So I was doing a lesson and had “to insert/ 入れる” and I noticed all the examples only say “ire/入れ”
Grammar!
入れる - dictionary form
入れます - masu form
入れてください - please do
入れた - past tense
Japanese is an inflected language, so the ending of verbs (and other parts of speech) can change to reflect different tenses and aspects. This is like learning the word “sleep” in English and then seeing example sentences that use “sleeping” and “slept.” WaniKani doesn’t teach grammar, so you have to learn how to conjugate verbs via some other resource.
The focus here is on reading the kanji, an element which is never affected by inflections.
Inflections from jisho. 入れる - Jisho.org and click Show inflections
You have a typo there, just letting you know.
Thanks! I’ll fix it now.
Thanks guys!
I thought that was most likely, but then when the length of the word was the mnemonic and the example sentences didn’t seem to reflect that… A quick explanation before the sentences would be nice, I guess.
The mnemonic is just a contrived way of keeping 入れる and 入る separate in your head. That’s kind of the way all the mnemonics should be taken. Not as a statement about the Japanese language.
I think the creators assume that most people will not be diving into WaniKani as their first exposure to Japanese. (Not trying to say you are wrong for being ambitious about it, though)
Kind of weird that Jisho doesn’t include the voalitional form in the table
I pretty much dived into WK as my first exposure to Japanese (except for hiragana on the Tofugu page).
Edit: though actually I agree, most people know some Japanese already. So I don’t think my comment adds much to the debate!
Same! I actually started with Wanikani even before I really got interested in the actual Japanese language, however weird it might sound.
I jumped into tofugu, duolingo, and WaniKani at the same time last week because I was bedbound with a migraine for a few days and would like to visit japan one day. (Why yes I do have ADHD, how did you guess?) I’ve been keeping up with all daily so far so yeah, my kanji is getting ahead of my grammar unfortunately.
I had a quick look in WaniKani getting started guide b4 posting here without finding anything. I just feel like a brief explanation somewhere that example sentences may not match exact vocabulary taught due to grammar wouldn’t go amiss, for we over-ambitious weirdos.
This only happens on verbs (and i-adjectives), though. And as I have yet to encounter a language where verb conjugation is not a thing, I don’t think it’s a bad omission.
I agree, this confused me a bit when I started too. Perhaps they could add it into the help guide along with how to type づ. Maybe by the why do I keep on getting “enter” wrong when I’m inputting にゆ section. 
I would agree if the length of it didn’t play into the mnemonic. Until this point I did not realise I was only being taught to remember and recognise the vocabulary in test-form rather than real-world form.
You can and will use the dictionary form in the real world plenty. It is the plain (casual) form used for non-past actions. It is even required in certain grammatical constructions regardless of politeness level.
But yes, it’s just one form of the word and you’re not tested on others.
Honestly Duolingo isn’t great for straight grammar. Even if you’re active about reading the tips and tricks and even comments, it can be confusing. Since you’re just starting out, I recommend Japanese from Zero. I don’t have ADHD, but George teaches in a very engaging and clear way about Japanese grammar.
It can be annoying at the start because it aligns with his books that progressively teach kana along with everything else, so there’s a lot of romaji at the beginning. He also includes stories of when he lived in Japan, so you can get more expose to culture as well.
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