How many times a day do you do WK?
3-4 times… On my lunch break at work, when I get home from work and in the evening beforer I sleep.
I would say you can manage around 125 apprentice or more at 4 times a day. Keep doing all your lessons for now, if it gets too tough, you can always stop new lessons for a little while. I sit around 150 apprentice and I do WK 4-5 times a day.
Thanks, I’ll try and keep on top of it.
I think a common theme here is “be an active learner” (my phone wanted to correct that to "be an active LaserJet " -.-). What that means is, don’t just sit around waiting for reviews if you have time to study, go out of your comfort zone and try new stuff like Anki, NHK easy, kaniwani, japanesepod101, Genki, etc. There are tons of free things you can do (and for cost things too), so don’t get complacent just doing one or two things if you have the time to keep learning.
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Liked for both good advice and LaserJet 
Be an active learner is a good mindset to have. Not just for Japanese, but for life in general too 
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Something a Japanese friend of mine told me about that I NEVER realized on my own
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.
Once you gain a few levels, compare some of the readings to kanji that have similar radicals . .you will see what I mean.
Its quite cool
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I just started WK recently but I hope my input will be helpful,
I am a bit obsessive compulsive with my study habits, but I find that with such a busy schedule, it has been better for me to stick to a rigid routine if I hope to take Japanese seriously!
I wake up early in the morning and don’t start my WK reviews until I am fully dressed. I do my reviews first and if my apprentice items drop below 50 I know it’s time to do reviews until that number reaches at least 50. I think as I get better at this language I will probably raise this number to 75. I have an app on my phone called “Hours” that keeps track of how much time I have spent learning Japanese, the second I start studying I push the “study Japanese button” that keeps track of how much time I’ve spent learning. On a language blog somewhere it said that it takes 2300 hours of study to “learn Japanese.” I figure I will have somewhat of a grasp on the language if I can reach this goal.
Every new kanji or vocabulary word I see I immediately add to my tinycards app so I can study the new words and restudy old words with a bare basic SRS system to at least keep the words fresh in my mind. I typically study these flashcards I made from my iPhone throughout the day. On one side is the vocabulary word with Kanji and on the other side is the hiragana pronounciation of the the new word, I only use hiragana because it forces me to rely only on Japanese.
Finally, I don’t let myself go to bed until I do my reviews on WK. This method may be slow for a lot of people but it has worked for me since I started WK, I take it slow because I usually work 60-70 hours a week and if I keep it simple and part of my daily life it helps prevent me from burning out!
The ultimate goal is to earn all the JLPT certifications and the only way to do that is to study every day.
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Hi everyone,
I’ve just started Wanikani and I know that this is probably asked all the time, but I just wanted to make sure.
So after i’ve finished my first radicals lesson i have to wait 2 hours to review them?
You have to wait until whatever your dashboard says. I forget what exactly the level 1 and 2 wait times are (they are slightly faster than every other level) but it should tell you right there.
Thank you!
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.
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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
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Ignore answer script is essential for non native speakers.
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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?