Advice for us low-levels?

Thank you! :slight_smile:

This advice is directed toward new users instead of low levels. It specifically addresses content on the site and the forums. I’m a bit surprised that this wasn’t mentioned before, but please read the WaniKani Guide, Official FAQ, and the Unofficial FAQ. Although they need to be updated, it will probably save you time in the long run.

Also before starting a brand new thread about a topic to ask a question, please search the forums first. This thread was created to help minimize the amount of duplicated threads asking or talking about something that has been already done several times over in the past. You’ll more than likely find an answer to your problem if you search first.

If you have the inclination to make an editorial comment about how things should be (i.e., suggestions for the developers), it is far more productive to contact them directly rather than to stir up the community about issues that the members have no power to change.

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I know I’m not a level 45 as per your criteria but still, this is top notch advice!

Seriously though, don’t give up on your dream (if it is your dream), it’s the worst thing you could do.

Oh! I just recently changed this to 3. Because there are 3 Stooges.

I already do this lol! I read it in one of my kanji learning books… for instance:

小 - しょう
少 - しょう

“Small” and “a few”. For me it was just easier to remember しょう was the reading for both then remember some mnemonic about a small shogun and I think a small slide that the shogun was sliding on and it got back up?

Yep radicals help guess reading, yay!

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THANK YOU! I’m gonna start doing that too!

RADICALS are VERY OFTEN INDICATORS of how to read the KANJI - some Japanese people do this to guess readings of kanji they do not know.

Slightly off topic but still cool: this thesis paper discusses this phenomenon at length and gives a huge appendix that lists kanji elements and phonetic components (starting on page 37). The paper is really interesting and dives heavily into the linguistics and pedagogical parts of Japanese so if you’re interested definitely check it out.

It’s a good thing to keep in mind especially at the beginning of your kanji studies, but there’s no hard and fast rule for kanji that follow this kind of structure.

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Long topic. Let’s be short.

  • GREAT new book I found for kanji addicts to avoid confusion of groups of similar kanjis: http://www.londonbookfair.co.uk/__novaimages/2061172?v=636237828323170000 and the book itself Free delivery worldwide on all books from Book Depository

  • Ignore answer script is essential for non native speakers.

  • I prefer to learn vocabulary first and then the kanjis. Normally because learning kanji readings at first is HELL, while learning a word if you are mid level japanese student, it’s easy. Recognizing it’s look and then when you see the kanji, you know it already. That’s why I don’t like kanji learning systems at all : They just want you to learn the readings… but that’s not useful without vocabulary first.

Cheers!

To folks who are not native English speakers: why wouldn’t you add synonyms that are from a language you are most comfortable with, so that as long as you get the meaning right, you can move forward? Is it for mnemonic reasons? Non-Latin alphabet reasons? English practice reasons?

I actually do that for a few words where I can’t easily come up with the English word on the fly. Recent example would be “exertion”. However, when using an English website, I usually switch to “English mode” in my head, and think of the English meaning as I learned it on WK first. Besides, it would be a lot of work to add the German words for all the vocab, especially since WK doesn’t let you add synonyms directly when you do the lesson.

Yeah. Add a synonim to everything. How fun… :frowning: And when you reset a level you lose everything. I wish you could have a backup of it.
In fact I offered adding words to everything to that they will have lots of spanish translations. But they said they were working on doing it in the future… we could do it for them for free, but well…

The problem is remembering the word in english and knowing how to write it, when you try to go fast, it’s really frustrating. And also because writing english with spanish keyboard in our phones mixes it all… I end up having english words in the swipe feature because I forgot to switch to english.

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Yep. THat’s another reason. I saw a script that is supposed to add that… adding synonims on lessons mode…but it didn’t work for me. And I use 6 other scripts.

Exertion! A couple of days ago I added a synonym to this too. Not that putting in “Anstrengung” is that much easier…

And then, they would have to also give full support in Spanish… Sometimes more doesn’t mean better :smiley:

Yep. THat’s another reason. I saw a script that is supposed to add that… adding synonims on lessons mode…but it didn’t work for me. And I use 6 other scripts.

Did you use my updated version? The original broke a while ago.

I’m also not a native speaker so I add a lot of synonyms. Not for everything, that would just be annoying. But exactly: sometimes “Anstrengung” is just easier.

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I have seen a few examples from german and spanish where they add a lot of synonyms in their native language. I would imagine it would be harder if you’re coming from another language where you would have to “romanize” your native language, or switch input modes. I started out using the Japanese keyboard on my phone for reading reviews, and the English keyboard for meaning reviews, and I quit after about a week. Getting faster with the Japanese input keyboard wasn’t worth the extra effort to switch back and forth :open_mouth:

They can say there’s no support in spanish. Those are community added synonims for different languages. They can be approved or not by WK. People can vote synonims, add more items… and the ones more voted will prevail.

I speak German as a third language and I have to say I might be adding Blinddarm as a synonym to appendix, esp. since apparently the Japanese term for it is literally blind + intestine. Every time I do the review for this word my brain goes: 盲腸 → Blinddarm → whatsitcalledagain in English? → ah, appendix

Sometimes the Indonesian (my mother tongue) word came up between the German and English in my brain (literally dead end intestine). English y u so weird.

-_-

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Hello,
I posted a tip regarding this subject. Hope this helps.

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