Do I need to start from level 1 if I have already passed JLPT N5

I started using wanikani because I took a break from formal study for about 4 years ago and forgot a lot of kanji, but reading about the levels it says I won’t be able to get to the higher levels without dragging through the low levels going over stuff I already know, is it really worth my time going through all the basics again at snail pace?

If you already know the kanji and vocab it probably will not take that long. There is no way to skip levels to my knowledge

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Kanji and vocab are not necessarily ordered by JLPT level. Not only that, but I’m guessing you passed N5 4 years ago? I’d say reviewing the materials again will make for a stronger foundation this time, so it’s worth it.

If anything, you have the first 3 levels for free. See how you feel about them and only then consider if it’s worth subscribing or not :slight_smile:

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I started using WaniKani after I had already passed N3. It took about 4 months before I got to a level where I didn’t know any of the kanji. But even when I was covering kanji I already knew, there were plenty of words I hadn’t learned before.

But if you don’t want to, there are loads of other ways to study kanji.

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Welcome to Wanikani! :smiley:

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No, but it doesn’t hurt, since it gets you familiar with some of the radical names it uses to build mnemonics throughout. You may also pick up some unknown readings here and there before you get into large swathes of new material. And almost certainly new vocabulary.

Plenty of people (myself included) have started from intermediate study or beyond. The early material will move quickly.

As far as why they don’t allow level-skipping, my guess is that it’s not worth skewing the perceived effectiveness of the program for people who self-assess poorly or miss out on foundational elements of its (very good) mnemonic system. It really isn’t that bad for more experienced learners to just put in a bit more time if they like the looks of its structure and teaching/drilling style from the free levels.

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Just take your medicine and start from L1, it sucks but like many others here, I started after a large amount of previous kanji knowledge.

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You also started using WaniKani after you finished WaniKani. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Same here, when I started it took until level 10 or so to come across a single kanji I didn’t know. Even so, it was a really good reinforcement and helped with readings, and I’m glad I wasn’t able to skip it. It’s also a good way to get used to the system without as much difficulty, and there’s most likely vocab there you don’t know yet.

If anything, you’ll probably never forget those kanji :wink:

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If you’ve only passed N5, unknown kanji will come quickly. The order is also different to JLPT. ”Draggin through low levels” seems a bit of an exaggeration when referring to maybe 3-4 levels.

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N5 is what, like ~100 kanji? Of the 2000 that you’ll go through on WK. So if you remembered say half of what you knew 4 years ago, that’d be like 2-3% of the kanji on WK.

Even if WK was ordered by JLPT level (it isn’t), you wouldn’t exactly be skipping much…

In any event yes, you have to start from level 1, and it’ll be good to in the long run.

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Luckily, the “Yes I reset again” title should explain that.

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