Hello!
I suppose this is a question aimed more at Japanese beginners like me
Recently I started using Bunpro with the Genki grammar+vocab learning path, following along with the textbooks.
As I’m still low level on WK, I run into a lot of vocab using kanji that I haven’t studied yet - most if not all of the kanji will eventually be covered here but usually in the high(ish) levels, like 8-10 or more above my current level 6.
I keep the furigana visible for the first few SRS levels then hide it once I’m comfortable with the word. But it seems I only recognize the kanji as part of the words I learned: once I am given a new word using the same kanji (furigana will be hidden from the first word) I either don’t recognize it or I recognize the kanji writing but it comes with a different reading - both leading to my turning the furigana back on.
Now… I don’t want to add yet one more SRS to the mix for studying these new kanji independently - especially if they’ll show up here later on
I suppose I’ll have to put up with the rote memorization of words (and kinda ignoring the underlying kanji), but I am wondering how everyone else deals with such situations?
Same as you. Rote memorization of words without looking at kanji for now. For some words, I look up the kanji and make a note of them in the Notes section of the Bunpro card. For some words, I just learn the word without looking at the kanji at all. Hopefully in a few levels (Wanikani) or months (Bunpro) the two will converge more and I’ll get to “re-learn” what I learned on Bunpro when I get to the kanji on Wanikani.
By the way, I really like the Chrome plugin 10ten. You can hover over a word and see what level the word is on both Bunpro and Wanikani. It’s a pleasant surprise every time I find a word “in the wild” or on Bunpro and see that I’ll learn it on Wanikani in a few levels!
It depends where I see the kanji. If I’m reading it in a print medium and there is furigana, I’ll read the furigana and maybe type the kana into a dictionary or translate. No furigana, I’ll just let it slide because that generally means I’ll encounter it in WaniKani. In general if I read kanji in print I’m more likely to look up the meaning if I think I should already know the kanji, ie, I’ve already encountered it in WaniKani and am at least above “apprentice” on it.
Online, I generally past it into translate. Often with the surrounding Japanese for context. Then I read the pronunciation. I try to read the kana pronunciation, but sometimes romanji is useful. I try to limit romaji usage as much as possible, but I don’t avoid it.
Not sure what I would do encountering kanji I don’t recognise in games…
Many dictionary apps have an option to look up a kanji by entering the kanji by drawing it. So you can just copy what you see. Also, many translation apps on smart phones have a feature to use your camera and use OCR to scan what you want to translate.
Oh that’s cool, and I see it’s available for Firefox too.
I wonder if it would play nicely with Yomitan which I’ve just installed or if they’re not compatible if there’s a similar feature available for Yomitan - just to show those WK and BP levels, I mean.
I’ll check it out, thanks!
Yeah… I am one of those people who are aware their phones have cameras (mine’s got… four, I think?) but never use them unless forced to
Anyways, in another thread I started I got a recommendation for an Android app Kanji Study - I was looking for something that could help with memorizing the WK kanji by writing them down and now I’m thinking it might also be useful for practicing some of these other kanji I encounter somewhere else…
I’ll chime in with my recommendation of another app like that: Ringotan. I like it because it lets me study Kanji in WaniKani order. You can also sort it by various textbooks if that’s more your speed.
Now I’m curious how the two compare. Gonna try it out for myself…
Edit: Nevermind, Kanji Study needs to be fully unlocked with money. Ringotan is still free.
I know that’s the aim, but right now it seems sooo far away
I don’t even instantly recognize all the words I learn here when they show up in sentences on Bunpro… the dangers of the SRS isolation bubble, I suppose
And then whenever I pick up a new word in Bunpro that uses ‘new to me’ kanji and then I learn one of those kanji here I have a-haaa! moments: “Well if I knew this kanji before encountering that word, it would have made it so much easier!”
That’s almost* exactly how I have been learning for years now. I once got to WK level 14 or so before I stopped using it, and everything since then has just been “SRSing vocab without specifically learning kanji” or not SRSing at all and just trusting that immersion will take care of it.
I hear ya… it’s just that at this point at least I find it much much easier to pick up new vocab given by Wanikani where it’s related to the kanji, versus ‘random’ ones I get from Bunpro that I cannot relate to anything.
This morning batch of lessons in BP was truly awful, in this regard - it feels like I’ll never properly learn those words.
That’s the ideal, isn’t it?
I haven’t yet tackled reading, or better said I tried but gave up almost immediately because I had no idea what 98% meant and that was frustrating, but I’ll try again after Genki 1 and some more vocab.
As far as I’m concerned, reaching a point where I can reduce SRS to a minimum and just read, read, read (and some times listen) can’t come soon enough
No idea what that means in practice, though? Maybe level 25-30 here and N3 grammar covered…?
No idea what that means in practice, though? Maybe level 25-30 here and N3 grammar covered…?
You could wait for that, but tbh, I think you could start with very simple things now. For example,
Start with level 0 and work your way up. The first few may be a bit rough, but keep at it! The forum also has a bunch of other fantastic resources- I’d definitely recommend looking through them once you have a chance. 頑張って～！
Ah yes, I check out Tadoku materials once in a while to gauge progress. It’s just that the content isn’t really… enticing
NHK Easy is a more interesting source and while I do see some progress there too (went to an article just the other day - made it half-way whereas a month ago I’d give up after two sentences) it’s still too difficult - way too much stuff to look up.
It’s from it that I came up with the estimates above, actually.
Anyways the next stop will be Satori, and it’ll be much sooner than those levels.
It’s just that I don’t see the current SRS amount (~2h with 24-30 lessons daily) going down significantly soon - too many unknown kanji, too much unknown grammar, too little vocab. I’m not complaning, mind you. It is what it is at this early stage…
