Part of the problem may be that simply identifying an issue doesn’t lead right into a viable solution. It’s easy to say something is less than ideal (or just outright bad for some of us!), but it’s a lot harder to come up with a solution that fits in with the mnemonics and vocabulary related with the kanji.
So, I simply continue to chip away at the ol’ leech block!
I didn’t know about this one and also thanks for including pages from the author’s other book! These two are definitely going on my shopping list. I feel like I am on the cusp of understanding how sentences are built, but it’s the variations that throw me off. Specifically when a word acts differently then you expect based on its placement either alone or in a phrase, in a sentence.
If for any reason you had to pick between the two books, I’d say go with “Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication” first. It’s organized by what you intend to say (as shown in the table of contents photograph).
That’s not to say there’s anything issue with “A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Sentences Patterns”, but this one only sorts sentences into “Noun and Adjective Sentences” and “Verb Sentences”. Within those two categories, there’s no clear grouping, and it’s harder to find what you’re looking for. (I can take a few photos of this one later.)
It’s been very nice having a low(er) number of reviews each day, giving time to focus on other areas for November.
Apprentice is at 50.
Next-24-hours reviews is 126 reviews.
Ah, daily reviews are back higher again… I’m not looking forward to having 42 drop this evening.
I’ll go with a few vocabulary lessons for now.
| Lesson | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 抜く | to extract |
| 革ジャン | leather jacket |
| 長崎県 | Nagasaki prefecture |
After struggling with 抜 early on, I think I’m getting to down, so long as I don’t go too fast. The rest look easy enough, so no screenshots here today.
Total leech count is up to 453. Apprentice is still holding steady at 37.
WaniKani says I have 79 news coming up tomorrow. The item inspector says 81 of my reviews tomorrow are leeches. Those numbers don’t quite go together…
Regardless of differences in numbers, it looks like I have 29 Apprentice leeches up for review tomorrow. Here’s the worst of the worst:
| Item | Type | Leech | SRS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 識 | kanji | 53 | Apprentice IV |
| 自在 | vocabulary | 42 | Apprentice IV |
| 務める | vocabulary | 24 | Apprentice IV |
| 評論 | vocabulary | 20 | Apprentice IV |
| 乱す | vocabulary | 14 | Apprentice IV |
I’ve kind of 常識 maybe a little figured out, but not 識 by itself. I still haven’t magically come up with a solution for learning kanji better, so I’ll focus on today’s vocabulary leeches.
WaniKani’s main word for this is one is “freely”, which makes me think it should be followed by に. Without that に, it’d more difficult for me to associate it with a -ly word. I need to focus on WaniKani’s alternate meanings: “at will, flexible, adjustable”
Of course, all the anime usages I can find via subtitles are for 自在に. (And none good for screenshots.)
That leaves me uncertain how I’ll piece together “self + exist = at will, flexible, adjustable”.
The dictionary definition goes:
Perhaps I can frame it as “self + exist = exist as who you are (without anything standing in your way) = have your way to do things as you wish = (do things) freely”.
I keep mixing 務める with 認める. I just need to take time to try and figure which it is when either of these comes up. Otherwise, I know the meanings and readings for both.
I can get the reading for this one probably more than half the time, and the meaning less than half the time. It also has zero anime subtitle matches.
Dictionary definition:
I can see where “evaluate + theory” applies here. I just need to remember that the only reason people evaluate a theory is to “criticize” it!
I know the meaning and the reading for this one. How did I let it reach leech status? And as an Apprentice? Clearly I don’t always know it…
No screenshots works out well, as I’ve gotta see about if I can get a laptop CPU replaced today.
Ah, I see what you mean about ease of use, but it looks like the Dictionary may be basically out of print. I can’t really tell. But I should be able to get similar information out of the JSPEC, no?
I haven’t compared the two for what all they contain, but I imagine they both cover all the same basics. Nice thing about the dictionary is it gives a lot of variations on each sentence type. But JSPEC is actually a little thicker, so maybe it has more material?
Apprentice is 51. Next-24-hours reviews is 73. (Much nicer than yesterday’s high number.)
Nonetheless, I’ll stick with three vocabulary reviews for today.
| Lesson | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 呼ばれる | to be called |
| 現す | to show |
| 景色 | scenery |
I have enough trouble remembering 現れる’s reading, and now I’m given 現す. (Not to be confused with 表す.)
Down to 448 leeches total.
The important number for me right now is Apprentice, and that’s sitting at 38 (up one from yesterday).
I know I’ve failed at least a couple of my leeches that I reviewed earlier this month when they came up recently, and I’m sure I’ve had some later-stage leeches fall back into Apprentice. That’s probably part of why my Apprentice leech number isn’t moving very much.
My Apprentice III count is what’s up most. If I can get that and Apprentice IV down even just a little every couple of days, they should be wiped out in little time (I hope).
Looks like some of my Guru I has made it to Guru II.
Tomorrow I have 30 leeches within 85 reviews. That’s down to only 35%!
Two third of those leeches are Apprentice. The highest leech value ones are:
| Item | Type | Leech | SRS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 仮定 | vocabulary | 28 | Apprentice III |
| 評判 | vocabulary | 26 | Apprentice III |
| 防ぐ | vocabulary | 22 | Apprentice III |
| 輪 | vocabulary | 17 | Apprentice III |
| 欠かす | vocabulary | 16 | Apprentice III |
| 願望 | vocabulary | 11 | Apprentice III |
Looking at this, I’m thinking かてい, and something…temporary? I fail to consider the 定 part, to think of it as a temporary determination, which is an assumption, a hypothesis.
This is another return from my Day -1 (October 31st) post.
Surprisingly (for me), even though I’ve downloaded more subtitle files since this, this remains the one and only match:
This one I often think ひょうはん, but it’s of course ひょうばん.
Yet another leech back from before, from Day 1. I always forget that it means “fame, popularity, reputation”. Maybe I can remember it with some audiovisual:
Another day one return, another repeat screenshot:
Reading I have down. But I can’t associate the kanji with the above scene to get the meaning.
I always think りん rather than わ. Problem is I think ゆびわ, and think, “わ must be when it’s paired with another kanji, so alone it must be りん.” I need to remember that since 指 is a body part, it uses the same reading as when it’s alone, so 輪 uses the same reading when paired with 指 as it does alone.
Reading I mostly have to, but I always think “to lack” for the meaning, when it’s “to miss (doing), to fail (doing)”.
No good subtitle results for this one.
This time I mistook the meaning for “stubborn”. Thus this one is back from day two, and thus I bring back the prior screenshot to re-read:
These returning leeches are not a good sign for my progress…
Apprentice is 56. Next-24-hours reviews is 97.
Since I’m over 26 days at level 25, I should probably get in at least one kanji lesson each day. So today is one kanji, two vocabulary.
| Lesson | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 候 | climate, candidate |
| 律動的 | rhythmical |
| 見渡す | to look out over |
Still 448 leeches overall.
Apprentice is higher than before, at 44. The number I want most to get down to zero has gone up!
Of my 85 reviews coming up tomorrow, 69 will be leeches. That’s 81% leeches. That’s only 16 reviews that will not be leeches.
Tomorrow’s reviews include 25 leeches. Focusing on vocabulary, and excluding those with very low leech levels, that gives me:
| Item | Type | Leech | SRS | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 増税 | vocabulary | 13 | Apprentice III | |
| 画面 | vocabulary | 9 | Apprentice IV | |
| 署名 | vocabulary | 6 | Apprentice IV | |
| 栄える | vocabulary | 7 | Apprentice IV |
I feel like the top leech values for Apprentice vocabulary leeches have been getting lower. Hopefully I recall the subtitled scenes when it comes time to get those more stubborn leeches up through the higher ranks.
No subtitles for this one. I must be missing out on all the politics-centric anime.
I think I get 脱 and 税 mixed up, so when I see 税 I’m mistakenly thinking “tax evasion”. I need to take note of 増 to know it’s an increase. (Just so long as I don’t think it’s an increase in tax evasion.)
I keep coming up with がんめん when the reading is がめん. I need to keep 漫画 (まんが) in mind.
The meaning I mostly have down, but here’s a subtitle scene (with an accidental English subtitle):
Between not remembering 署 at all, and never knowing how 名 is reading (except for 名字!), this one is often difficult for me. Once I have the reading, the meaning comes to me instantly.
The two anime subtitle matches for 書名 are a bit long and with a lot of kanji I don’t know.
I mostly have the reading down for this one, but I think “to manage” rather than “to prosper” for the meaning.
Likewise, this one has few subtitle results, and the only possibly usable one is in a long sentence with a lot of kanji I don’t know.
Apprentice is 59. Nice to see it keeping low, even though I’ve been doing at least minimal lessons each day.
Next-24-hours reviews is 94. Always nice to see this one below 100.
| Lesson | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 構 | こう | set up, care |
| 規則正しい | regular | きそくただしい |
| 家庭教師 | かていきょうし | tutor |
Dictionary definition for 規則正しい:
Down to 438 leeches total, down 10 from yesterday. I don’t know if I burned a few, or got a few low-leech value ones right.
Apprentice leeches are at 34, also down 10 from yesterday 42.
Leeches account for 63 of my 83 reviews tomorrow. That’s 76%!
I just need to keep pushing those bars to the right.
And keep wishing for no new apprentice leeches.
I’ll be seeing some previously reviewed leeches tomorrow:
| Item | Type | Leech | SRS | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 正確 | vocabulary | 26 | Apprentice III | From day 5. I think I’ve got this one. |
| 求める | vocabulary | 17 | Apprentice III | From day 2. If I go slow, I might get it. |
| 表す | vocabulary | 14 | Apprentice III | From day -1. Feeling good about it. |
The “new” leeches to review are:
| Item | Type | Leech | SRS | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 関心 | vocabulary | 11 | Apprentice III | Easy | Moderate |
| 結局 | vocabulary | 15 | Apprentice III | Easy | Difficult |
| 住所 | vocabulary | 14 | Apprentice III | Moderate | Moderate |
| 義務 | vocabulary | 22 | Apprentice IV | Moderate | Moderate |
| 祈る | vocabulary | 13 | Apprentice IV | Difficult | Moderate |
Dictionary:
Dictionary:
I notice this one is often modified by a clause before it (in the anime subtitles I have). Keeping this in mind might help me remember it.
I’m low on time, so it’ll just be dictionary definitions for this one:
Apprentice is 54. Next-24-hours reviews is 94.
I’m bumping this up to two kanji, two vocabulary. That should give time for more vocabulary to unlock before I run out of vocabulary lessons.
| Lesson | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 模 | も, ぼ | imitation |
| 捕 | ほ | catch |
| 補う | おぎなう | to supplement |
| 不規則 | ふきそく | irregularity |
No subtitles for these. I could only find one for 補う, and I think what’s going to trip me up the most (at least up front) is the reading (another three-kana-to-a-kanji word).
Leech total is holding at 438.
Apprentice leech total is 40. Somehow I put down the wrong number yesterday; it was 42, meaning I was down only 2 yesterday, and it’s another 2 down today.
Of tomorrow’s 91 reviews, 63 will be leeches. That’s 69% leeches. Of those leeches, 21 are apprentice leeches.
My apprentice leech re-runs are:
| Item | Type | Leech | SRS | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 作業 | vocabulary | 33 | Apprentice III | I don’t recall getting this one wrong, but it’s back from Day 4. |
| 用意 | vocabulary | 25 | Apprentice III | Another return from Day 4. I was disappointed when I couldn’t remember this one. |
| 欠かす | vocabulary | 17 | Apprentice III | Back from Day 11, and made the same mistake. |
| 支度 | vocabulary | 14 | Apprentice III | From Day 6. I failed it miserable. |
And the newcomers:
| Item | Type | Leech | SRS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 成功 | vocabulary | 7 | Apprentice III |
| 信心 | vocabulary | 12 | Apprentice IV |
Every time I see this one, I feel I should know it, and I fail. Once I see that it’s せいこう, I can remember the meaning at least half the time.
The reading throws me off on this one. I initially get it right, but I doubt myself, go down a different path, and get it wrong.
No anime subtitles for this one.
Dictionary says:
I’ve decided to stop tracking how many pages I read in a day. I love having the stats, but I never do anything with them.
With all the other things I’ve been doing (such as leech training), when it comes to reading, the thought of tracking my pages read just becomes a form of friction, which keeps me from reading.
It’s been nice to have a reading goal of “read exactly this many pages from each series to stay on target”, but I can manage without that. I’ll still track my current page number in a spreadsheet (that’s quick and easy to do, and it’s okay if I forget). That ensures I’ll still have a “how many pages I need to read every day to finish this on my target date” number.
Apprentice is up to 64. It’s climbing up faster than I’m doing lessons, so I must be getting some guru’s wrong.
Next-24-hours reviews is at 105. Still within the range I want it to be right now (~110).
I’ll cautiously do three reviews, two kanji and one vocabulary:
| Lesson | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 鮮 | せん | fresh |
| 効 | こう | effective |
| 反響 | はんきょう | echo, reaction |
Leech total’s up to 439.
Apprentice leech total is 52. That’s up from 40 yesterday. I feel like these numbers aren’t moving in the right direction!
Of tomorrow’s 100 reviews, 30 will be leeches. That’s only 30%, which is quite nice. I just hope I don’t knock a bunch of tomorrow’s guru reviews back into apprentice status.
Return apprentice vocabulary leeches for tomorrow:
| Item | Type | Leech | SRS | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 保存 | vocabulary | 35 | Apprentice III | I got the meaning wrong… |
| 敗れる | vocabulary | 24 | Apprentice III | Same mistake as always. Mistook it for 取れる. |
| 省く | vocabulary | 23 | Apprentice III | Completely forgot the meaning. |
| 勇む | vocabulary | 18 | Apprentice III | The reading got me. I always mistake the reading. |
Reminder screenshots:
(Yeah, I forgot this alternate meaning for 保存.)
Other apprentice vocabulary leeches for tomorrow:
| Item | Type | Leech | SRS | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 工作 | vocabulary | 24 | Apprentice II | I get these 作 ones all mixed up. |
| 法規 | vocabulary | 22 | Apprentice IV | I mix this one with 法律 and 規則. |
| 改まる | vocabulary | 15 | Apprentice IV | I feel like this one should be well out of apprentice by now… |
Looks like most uses I see in anime are for a handicraft.
No subtitle results here. Dictionary definition is:
Wait, those are the exact two words I always mix this one up with! Well, meaning is never really the issue. I just need to spend more time working out the reading.
I seem to have time-traveled past a few days.
I’ve missed out on leech training, but have kept up on minimal lessons, mostly done well on reviews, and am at a good pace with book club reading.
Apprentice is 64. Next-24-hours reviews is at 114, higher than I’d like. I did five kanji lessons the other day, so I’ll keep it to one vocabulary lesson today.
| Lesson | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 模型 | もけい | scale model |
Whenever I see 慣れる, I think “I should know this one”, yet I always don’t. Then I look it up and think, “Yes, I should have known this one.” And then I look at WaniKani and see I haven’t learned this one yet, so it makes sense that I don’t know it yet. But it’s finally just around the corner, sitting there in my lessons!
When last I left off, the leech total was at 439, and it’s remained there to today. Apprentice leech total has increase by one to 53.
Of tomorrow’s reviews, 90 reviews, 69 will be leeches. That’s almost 77%. 36 of those leeches are for Apprentice items.
Returning leeches:
| Item | Type | Leech | SRS | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 務める | vocabulary | 25 | Apprentice III | Back from Day 10, for the same reason it was a leech back then. |
| 容易 | vocabulary | 20 | Apprentice III | Back from Day 9. I just can’t get this one down… I mix it up with 用意 refrequently. |
| 自覚 | vocabulary | 15.91 | Apprentice II | Another from Day 9. I have a better feel for the meaning of this one. I just can’t remember the meaning to begin with… |
| 作業 | vocabulary | 12.37 | Apprentice I | Somehow this one made it all the way back to Apprentice I… |
| 脱税 | vocabulary | 11 | Apprentice III | From Day 9. |
Return screenshots:
Newcomer leech reviews:
| Item | Type | Leech | SRS | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 産業 | vocabulary | 23 | Apprentice III | I always forget the meaning on this one. |
| 列 | vocabulary | 20 | Apprentice IV | I confuse 列 and 例 a lot. |
| 作用 | vocabulary | 13.44 | Apprentice III | I can’t seem to grasp this one to remember the meaning. |
| 伝 | vocabulary | 12.02 | Apprentice IV | |
| 支援 | vocabulary | 11 | Apprentice IV |
No subtitles for this one.
When I see either 列 or 例, I need to think “lead by example”, so I can say if there is a ｲ (leader) there, it’s example. If not, then row, line, queue.
This definition definitely takes me in a different direction from thinking “action”.
stop copying me … 
The sad thing is I haven’t done lessons in a couple of weeks and they just go round and round…
not far off from my own 
this one hasn’t given me much trouble … but that’s probably because of the work I do…heavy industry is part of engineering…if you can remember the reading maybe this will help… that idiot shuly that struggles with leeches works in heavy industry … that probably won’t be enough but something that might
these are coke drums…(these are sitting on a site here in Socal - not currently installed) … anyway they are huge…these were made by a company in Japan even! Sumitomo.
The coke drums are part of heavy industry don’t know but it’s worth a shot… some of your leechy ideas have helped me so maybe it will help you.
not trying to promote my company but to give you an idea of how big these things are, we also replaced them just in the past few years at Chevron El Segundo…they took a time lapse video that is super amazing…(they arrived not far from here got to see them in person) and then they were moved up PCH over several evenings. Quite the engineering effort!
https://www.fluor.com/projects/el-segundo-coke-drum-reliability
There are three videos if you scroll down the page:
Maybe this will help? Fingers crossed!
I haven’t looked at things like this or any oil/gas/petrochemical related things since uni, kinda nostalgic 
Even though I was raised on it, I don’t really like Coca Cola. Got any Dr. Pepper drums? (Although I almost never drink soda anymore…)
Regarding 産業, at the moment I’m going to try and associate “産 = give birth” + “definition = produce goods necessary for human life” = “giving birth to goods necessary to sustain human life”. I don’t know if I can make that work, but I guess I’ll find out.
Hm, sounds close enough that I might go pick one of them up this weekend to have around as a reminder. How’s weekend security over there?
I just watched the “Coke Drum Lift” one. I love stuff like this. It’s amazing the ingenuity, resourcefulness, and capabilities of humans!
diet dr peper … does that count hehe
it’s a refinery and it’s post 9/11…so you know…you just walk in like you own the place
pretty amazing right! I know the engineer that designed them and the engineer that coordinated that lift…amazing folks. Anyway…maybe this will be enough to trigger the meaning for you now
I’ve been slacking a bit, in part due to my laziness (it’s a bit time consuming going through subtitles, finding one with a suitable sentence, finding it in the episode, taking a screenshot, adding the dialogue). And part is lack of motivation (due to not much in the way of results, and a perfect example of why a routine is important).
I’m still doing at least one lesson per day, and all my reviews.
With my schedule broken, my daily manga reading’s turned into “read a whole chapter in one sitting to keep caught up” every few days.
I plan get that back in order in starting December. I’ll be adding the next volumes of Aria and Croisée manga back in, as well as the next Detective Milky children’s picture book.
I’m holding off on starting Ground Defense Force until I finish this second volume of Croisée, because reading non-digital is not the best experience for me.
When last I checked, my leeches were at 439 total, with an apprentice count of 53.
Today, my leeches are at 413 total, with an apprentice count of 46.
Is this one of those “a watched pot never boils” type situations? The less I observe my leech numbers, the lower they get? Or does it show my work earlier in the month has been paying off, so I’d better not slack off this past week?
I have 62 leeches up for review tomorrow. (More if I get today’s upcoming 12 leeches wrong!)
I do like the distribution of leeches:
If I can just get some of those leeches out of Apprentice IV!
My general WaniKani apprentice count is 53, low in part because I’ve been doing only one lesson per day.
oh if only we could watch all the leeches boil!!!
