It probably has to do with how the answer is checked. When its expecting Roman letters and you give it Kana then it knows to not accept it. But when you enter roman letters, it checks it against the answer key.
If you can, its likely easier to get the override script and just ignore your typos. Doubt its something they can change overnight
If I’m quite honest, I quite like these terms. I don’t really know a lot about Japanese culture, so if I were to encounter one of these words in the wild, I would not know what they meant. For example, I had never heard of an Izakaya before, and if I were to see a shop front with the kanji for that plastered on the front, I would have had no idea what’s inside.
Usually in cases like “Izakaya”, etc, Wanikani has an explanation/example of what it is in the lesson and example sentences. So, if you didn’t know what they were beforehand, you will afterwards, and also learn that it is a increasingly common word in English. For example, I had never heard the term “bosozoku” until I learnt that vocab the other day, and now I know that it is loan word.
But since izakaya is such a Japanese concept, why wouldn’t I learn exactly that word? Also, if you want to add your own synonyms that is still possible.
I guess Wanikani is just giving you options, and different ways of expressing what it is.
I’m confused by this entire exchange. None of the provided examples (音読み and 旅館) represent the alleged issue because you can literally input “on’yomi” and “ryokan” as definition meanings for each of them, respectively. Alternative meanings are always accepted as valid definition answers, and each of those has the reading as a meaning.
I would argue that if you have Japanese vocabulary so ingrained in you that you believe the Japanese readings should serve as acceptable meanings (even though you have provided very few examples of where you believe this should be implemented), then the service is not for you, or at least you’re not WK’s main target audience. No offense, but trying to accommodate a handful of people already proficient in Japanese who associate Japanese words with the readings themselves negates the purpose of the service in helping foreign speakers associate Japanese words with English meanings.