Hi everyone, I am starting with Genki alongside WK and I am looking for the best SRS to learn my vocab, inspired by how good WK is.
I have read about Kitsun here, but the Kitsun Genki deck is made for the 2nd edition Genki. Isn’t that a problem? It would feel strange to pay for a service with an obsolete deck
Otherwise, I am also considering Anki, but the system is quite overwhelming. Does anyone perhaps know an easy guide for setting it up well? Because the amount of guides is even as overwhelming as the system itself :')
Third, I am also attracted by Genki’s native vocab app, especially because it includes drawings and audio files. It has no ‘real’ SRS and I cannot add my own extra words afterwards, however. Are there users of the app that want to share their thoughts? (Haven’t bought it yet, first wanted to hear with you)
Or are there perhaps other good options to consider? And what would be your verdict?
Anki. It’s free and infinitely customizable. I’ve used it for years for all kinds of stuff, including about 3 thousand japanese vocab words (I also used it for Genki) and there has never been a moment where I go “I wonder if I can do this” and I haven’t been able to. Truly it has changed my life. I cannot recommend it enough, you just have to get over that initial difficulty curve which isn’t too hard with how many beginner guide youtube videos there are. You can find pre made decks for pretty much anything (here is what I used for Genki 1 Genki 1 3rd edition with sound files - AnkiWeb) and there are a ton of addons if you want to make it look more modern.
Also, once you get through Genki, look up the Yomichan browser addon to mine vocab and automatically get it into anki with just one click. I just recently have started immersing and this has been the #1 tool after Anki and Wanikani for me.
Just want to second everything said here. Anki is a bit of a pain at first, but when you get things set up and know how to navigate it, that all falls away and it’s remarkably efficient. I personally learned the Genki vocab exactly this way.
You can get pretty close, but I recommend sticking with the default algorithm and only messing with it if you’re finding it doesn’t work. Anki is by default set up with intervals in days, not hours like Wanikani. So for example the first interval for new cards is to see it the next day, instead of 4 hours like Apprentice 1 in Wanikani. It is a little different but highly effective and rooted in scientific research because it uses the SuperMemo algorithm. I think you can set up that first interval to pop up again 4 hours later if you really want to but I wouldn’t recommend it as a beginner because it could get a little tricky. Just because it’s different from Wanikani doesn’t mean it won’t work for you; in my experience I’ve gotten great results from both Anki and Wanikani despite the differences. You can set up “type in the answer” cards as well if you’re interested in that.
Anki is fine.
But also I don’t think there’s really a big difference between the second and third editions of Genki. They’re more or less interchangeable as far as third party study resources go in my experience.
I’ve tried using Anki with Genki Vocab and can’t seem to get the vocab down compared to WK. I love the way WK is set up and how it changes when things pop up depending on if I got them right or wrong, and it’s beneficial for me.
My problem with Anki is I compare it directly to WK when they are obviously different. I don’t have the option to type my answer and see if I got it or not. When selecting the time intervals, I either set them too short so it doesn’t mean anything or so far out that I simply can’t remember it. I also am able to cheat myself by saying “eh, close enough” and moving on without cementing it at all.
I remember flipping through the cards and thinking “why can’t WK let me put my own phrases and vocab in their system.” I know the work behind that would be ungodly and way too much, but it would be awesome to have this exact setup for everything else.
It’s just crazy to think about how similar Anki and WK are and my ability to remember things is so vastly different with these small differences between the two.
I will warn you, be careful.
When you start using add-ons it can get crazy…
I’ve had bits of time where I’ve ruined my study for uni, as I’m spending too much time perfecting the layout of my study material that I didn’t spend enough time actually studying it!
PS: The guy I posted above also has a vid on some really good addons. The only major problem with Anki addons is that they update Anki pretty regularly and sometimes it causes them to no longer function, if they update their addon, you’re good, but if they don’t your stuck trying to decide if you want to delay updating Anki due to wanting to keep that addon.
I’m not doing this for uni or anything like that, so there’s no real time limit to my learning
That being said, I’m OCD, so if I’m not careful, I WILL spend all my time doing that instead of learning anything. I’ll have to keep reminding myself of KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).
