Eve's study logs and Random musings

This thread will mostly be about my day to day reviews and logs. I am keeping this as an open diary
mostly for motivation purposes. If you are here and reading this, welcome.

Who the hell are you?

Hello! I am Eve, you can call me… Well, Eve. I have decided over the last few years I really haven’t been picking up any new hobbies and my life has been about work work work. So I always wanted to learn Japanese and here I am.

I am currently level 7 at this time of writing (25/May/2022), My goal for the year is to reach level 20ish
maybe level 30? (It’s probably kinda hard)

Outside of Wanikani, I am doing the Genki textbooks, bunpro and Anki decks (mostly core 2k/6k)

My biggest fear at the moment is burning out hence why I am making this thread as a way of self motivation. はい、行きましょう

So close to level 8, I am both dreading and anticipating the barrage of lessons. For now, I have been speeding through lessons, learning them all in one go. I do feel this have to change as I go to the higher levels. But for now, if it works it works.

Please feel free to comment if you want, will certainly make the thread lively but if you are here just to peruse I am also happy you are here.

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I Don’t think its necessary to slow down as the other levels are more or less similar the levels you are in now but its okay to slow down btw I’m not against it. I Just Like going fast as it gives me motivation I’m Progressing quickly. But If Your Motivation gets affected by the workload or reviews its okay to go slow.

Anyways I will be sticking around here in the study log :smiley:
Good luck

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Good job making it this far! And I think study logs are a great idea. Mine has helped immensely in keeping me on track :blush:.

I do think spacing out the lessons and doing a consistent number of them every day instead of binging them is good for avoiding burnout. As soon as I started doing that, my accuracy went way up (and it has stayed there despite the later levels being more difficult than the first few levels). I’ve had some very hard weeks since I started WK, and I honestly don’t think I’d still be here if I hadn’t been spacing out my lessons and making sure that my daily workload is doable for me :sweat_smile:.

Of course, it’s up to you what you decide to do, but just know that your workload is only going to get many times worse from here, so whenever you do new lessons, do them with your future self in mind. You never know what your life is going to look like six months from now. But if your pace is very consistent, it’s a lot easier to know what to expect, and it’s easier to motivate yourself to tough it out through the hard times.

I also recommend using your study log to talk about the things that you love about the language, or cool milestones or breakthrough moments during your studies! I think those are the moments that really keep you going. It’s also fun to look back months in the future and see all of the things that your past self struggled with, haha. It’s a good reminder that you actually are making progress, even if it can seem invisible in the moment.

Good luck with your studies!

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Burning out is always something that can be a concern with any activity. For me, avoiding burnout while learning Japanese has come by interacting with the language, figuring out what exactly I want to do with it, so I can focus my efforts where they need to be! It seems like you are doing a great job so far, with Genki, Anki decks, BunPro, and WK! (Wow, what a workload! Seriously, give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back!) But out of curiosity, what is it that motivates your learning? Do you like anime and manga? Are there movies or dramas you want to watch? Novels you would like to read? Do you want to move to Japan someday, or just visit? Answering those questions and holding the answer close whenever you feel a bit fatigued will certainly help you keep the motivation! But you should always remember that motivation will often run out on you. That’s where discipline comes in, and it’ll keep you on the path.

I can’t even count how many days I had where I had zero motivation to do my reviews, but I had built the discipline before then to have set a habit of making sure to at least do some reviews every day, even if I felt like I couldn’t do them all. Usually, that meant I would start on my bad days, saying, “Okay, you only have to do 20 reviews (or whatever number felt attainable, this is just for example’s sake). Just get those done, and you can call it a day after that.” However, I would usually find that, hey, actually, this isn’t so bad, I’ll do a few more… and I would end up finishing the reviews. Discipline nags you, and seems annoying, but it’s a truer friend than motivation will ever be, which dips at the first sign of trouble!

That aside, if you do decide to start immersing soon and to try and start interacting with the language, may I suggest the book clubs here on WaniKani? There are a few levels, including the Absolute Beginner Book Club, the Beginner Book Club! On top of that, there a number of spin-off clubs that you could check out, some of which are still ongoing. The wonderful thing about the clubs (besides being a lot of fun, since you have a like-minded group of people to read along with for the active clubs), is that even the old clubs often have members still watching the threads, so if you find yourself with questions, you may ask in the threads, and are likely to get an answer!

The ABBC has only recently started a book that is a compilation of stories from different prefectures in Japan! They are around 3 weeks in, and the club is set to run until August 13th, if that sounds like your cup of tea! If not, you can check out the nominations on the ABBC thread, and see if maybe something there will catch your interest, and vote for it in the next poll (usually held a little while before the end of the current book!)

Of course, only start immersing when you feel ready, and when you have the time to do so! I know I put it off for a bit while I got my bearings with the language. I just like to point people to that support network, because after the initial growing pains of trying to read something in a totally different language, barely keeping my head above water, it totally unlocked my Japanese journey. I’ve learned so much thanks to the wonderful folks in the book clubs! :grin:

Sorry this turned out so long. If you read it all (or even just skimmed to the end) you’re a trooper! :rofl:

I wish you the best of luck in your Japanese journey! がんばってね! :grin:

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Yeah, I do feel sometimes an immediate barrage of reviews can come in. While I don’t mind doing 200-300 revies in some days I do feel doing it everyday will make it hard

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So basically, I started out like any other. It really is because I want to read untranslated mangas and light novel. But over the course of two months I have enjoy learning Japanese as a whole, especially Kanjis. So my end goal is still immersing in Japanese media but I feel learning the language itself is a nice bonus (if it makes sense).

I am definitely interested in reading more books and I will check out the absolute beginner book club, but I do feel a sort of apprehension from reading cause it frustrates me to read if I dont know like most of the vocab (which I know is neigh impossible for now) but I do feel I have to start trying, to pick up certain grammar queues more easily

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Hello welcome! I actually saw one of your study logs and was inspired to do mine.

I have been trying to find some group/friends/people to like share my Japanese studying experience so that’s why I wanted to open this study log in the first place.

Thanks again for visiting, and yeah definitely feel my current pace will be unattainable in the near levels but sometimes seeing available lessons just give you an itch that’s like

“Man I really just want to clear this quickly”

Anyway thank you again for visiting

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You’ll definitely find some study buddies if you keep posting in your log (and post in other people’s) :blush:. I’ve really valued the connections I’ve made here, and I definitely think it helps having someone rooting for you when the going gets tough!

What’s really funny about this is I actually intentionally cultivate a lesson backlog so that I always have something to do every day, haha! When the number drops too low, that’s when I start to get worried :sweat_smile:. I’m going to have to do a little adjusting fairly soon because the latter levels have fewer vocab items in comparison to the earlier levels, so if I’m not careful, I might accidentally do all of my lessons!

Since you’re also juggling Anki and BunPro, I would just be extra careful with piling on too much SRS. At the beginning, before you have a bunch of things in circulation, it can be deceptively calm, but once you’re a few months in, you’ll have a bunch of old items coming back in on top of the new items, and it’s very easy to get overwhelmed. Take it from someone who has been juggling three SRS for a solid year now :sweat_smile:.

That’s part of why consistency is your best friend, because that way there won’t be any unexpected surprises, like 300 WK reviews dropping suddenly when you also have 200 Anki reviews to do and BunPro as well. With three SRS, I highly recommend not leaving any standing reviews at the end of the day, because that’s usually the first step to things snowballing out of control. But if you plan for a consistent daily workload that you can do every single day, even under bad/stressful circumstances, you’ll be golden.

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That definitely makes sense!

I understand this sentiment entirely. In the beginning, when it felt like I was checking a dictionary every other word, I wondered if what I was doing could really be called reading. :sweat_smile:

One thing that might help with this apprehension is that the book clubs have vocabulary sheets for their picks, so you could always do some pre-studying of that sheet before starting the chapter/volume, and have a good idea of most of the vocabulary you’ll run into going in! :grin:

Either way, do things at your pace, and do what is fun for you! The best way to make sure you stick with it is to make it enjoyable! If you do end up joining one of the clubs, I’ll likely see you there! (I skipped the prefecture book this time around, but depending on the next pick, I’ll likely be there!) Hope to see you around! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:


Today’s review, kinda bumped out that I forgot about the kanji 音 cause I learned 音楽 already.

and right on queue


Seeing as my apprentice is at the 30s, my plan is to bring it up to around 70-80 and then whittle it down slowly. I do have to get the radicals and the new kanji out of the way first though.

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Hello everyone, happy new week.

Halfway across the level already, well by that I have unlock almost all of the kanji…

I do still have some lessons left but it is all vocabulary, gotta whittle down some apprentice first before tackling them

The last few days has been a blur of just Japanese studies. It’s a constant of Wanikani to anki to bunpro to Wanikani. I have moments of minor panic where it is like

“Oh my god, am I even gonna remember all of this.” But my solution to that is to solve that problem when I get there, for now just going to do what I can do!!

This week’s goal is to finish the textbook of the new Genki chapters, I actually did learn about the grammar points of this chapter already (Short version of past forms) but it’s always good to get a refresher.

I also feel that I will level up in wanikani around the end of the week so that’s fun.

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Okay I finished all my lessons now, just gonna grind out the rest of the level.


on a slightly more (bad?) good? news. This is coming up.

and then on ANOTHER note. If people feel this thread shouldn’t belong in this section can I just ask a mod to move it Japanese studies/Campfire. Should be possible right?

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These study logs kinda end up all over. Some are in this section, some are in the Japanese Language Section, and some are in Campfire. Regardless, if you do decide to move it, a mod doesn’t need to move it if it is your own thread. You can just edit the original post and click the dropdown menu next to the title to select where you want it moved to. :grin:

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Woooo level 9

to be honest that’s faster than I thought, a record of 7 days! It’s night time here though so I’ll do the lessons tomorrow!

On a side note, have anyone tried satori reader? I have been thinking of using it to get into reading more. I have tried NHK news easy but the fact I have to search every word on what it means is pretty frustrating for me.

If anyone did try it, how did you find it? I tried the free trial and it seemed super useful for like beginners.

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I’ve not used Satori Reader beyond some of the free content myself because by the time I found out about it, I was doing reading on my own and with the book clubs to such an extent that it felt a little superfluous to use, but I feel like it’s a wonderful place to start based on the stuff I did read, and the comments I see from those who have used it more extensively. The fact that it can sync with your WaniKani level is handy as well.

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My dad got me a one year sub for my birthday, I love how each sentence has a translation + grammar breakdown that you can check after reading for yourself. It’s an approach to studying that really speaks to me, although I don’t find the content particularly interesting the high from actually reading and getting immediate feedback on how I’m doing more than makes up for that at the moment :upside_down_face:

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I read most things on Satori Reader as soon as I finished Genki 2 as kind of my bridge into native materials (granted, I was fumbling through manga at the same time on the side, heh). I’d agree with @Beyond_Sleepy that the content isn’t super compelling, though 恋人 was kinda fun at times and the series on the subway sarin attacks was decently informative, but it’s one of the hardest things on Satori Reader.

That all said, on the learning side, I highly recommend it. It provided immediate feedback on what things meant in the period when they were still much too hazy for me to ever trust my own interpretations without some verification, and I thought it was a really smooth on-ramp from reading Satori Reader to branching out into real native material. Pretty much right after finishing what Satori had to offer I was out playing the first Ace Attorney game and, soon after, reading a (maybe young adult? it was never clear) collection of horror short stories called Zoo.

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Yeah I tried the wanikani sync and it truly amazes me on how convenient it is

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Honestly this part is the one that got me so interested because it is such a convenient tool

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can I ask which level did you start your reading at (Wanikani level)

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