# Am I blocked because I need to upgrade? \[Solved\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Requesting Help\ **Created:** [June 9, 2017, 1:30am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363 "2017-06-09T01:30:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jair16](https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/f/d/fd4c154120954695f788402f3bcf4e616499bc2d.png) [@Jair16](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Jair16)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 1:30am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/1 "2017-06-09T01:30:41Z")
Hi, I just started WaniKani yesterday and I plan to upgrade, but I wanted to reach level 3 first. I know it’s slow and I have plenty of patience, but I’m confused on the system. I’ve completed the first set of radicals in review 4 times now, but nothing has been unlocked for the Kanji. I’ve downloaded the mobile app to see if it would change anything, but in fact it says my radical progress is at 0%, how can that even be? Like I said, I’m aware it’s going to be very slow, but why is zero progress indicated for the radicals that indicate are apprentice on my home dashboard on my mac, that I’ve reviewed 4 times? Just need some help. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Borx](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/borx/32/299469_2.png) [@Borx](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Borx)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 1:34am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/2 "2017-06-09T01:34:42Z")
You’ll be quizzed on the radicals and after you get 90% of them to Guru level you’ll unlock the kanji lessons. ---
**Author:** ![Leebo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/leebo/32/439476_2.png) [@Leebo](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Leebo)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 1:34am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/3 "2017-06-09T01:34:44Z")
Your profile shows your radicals as still being in apprentice. Are you counting the original lessons when you say you completed 4 reviews? It’s 4 reviews after the lessons. ---
**Author:** ![Leebo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/leebo/32/439476_2.png) [@Leebo](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Leebo)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 1:35am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/4 "2017-06-09T01:35:50Z")
> [@Borx](#): > > You’ll be quizzed on the radicals and after you get 90% of them to Guru level you’ll unlock the kanji lessons. This is not how radicals work. The 90% thing is for kanji to trigger leveling up. ---
**Author:** ![Kumirei](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/kumirei/32/480522_2.png) [@Kumirei](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Kumirei)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 1:35am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/5 "2017-06-09T01:35:52Z")
You need to answer an item correctly several times in a row to progress ---
**Author:** ![lucianoctrl](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/lucianoctrl/32/223310_2.png) [@lucianoctrl](https://community.wanikani.com/u/lucianoctrl)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 1:36am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/6 "2017-06-09T01:36:31Z")
just be more patient and keep doing ur reviews(with correct answers) everyday and soon you will unlock more radicals and vocabulary =D ---
**Author:** ![Borx](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/borx/32/299469_2.png) [@Borx](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Borx)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/7 "2017-06-09T01:39:36Z")
My bad, I’m on my phone and very tired. As you Guru the radicals, you unlock the kanji associated with them. So you just need to do reviews until you unlock new items OP. ---
**Author:** ![Leebo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/leebo/32/439476_2.png) [@Leebo](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Leebo)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/8 "2017-06-09T01:39:42Z")
Also the progress bar is only for the percentage of items already at guru and since you still have them all in apprentice that’s why it says 0%. ---
**Author:** ![Jair16](https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/f/d/fd4c154120954695f788402f3bcf4e616499bc2d.png) [@Jair16](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Jair16)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 6:40am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/9 "2017-06-09T06:40:07Z")
I did about 3 or 4 lessons on my first day. Each lesson gave me about 5 new radicals each time until I reached 16 radicals. After each lesson I’d have a quiz that I’d complete entirely correctly on the spot. After this, the lessons stopped, but the reviews keep coming. I just completed a review on the same 5 or 6 radicals out of the 16 I’ve unlocked, so now it says the next review is available in 2 hours, but the lessons are still at 0. ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/5/0/507914cb5dff8b188bad9e8a308e66dbbc4b0bfb.png) ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/a/b/ab1ff62437d2a758ec18a59fdac4c97a76450566.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Tizzysawr](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/tizzysawr/32/8238_2.png) [@Tizzysawr](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Tizzysawr)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 7:08am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/10 "2017-06-09T07:08:23Z")
You unlock new lessons as you level items to Guru. Items are moved to Guru after you answer them correctly four times in a row in reviews (not lessons). When you level radicals to guru you get new kanji, when you level a kanji to guru you get new vocabulary, and when you level 90% of a level’s kanji to guru you advance to the next WK level and unlock the radicals for the new level. It’s pretty slow at first, but don’t fret: It picks up fast. By lvl 3 you’ll have a decent amount of reviews a day, and by lvl 20 you’ll have over a hundred reviews each day. It just grows gradually. ---
**Author:** ![Mempo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/mempo/32/4886_2.png) [@Mempo](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Mempo)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 7:41am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/11 "2017-06-09T07:41:37Z")
The answer you seek lies at the bottom of that big blue checklist you can’t possibly miss. (Guru level means correctly answering an item in a review session _ **4 times in a row** _) Also, there’s no official WK mobile app, only the ones users have made. ---
**Author:** ![DyslexicVampire](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/dyslexicvampire/32/44985_2.png) [@DyslexicVampire](https://community.wanikani.com/u/DyslexicVampire)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 8:08am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/12 "2017-06-09T08:08:33Z")
![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/f/b/fb1c8a9173b79caa81cdbf73a4b0d5fd8869f80b.jpg) This is my screen shot, and as you can see, I haven’t yet upgraded to premium. I’m a day and a half away from needing to upgrade to advance any further. ---
**Author:** ![Borx](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/borx/32/299469_2.png) [@Borx](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Borx)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 9:54am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/13 "2017-06-09T09:54:17Z")
Now that I’ve had sleep, let’s try and explain the system for you. Each item (radicals, kanji, and vocabulary) has a level of mastery that you go through. When you first learn an item, it’s considered to be at Apprentice level. After you give a correct answer for that item a certain amount of times in a row, it goes up a level. An item is considered learned once you get it to the second mastery level, referred to as Guru. The mastery levels are: Apprentice, Guru, Master, Enlightened, and finally Burned. You’re currently gated by the need to get your newly learned radicals up to Guru. Once you do, you’ll unlock kanji lessons. Once you Guru those kanji, you’ll unlock vocabulary. And once you have Guru’d 90% of the kanji for that level, you’ll advance a WaniKani level and do the process all over again for that level. Hopefully I didn’t make any mistakes this time. I’ve had sleep, but I’ve just woken up and am not fully awake yet. ---
**Author:** ![Usagipot](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/usagipot/32/48874_2.png) [@Usagipot](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Usagipot)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 10:18am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/14 "2017-06-09T10:18:06Z")
Only reviews count to make it 4 correct answers. It is cruel but after first lesson radicals situation looks like this. ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/a/d/ad747cb749ec31ed08a0fe9befc5e1641d49189f.PNG) ---
**Author:** ![Jair16](https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/f/d/fd4c154120954695f788402f3bcf4e616499bc2d.png) [@Jair16](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Jair16)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 7:20am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/15 "2017-06-10T07:20:54Z")
Got it, I see the progression. Thank you Naota \<3 ---
**Author:** ![Jair16](https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/f/d/fd4c154120954695f788402f3bcf4e616499bc2d.png) [@Jair16](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Jair16)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 7:21am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/16 "2017-06-10T07:21:41Z")
Got it, thank you for your help. ---
**Author:** ![Jair16](https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/f/d/fd4c154120954695f788402f3bcf4e616499bc2d.png) [@Jair16](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Jair16)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 7:22am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/17 "2017-06-10T07:22:38Z")
Thank you for explaining, you’re helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Jair16](https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/f/d/fd4c154120954695f788402f3bcf4e616499bc2d.png) [@Jair16](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Jair16)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 7:23am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/18 "2017-06-10T07:23:20Z")
You’re right, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Jair16](https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/f/d/fd4c154120954695f788402f3bcf4e616499bc2d.png) [@Jair16](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Jair16)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 7:26am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/19 "2017-06-10T07:26:44Z")
Should I delete the thread now? Or leave it for reference for newcomers? Just asking. ---
**Author:** ![Borx](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/borx/32/299469_2.png) [@Borx](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Borx)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 7:33am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363/20 "2017-06-10T07:33:57Z")
I don’t think it’s even possible for a user to delete a thread. I’m glad being confused by the system didn’t scare you off. Hopefully you’ll get familiar with it and stick around. Good luck with your studies regardless. [Next page](https://community.wanikani.com/t/am-i-blocked-because-i-need-to-upgrade-solved/18363.md?page=2)