Any other noobs in their fury do this too?

Seems like it is on the site. In the example sentences. Congratulations, you have discovered what makes example sentences such a good thing to have, for multiple reasons.

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Greetings fellow noobs, and @juniormint I am pleased to see that my rage has inspired you.
Let me share a critical error I made a few times in my quest.

When researching about other people’s studies and their experiences with learning Japanese I came across a term called burnout. Being the noob that I am, I thought it wise to take this term seriously and show it respect. Thinking that breaks were somehow helpful to avoid this ‘burnout’, I’d find myself justifying taking a day or a week off to do something else.

Well fellow noobs, LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, EVERY SINGLE TIME I TOOK A BREAK I ALWAYS REGRETTED IT. ALL IT DID WAS PILEUP MY WORKLOAD AND ADD STRESS IN MY LIFE AND CAUSE ME TO RUSH THROUGH MNEMONIC MEMORY AND MAKE WEAK FOUNDATION FOR NEW KANJI I WAS ON.

BURNOUT IS AN IDEA CREATED BY THOSE WHO WOULD JUSTIFY THEIR OWN DECISIONS TO BE LAZY. AND THEY TALK ABOUT IT LIKE ITS A REAL OBJECTIVE TRUTH EVERYONE MUST RESPECT AS REALITY AND WILL EXPERIENCE IF THEY GO TOO FAST.

There is times that a break is necessary because of work and life, but fearing this phantom they call ‘burnout’ is a CRITICAL ERROR. IF YOU NEED TO BREAK THEN DO IT, BUT DO NOT BE FOOLED INTO THINKING BURNOUT IS REAL AND YOU ARE HELPING PREVENT IT BY NOT DOING YOUR JAPANESE

MYTHOLOGICAL FANTASIES LIKE BURNOUT, OR ANY WORDS AND ADVICE THAT SEEK TO PUT OUT THE FLAME IN YOUR HEART, INSTA TRASH IT.

You are fearfully and wonderfully made. The mind and body you were given can do many amazing things.

REAL PRACTICAL BREAK ADVICE:
Feel tired or angry at your studies? I FIND THIS HAPPENS MUCH MORE EASILY AFTER IVE TAKEN A FEW DAYS OFF AND PILED UP MY WORKLOAD.
If you got a bad attitude, it’s time to indulge the flesh a little bit, get food/coffee/lay down, watch something funny or inspiring etc.
A simple attitude adjustment is all you need in those spots.
Maybe put on some instrumentals of your favorite inspiring songs while you study. Music can fix attitudes fast.

SMASHES DESK
shotguns energy drink
DID YOU THINK THAT WAS ALL I HAD FOR YOU, FELLOW NOOBS?

TODAY WE BATTLE AGAINST ALL THE FORUM POSTS, COMMENTS AND WORDS OF OTHERS WHICH CAUSED YOU TO LOSE YOUR FIRE AND BECOME WEAKER WITH DOUBTS AND HESITATIONS.
DID YOU EVER JUSTIFY TAKING DAYS OFF TO AVOID ‘BURNOUT’?
DOES IT SPOOK YOU TO SEE PEOPLE SAYING THEYVE BEEN STUCK ON A LEVEL FOR MONTHS?
DO THE WORDS OF OTHERS MAKE YOU DOUBT THE WANIKANI SYSTEM?

GLARES AT KOICHI
THOUGH I SEE KOICHI AS A RULER OF DARKNESS FOR CHAINING ME TO TIMERS, I ADMIT WANIKANI IS MADE WITH CARE AND WORKS WELL.

NOW LETS BEGIN:
WHEN YOU HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF FUNDAMENTAL MECHANICS, YOU CAN CREATE UNWAVERING FAITH. AND FAITH ERADICATES DOUBT.
Example: In a fighting game, if I know my opponents jab has a 4 frame startup and my characters jab has a 3 frame start up, then I have ZERO DOUBT that I will get the hit if we both mash jab on eachother at round start.

KNOWING WHY ONE CAN EVEN FEEL THIS ‘BURNOUT’ IS THE REAL POWER. WHAT IS THE FUNDAMENTAL MECHANIC OF ‘BURNOUT’?

NOW BEHOLD, FELLOW NOOBS I REVEAL AN ADDITION TO THE STATEMENT WE ALL KNOW:
NOT DOUBTING, THATS WHAT MAKES YOU STRONG, THATS WHAT MAKES YOUR MIND BECOME GOOD SOIL.

Your learning mind is like the earth that you plant seeds in and watch it grow over time.
But your mind does NOT have a limit on soil space.

When you plant the seed in the earth, it’s good to take the extra time to plant it well.
When you learn a new wanikani lesson, it’s good to take your time at the mnemonic visualization and the vocab practice sentences.
This is planting your lessons well.
If you don’t water the properly planted seeds every day, they’ll grow weak and if ignored long enough, die.
If you don’t do your reviews every day, your properly planted kanji and vocab will do THE EXACT SAME THING IN THE SOIL OF YOUR LEARNING MIND.

AND EVERYTHING WILL SUFFER IN GROWTH IF YOU HAVE BAD SOIL AKA A BAD ATTITUDE OF DESPAIR OR FRUSTRATION THAT SOME CALL BURNOUT.
THESE FEELINGS SPAWN BECAUSE YOU DIDNT UNDERSTAND WHY A MEMORY RECALL IN YOUR MIND WAS WEAKER THAN YOU EXPECTED.
THATS ALL ‘BURNOUT’ IS.

Understand that if a recall is weaker than you expected, it’s NOT because you’re an idiot, it’s NOT because you’re stupid.
For WHATEVER THE REASON, that particular lesson in the soil of your mind had a weak initial planting OR wasn’t recalled(watered) in time. It’s simply one of those two things, nothing else.
Could be a break you had to take(reviewing it late).
Could be that you hurried the initial lesson(planted carelessly/didn’t take enough time to mnemonic or comprehend the word deeply).
Dwelling on the reason isn’t that important.
Sometimes crops fail, redo the lesson(fertilize it) or let the SRS reviews naturally strengthen it(water)

BUT WOE UNTO YOU IF YOU REACT TO A FAILED RECALL BY ALLOWING A BAD ATTITUDE TO SPRING UP. NOW EVERYTHING IN THE SOIL WILL BE WEAKENED BY YOUR DOUBTS AND PRIDE.
DONT THROW YOUR HANDS UP AND SAY YOURE UNDER A CURSE CALLED BURN OUT.
YOURE JUST NOT ACCEPTING THE REALITY THAT THE MEMORY NEEDED A BETTER FOUNDATION OR MORE TIMELY RECALLS.
FARMERS GET DEAD OR WEAK CROPS ALL THE TIME, DONT BE SO PROUD TO THINK YOU WONT EITHER.

Memories in your mind work just like a seed planted in the earth will.
Knowing this will help you not be surprised or frustrated by weak or dead recalls.

Who would throw a temper tantrum if their seeds they chucked carelessly into the soil and watered when they felt like it, didn’t grow into a strong tree?

If you take days off your reviews, youre only making your crops weaker by not watering on time.
Sometimes it can’t be helped and life makes you take days off.
BUT TO DO IT INTENTIONALLY BECAUSE OF THIS BURNOUT MYTH?
ITS THE SAME AS THE SLOTHFUL MAN WHO SAYS THERE IS A LION IN THE WAY, A LION IS IN THE STREETS.
FIX YOUR ATTITUDE AND YOULL STOP FEARING A PHANTOM.

Frustration and despair come from not knowing or understanding.
If you know the SIMPLICITY of how your learning mind works as soil and your wanikani lessons as crops, you might be disappointed for a second at recall failures, but not eaten up with ‘burnout’.
You already know the problem and the fix.

The mystery of how a seed seemingly knows it’s in the earth and begins to grow, the same is true for language knowledge you place into your mind. IT CANNOT HELP BUT GROW IF YOU PLANT IT WELL AND WATER(REVIEW) IT FAITHFULLY AND NOT TOO LATE.

RECALLING MEMORY IS LIKE WATERING THE CROP. THERE NEEDS TO BE DELAYS WITH WATERING A CROP, IT NEEDS TIME TO DRINK WHAT YOU GAVE IT.

SRS RECALLING WANIKANI REVIEWS WORKS THE SAME. YOUR MIND NEEDS TIME TO STRENGTHEN THE MEMORY FROM THE RECALL YOU GAVE IT.

DO YOU WANT TO LEARN KANJI OR NOT?
YOU CANT JUST WATER HALFDEAD CROPS ONCE IN A WHILE AND EXPECT TREES WITH STRONG ROOTS. AND GOD FORBID YOU THROW A TEMPER TANTRUM(BURNOUT) AT THE CROPS YOU HAD FORSAKEN BECAUSE THEY ARENT GROWING WELL.
IF THEY DIE, THEY DIE, YOU CAN JUST REDO THEM.
ONCE YOU GOT A BAD ATTITUDE, NOW EVERY SINGLE CROP IS GONNA BE EFFECTED.

SAYING YOU NEED A BREAK FOR BURNOUT IS LIKE THE FARMER CROSSING HIS ARMS AND TELLING HIS INANIMATE CROPS THAT NONE OF THEM GET WATER NOW BECAUSE SOME ARENT GROWING AS STRONG AS HE WANTED THEM TO.

And finally fellow noobs,
He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

AND FOR THOSE FELLOW NOOBS WHO CAN FEEL THEIR HEARTS BURNING WITHIN THEM RIGHT NOW:
Be not deceived; God is not mocked:
FOR WHATSOEVER A MAN SOWETH, THAT SHALL HE ALSO REAP.

REJOICE AT THAT GUARANTEE. NEVER BE DISCOURAGED BY FORUM POSTS EVER AGAIN. PLANT WELL, WATER WELL, YOUR FREE TIME IS THE ONLY LIMIT TO YOUR PROGRESS, NOT THE BURNOUT BOOGIEMAN.

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I always suspected the term “burnout” might just be a psyop. Thank you, 先生. I will take these lessons to heart. :pray:

I am eagerly awaiting your level 60 retrospective. Many of us noobs look up to you. Please keep going.

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That first part wasn’t actually terrible advice, for any pursuit, not just WaniKani.
but I burned out and couldn’t finish reading the rest

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Fellow noobs, I don’t know when it happened but somewhere in the 40’s I started being able to get 1 level per 3 days instead of 7 days. When I first realized it, as you might expect, I danced and rejoiced that Koichi’s chains had finally been loosed. I boasted in my heart about how fast I will finally get all these kanji down. And then I got an old fashioned pride goeth before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall.

Irl situations and all manner of vanities began to attack me and take my time away. I still pressed on when I could and managed to climb up to 51 while enduring the repayment for my previous boasting.

Anyways, I cannot make an effort post or share a transcendant epiphany at this current time. This post is simply to provide an encouragement for all the furious enemies of Kouichi. His power will weaken significantly at a certain point of your leveling journey.

I think it was around level 45 when I started getting enough kanji per level to go up in 3 days instead of 7. It seems like every level until 60 will be likewise.

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That’s because those are fast levels.
You see, when you get to a new level, some of the kanji are available to you at once, and some would only become available once you guru that level’s radicals.
To get to the next level, you need to guru a certain percentage of that level’s kanji.
Up until around level 45, that percentage is bigger than the immediately available kanji, so you wouldn’t level up until you guru that level’s radicals and then guru the kanji they unlock.

But starting around level 45, the amount of immediately available kanji is enough to satisfy the quota, so once you guru them, you’d get to the next level.

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Excellent thread. Very motivational and energizing. Glad to see their max speed desires paid off.

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I do think that it’s too slow, but I guess the theory is that it needs to be that slow for spaced repetition to work.

I memorize French and German vocabularies with the spare time when I feel like memorizing something, that way I’m progressing in 3 languages slowly instead of just doing a single language slowly

Maybe you could try some playing some Japanese games or some Chinese games in Japanese dub and text since you’re over level 50?

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They say the last mile is always the longest, fellow noobs. From work issues since December to enduring measles the last 3 weeks, I trudged through and finally made it to 60. But I have to finish all the vocab for 58 to 59 and I have to do the level 60 kanji lessons and lvl 60 vocab. But worst of all, I have more than 2100 reviews that have piled up since I was bedridden for the last 3 weeks from measles. I have had pileups of 1000 and 1200 and completed them in 1 long day, but this is the worst it’s ever been.

More than the numbers being so bad right now is the actual time of not doing my wanikani since being sick 3 weeks ago, I will no doubt have forgotten quite a bit that I was working on in these 2100 reviews and so I will not just have to do the reviews at normal pace, but also have to go back and redo the mnemonics for some of these.

A big part of me wants to say “whatever just transition to reading/immersion now” and skip Wanikani, but ive got enough life experience to know a certain truth, it is no coincidence, whenever you are close to something great, the resistance will multiply right at the end. What is life really about, fellow noobs? What does the scripture say:
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

Though we all know this is true, we fight anyways don’t we? Let’s remember our friend Bulma. When she learned the information from Future Trunks, she suggested a simple solution: Use the Dragonballs to locate Dr. Gero and destroy him and the androids before they could terrorize earth. And what was the response from Vegeta? He said he would kill her if she did this and Goku sided with him. The vanity that inspired this outrageous decision by the battle maniacs was a primal desire to fight against strong opponents. The life of a saiyan is seeking one violent vanity after the next and what’s the point of it all? If you asked Son-kun, why? He would say because it’s fun. AND IF YOU ASK ME WHY, ID SAY BECAUSE THERES NO WAY IN HELL IM LOSING TO KOICHI. A MAN’S LIFE IS MADNESS AND VANITY AND VEXATION OF SPIRIT, TRUE, BUT THAT WON’T STOP ME FROM BREAKING THESE CHAINS AND DEFEATING YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL KOICHI

Since December 2025 I have had the great resistance begin and many irl problems battle against my free time, but nevertheless when I found the time, I kept doing the reviews and lessons when I could. Many random days doing 700-1000 reviews in one day since December. I reached level 60 BUT SOMEHOW IT FEELS LIKE THE REAL FIGHT IS JUST BEGINNING AND THE GREATEST BATTLE IVE EVER HAD IN WANIKANI (2100 REVIEWS AT ONCE PLUS THE FOLLOWUP WAVES THAT WILL SPAWN FROM THIS) IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN.

But first, here is some real practical information I should give to all fellow noobs:


Before I forget, critical info about wanikani leveling:
-Around mid level 40’s it finally goes back to 1 level per 3 days instead of 1 level per 7 days. War and fight and rage against the chains cast by Koichi until you reach this point. From level 4 to level 44 you must endure 1 week per level max speed. (I think its 44 it might be 45 or 46, but its mid 40’s when you can finally level once per 3 days again).

-At level 60 a special discount opens up where you can buy lifetime subscription for $60 USD.

-I strongly advise you to use an AI each time you encounter a new kanji lesson to ask it what the kanji really means and its normal use contexts and how its different from similar meaning kanji. You can get optimal replies that have very little reading and get to the point. Some of the kanji in wanikani are so poorly explained and dont tell you critical things to know about them, you can get the wrong impression of them. (Don’t let this discourage your wanikani study though since wanikani is the easiest and most convenient SRS for joyo kanji and it has editable meaning/reading/description sections which I use a lot to copy and paste my replies from the AI which will tell me the real meaning. It is better to use the built in spaces they have for meaning explanation and synonyms rather than waste time finding some whole new system.)

Example format to tell your AI to use for you:

(しゅん / またた)

Blink / Instant

:eye: 瞬く (self-move — to blink/twinkle)

:high_voltage: 瞬間 (instant/moment — extremely common)

:sparkles: 瞬く間に (in the blink of an eye)

Core feel: the shortest possible unit of time — a blink. 瞬間 is very natural daily word. Natives feel the razor-thin slice of time instantly. Also carries a beautiful, almost poetic shimmer when used for twinkling stars or lights.

This entire example response from my Claude AI will be pasted in the meaning explanation of the 瞬 Kanji on my wanikani(it fits less than 500 characters). Of course you can make your AI feed you whatever critical info you want and customize the format to your preference, this is just an example that I use that you can copy and paste quickly to be able to rapid fire new kanji to it and get a quick understanding of the meaning without wasting much time.


Okay now that you have heard my recent battle and seen some practical information I wanted to share, I will proceed to my great warfare. 2100 reviews. Even if I fight them all at once in one session with great fury, they will spawn massive review waves in the next coming days and weeks. 2100 Reviews is merely the first wave. On top of that I have vocab lessons from 58 and 59 and still the level 60 kanji and vocab to do and these will add more to the waves.

Wise language learners(Bulmas) might look at this situation and say its bad use of time, just immerse and read, youre going to burn out etc. My response to the wise is this: Let’s open our King James Bibles to 2 Samuel Chapter 23 and remember the story of Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. A man unknown by most, even those who claim to believe the good book, if you asked them who this man was, they couldn’t tell you. Behold, the two sentences of his story:
And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines. But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.

Now lets put ourselves in Shammah’s shoes. A troop of warriors comes upon a field of lentiles with intent to take it. Lentiles are not worth a fight to the death to defend. The natural response is to flee and let them take it, as all the people did. If we are going to fight to the death, it won’t be for some lentiles. Maybe some want to fight, but when they see everyone else fleeing, their will breaks too since they don’t have numbers, so they flee.
It’s not like Shammah didn’t understand the obvious thing that everyone else did, he watched his allies all leave, he saw the impossible situation. He probably was being yelled at to run away by those who were with him. Maybe some people even said “YOURE NOT SAMSON, GET OUTTA THERE SHAMMAH.” But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Phillistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.

Sight says run, faith says fight. Shammah couldn’t know he would live or what kind of outcome would happen until the battle was over. But that day, something in him knew that he had to fight, no matter how outrageous it seemed. It’s not like I don’t understand it should be better to spend my time in immersion instead of battle these review waves, but there’s no way im letting Koichi take my field of lentiles. I know the beauty is always behind the overwhelming resistance that appears at the end. I can’t prove it’s there, if I could, then I wouldn’t be tempted to flee from the troop.

I chose to study Japanese because I want to show the kind people of Japan that being saved from hell is so easy even a child can do it, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, which is my username. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it’s the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
Why do I say this? Because just like Samson, it was not Shammah’s might that wrought a great victory, it was the LORD.
Just like with the gospel, it’s not might or deed that save a man from the damnation of hell, it is God that saves man from his sin. If Jesus didn’t bear our sins on his own body when he was nailed to the cross, we would all be damned. If the LORD was not with Shammah, he would of been bodied by the troop in that field of lentiles.
Even someone like Koichi, if he were to make himself like a child and believe the simplicity of the gospel, that Jesus death, burial and resurrection saved us from our sins, he can have eternal life this very second, escaping the damnation of hell.
Jesus said Verily, Verily I say unto you, he that believeth on me HATH everlasting life. Present tense. Only way it can be present tense in John 6:47 is if every single sin is paid for once you believe on Jesus. Something eternal cannot end for any reason.
If you could have eternal life that ends because of sin or something else, then it was not eternal, it was temporal, and that would make God a liar, which is impossible because Titus 1:2 says In hope of eternal life, which God, that CANNOT lie, promised before the world began.
The kingdom of God will be way more fun with the Japanese there too. And it would be more fun with you, reader, whose heart is burning within you right now. If you believe what I said, call upon Jesus to save you right now out loud, NOW is the day of salvation. Theres no magic spell to chant, come to God as a little child, believing in your heart and calling upon his name.

And why did I say all of this as a reply to the wise who would tell me to flee from the review waves? A scripture comes to mind:
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

When Shammah stood in the field of lentiles against a troop, the wisdom of the wise said he was dead, but the LORD destroyed the wisdom of the wise on that day. I may not be wise or prudent, but I know how to preach the gospel of this same LORD. Maybe it’s not wise to war against these final review waves, my might and stamina should have limits after all, its better to use my resources on something more valuable than these lentiles. But somehow or other, I cant help but believe the LORD will once again make foolish the wisdom of this world, as he always does. Once the battle is over, Ill see why it was worth it. Ill defend the field from the troop that has appeared at the last mile for me, I am pulling a Shammah. THIS FIELD AINT YOURS, KOICHI.

YOURE GOING TO NEED WAY MORE THAN A TROOP TO KILL ME, WANIKANI.

LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!!!

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Congratulations on reaching level 60! :tada:

This is a very impurrtant milestone – may it be just the beginning of many more victories you are going to achieve on the path to Japanese fluency! wricat

And may this meowgnificent fighting spirit of yourse never leave you! :martial_arts_uniform:

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Hey congrats. Most people don’t finish.

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What can I say? The forums are more tempting.

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