and not give up. My pace has been all over the place over years. Sometimes, I find that a faster level-up time is encouraging for me, because I like the sense of making significant progress. So recently I’m pushing my pace to speed through some levels. In the past, I’ve been super distracted by life, and had levels as slow as 6 months to a year :confused:

But if you’ve been steady at ~23.5, and are comfortable and satisfied with your routine, that’s the best :slight_smile: Consistent movement forward and trusting your brain to handle more learning is key, I think

11 Likes

お疲れ様!
WanderingJonさんのほうが私のより早いですね!!
でも、「ペースは少し大事じゃない」と思いますから、恐るるなかれ。
耐えることは大事なの。

頑張りましょう!!!

私の日本語は下手です。ごめん!

4 Likes

You’re doing wonderfully !!

Something that I learned when I began browsing these forums was that there really… isn’t an average pace? Similarly to you, I was curious about how my progress compared to others- and the answer was everyone had a unique answer! This community is full of people who reach milestones at very different points in time, have varied level-up patterns within their own learning, etc. Not much consistency in timeline, but consistency in our drive for knowledge- which is what really matters !

We all have our own learning strengths/struggles, time allowances, needs for breaks, and simple forgetfulness that our learning journeys are all unique to ourselves- kind of like a fingerprint of our experiences. There is a beauty to it that I really enjoy and find encouraging, a nice individuality and simultaneous sense of belonging.

You’ve got a lot to be proud of- 10 levels, 200+ days invested into this, and doing it all with dyslexia is no small feat !! Just as you did the previous ten, you’ll do great as you reach beyond the milestone. I hope it is as fun as it is enriching!

I can’t speak on any real universal tips, but I will say that I found my memorization improved when I began physically writing my lessons and reviews. I have tons of scrap paper and write out the kanji/vocab, pronunciation, and definition as I go along. It’s certainly repetitive, but in a way that helps find the little nuances behind what I learn.

I’d also say that there’s no penalty for taking on new vocabulary slowly! My learning page often has words from 1 or 2 lessons behind what I am currently on, and it doesn’t inhibit leveling progress at all. If you have a large batch of items and/or struggling to remember your current workload, that vocab can wait until you’re more prepared ! I find it also keeps certain kanji in my review lineup more consistently, adding to the practice opportunities.

You’d have to take a look at what is offered (if you haven’t already), but there is a wide array of user-made plugins for the site, too, that might help with your learning processes. Off the top of my head, I use/have seen things like “anki mode” that lets you bypass having to manually type, typo buttons to negate losing progress via accidental misspelling, etc. There are some wonderful extensions, big and small, that can really tailor the experience to our needs even more.

As you reach 10+, I think you’ll only get more accustomed to the site and your learning needs, and it’ll only get smoother from here. Even as content gets harder, you’ll grow more comfortable and find reward in it all to offset the challenge plenty. I hope to see you around, continuing to grow and learn lots !!

頑張りましょう ! :glowing_star:

7 Likes

as long as you are happy with the pace and you feel you are retaining things; it’s fine. this is my second time going from 1-60 and i’m much faster for obvious reasons. just do things as you have time, energy and retention to do.

1 Like