I think reviewing vocabulary meanings with kanji can sometimes confuse you, make you dependent on kanji and overall impede the learning progress.
I THINK I’M ADDICTED TO KANJI.
Kanji can be a great help to know what a word means. It’s a truly magical thing. A lot of times I can even guess the meaning of a new word solely based on the kanji it consists of.
And that’s all great, except when you grow dependent on them.
That’s why I still confuse 会社 and 社会!
Because I always think of the word as MEETING + COMPANY or COMPANY + MEETING, and not as かいしゃ and しゃかい! The words are clearly different, but I don’t read the word, I read it’s individual components. Doing this internal math can become a huge problem if you have two words with the same kanji in a different order.
Same thing with 理解 and 解説. Both have a common kanji and (kinda) similar meaning. I can never tell them apart!
That’s why I want to learn the words themselves and get rid of that kanji addiction. Addictions are generally good to get rid of.
It’s an experiment: This may not even work as I think it will. It’s just something I think might help. Correct answer percentage will plummet. The experience has been quite off putting so far.
What do you guys think? Good or bad idea? Any further suggestions?
—
BUT WHAT DOES IT DO?
- It will automatically replace the kanji of vocabulary with kana if the srs level is Guru or higher. (customisable if you want. Change line 21)
- It will only do so if the meaning is asked (obviously), because answering the reading of a kana-only word is not really a challenge, now is it?
- Do not despair if you encounter homonyms! Just hold down the ALT GR button to temporarily take a peek at the kanji.
How to switch between kana and kanji mode
- Hold down the ALT GR button. I have an azerty keyboard which has an ALT GR button right next to the SPACE bar. You can change the shortcut though (details below)
Features (v1.0)
- Makes your reviews harder. That’s basically the only thing it does.
How to install
-
Make sure you have the Greasemonkey (Firefox) or Tampermonkey (other
browsers) add-on installed, so you can enjoy user scripts.
- Go to https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/24262-wanikani-kana-review
- Click the green button (if that doesn’t work out, look at the guide linked below)
- BOOM, DONE!
How to install/edit user scripts guide:
/t/Visual-Guide-on-How-To-Install-A-Userscript/12136/1
How to change the shortcut:
- Line 14 reads “var KEYBIND_KEY = 225;”.
- Go to http://keycode.info/ and type the key you want as shortcut (ideally use a key that doesn’t produce output)
- Replace the number on line 14 with the number you got from the keycode site. This keycode can be browser/keyboard-specific. Keep this in mind if you use multiple devices.
Change log:
v1.0
- initial release
Note: working on Chrome (probably not on Firefox. Probably won’t work EVER until something magical happens in the Land of the Firefox)
Note2: I apologise for the possibly misleading title. It’s not a tool to review kana-only vocab. Sorry I couldn’t think of anything better.
Cool idea. Definitely see the problem in my own learning. Keep experimenting.
jsangelgirl said... I think simply using kaniwani site should do it. https://www.kaniwani.com/kw/I think you missed the entire idea behind this post... This script takes your vocabulary reviews and puts them in かな instead of かんじ, which is definitely not the same as quizzing from English > Japanese as KaniWani does.
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Anyway, I think I'm in the opposite situation - I rely on Kanji too much for the meaning that I can't remember the meanings when just reading かな... I think the reading portion of the N5 is heavily かな-based, so I need to read かな more often...
I will try this script!
So it replaces kanji in reviews altogether ? Or it adds new reviews with kana instead ?
How does it work with words that have the same reading ?
That reminds me, a while ago I made a small program that loads data from WK and quizzes you based on kana form of words. I ended up not releasing it because it was pretty barebones, but if you want to give it a try… http://deatrathias.net/readingtest.exe
Deatrathias said... So it replaces kanji in reviews altogether ? Or it adds new reviews with kana instead ?I was gonna ask if the instructions were unclear somehow, but then I realized I didn't really explain it fully.
How does it work with words that have the same reading ?
That reminds me, a while ago I made a small program that loads data from WK and quizzes you based on kana form of words. I ended up not releasing it because it was pretty barebones, but if you want to give it a try... http://deatrathias.net/readingtest.exe
I only implied it in the 'How to switch between kana and kanji mode' section. I'll add explanations.
EDIT: see the 'BUT WHAT DOES IT DO?'
Awesome idea for this script, giving it a go.
Only one problem… I can’t get the kanji peek working.
I’m guessing that you probably use a windows computer and the keybindings are different to mine, so I used your link and changed the code “var KEYBIND_KEY = 225” as you mentioned, but no luck. Changed the 255 to each 18 and 16 for my alt and shift keys as the site suggested, but no effect.
(using chrome on mac)
Any idea if there’s a way to fix this? I’d really like to use it, but I feel like I need to peek at the kanji as well, just to be sure that I’m not forgetting the kanji.
***EDIT - Solved: In line 43 of the code it says “case 225: // ALT GR button”. I changed this 255 as well, and that fixed it. Need to edit both line 14 and line 43 to change the shortcut.
LankyAusMan said... Awesome idea for this script, giving it a go.Sorry, entirely my fault. Line 43 should've used the number you typed on line 14. I fixed it now.
Only one problem.... I can't get the kanji peek working.
I'm guessing that you probably use a windows computer and the keybindings are different to mine, so I used your link and changed the code "var KEYBIND_KEY = 225" as you mentioned, but no luck. Changed the 255 to each 18 and 16 for my alt and shift keys as the site suggested, but no effect.
(using chrome on mac)
Any idea if there's a way to fix this? I'd really like to use it, but I feel like I need to peek at the kanji as well, just to be sure that I'm not forgetting the kanji.
***EDIT - Solved: In line 43 of the code it says "case 225: // ALT GR button". I changed this 255 as well, and that fixed it. Need to edit both line 14 and line 43 to change the shortcut.
I like this idea. I’ve been afraid of the same problem this entire time, honestly, where I rely too much on the kanji to determine the meaning, while never learning what the actual vocab word is. My only fear is that it would reduce my exposure to the kanji too much, leading me to potentially forget some. I know this has the option of viewing the kanji at any time, but I fear I wouldn’t use it enough, or would just skim over it and eventually forget. I dunno. Any thoughts on that?
Deatrathias said…I actually really like this because it doesn’t necessarily interfere with my WK reviews. I just tried it out and I think I would use it a great deal. There’s a couple small bugs I encountered, but nothing huge. I think this is definitely worth releasing with a little polish.
So it replaces kanji in reviews altogether ? Or it adds new reviews with kana instead ?
How does it work with words that have the same reading ?
That reminds me, a while ago I made a small program that loads data from WK and quizzes you based on kana form of words. I ended up not releasing it because it was pretty barebones, but if you want to give it a try… http://deatrathias.net/readingtest.exe
SleepyOne said... I like this idea. I've been afraid of the same problem this entire time, honestly, where I rely too much on the kanji to determine the meaning, while never learning what the actual vocab word is. My only fear is that it would reduce my exposure to the kanji too much, leading me to potentially forget some. I know this has the option of viewing the kanji at any time, but I fear I wouldn't use it enough, or would just skim over it and eventually forget. I dunno. Any thoughts on that?I don't think so. Reviewing vocab with only kana is still hard enough to regularly peek at the kanji. And then there are homophones. You'll need the shortcut for those too. Don't forget you'll still review kanji just like before. If you're still unsure, you could always just set the threshold higher. Instead of Guru it could be Master for example, at which point I think you've been reviewing the kanji for long enough already.
Nice idea Mempo. I’ll check it out when I get home! 
I think I’ll give this a go. Thanks.
Is ALT + GR a Mac thing? This is a really good idea though! One of my biggest worries was being too dependent on kanji to read anything my grammar level. ;;
marionette said... Is ALT + GR a Mac thing? This is a really good idea though! One of my biggest worries was being too dependent on kanji to read anything my grammar level. ;;no... As I have just learned, the Mac cmd key is at that position.
I mean:
Both on the azerty and qwerty layout there is an AltGr button to the right of the SPACE bar.
If you have a different keyboard layout, you can “easily” change this shortcut to anything you want. (hint: explanation near the bottom of the OP)