After 99 days and counting, I finally hit level 6! Even though I’m a lurker, thanks to everyone in the forums for helping me achieve this very coveted level.
I discovered WaniKani back in July of 2020 and never looked back. I took the monthly subscription to try it out, and I guess it was really worth it. Through my long journey of learning Japanese (I probably started around June), I’ve immersed myself in watching anime without subtitles (although that didn’t really do anything) and read tons of mangas! (no idea what I’m reading right now, though I do like the visuals)
I’m not a really fast learner, so that’s why I took my time with WaniKani. Achieving level 6 in 99 days isn’t really a cool achievement, unlike some people who probably achieved it in 29 days or so. I do think one of the most important things to remember is that slow and steady wins the race. That’s why you should take your time with WaniKani so that its creators can make more money from you. Because WaniKani is a great product! (it really is though)
Always try to clear out your lessons pile. The more reviews the merrier!
Complain about how slow WaniKani is on the forums. Trust me, WaniKani magically gets faster if you complain.
Read the forums! Many legendary posts are on here. Plus, you’ll be more depressed reading users achieve level 60 in one day!
For beginners, I highly recommend using the Reorder Script. Even if you try, you won’t be able to break anything using the reorder script. Trust me.
Things to do next
I should probably read more books. In the past, I’ve read these Japanese books:
Learn a new language. The old and proven adage: other languages seem fun to learn while you’re learning a new language.
Learn katakana. Yeah, I should probably do that before I read books.
Travel to Japan. There’s literally nothing stopping me from going to Japan!
oh wait
Give up. The faster you give up, the faster you can move on!
Don’t worry, I’ll stick around in the forums long after hitting level 6. I do still have to burn a few items. (I’ve burned nothing, help me, also, why does 一日 use none of the readings?! wHAT)
Good luck to everyone! If I can do it, you can!
Wait, you’re supposed to read manga right to left? huh
obligatory /s First post, hopefully formatting is correct
Immersion is good. You will get used to it. The trick is to look it up when you don’t know it, it’s irritating to check constantly but soon the frequency will be reduced.
You have it right
It is a cool achievement. You learnt something new and made progress Please do not compare with others, it doesn’t matter whether they do it in 29 days or 7 days or 5 days. What matters for us is we are learning and having fun. Everybody moves at their own pace. The fact that you completed the level in 99 days is no lesser or greater an achievement than a 29 day or 5 day level. It is an achievement, YOUR achievement Wear it on your shoulder and good luck for the next level my friend
Yes. Right to left, Top to down. And you will get used to it
Congrats! It may have taken 99 days, but you didn’t give up and made it through. It took me a year and a half and two resets before I hit level 6 for the first time, so just know you’re comparatively running through at lightspeed. Keep it going!
Yeah, I like to think that I’ll eventually get to level 60. Hopefully, you can continue this time through. Every level 60 post here continues to motivate me lol
Welcome to the forums! Glad WK is working for you!
You started around the same time I did. I am 108 or 110 or so days into this journey and hit Level 13 earlier this week. I hope to hit 14 on Sunday or Monday latest of the coming week.
Thing is, while you may think you are slow and others fast, it’s not about speed. It’s about learning. Like you say, slow and steady. Go at the pace that is comforrtable for you. If you are learning, you are winning.
Your long journey is not a long journey. I started trying to learn 20 years ago. You could argue that you know more kanji in 99 days than I knew in 20 years! I can understand a LOT of spoken Japanese but struggle putting a sentence of my own together.
Anyway. welcome aboard, sit back, relax, and enjoy the journey!
PS. they won’t make a ton off of me, I plan to upgrade to the Lifetime subscription when they offer the discount again
Will you get the lifetime subscription on Christmas sale? Congrats for reaching level 6 and having the confidence to keep it slow and steady.
I tried to go fast (mostly because a friend of mine seems to have magical abilities to remember stuff and I wanted to keep up) and ended up resetting to level one because I was drowning in leeches.
This time I’ll take it more slowly.
If I have the money to spend, I’ll definitely be getting the Lifetime discount. I don’t exactly know yet if I will be able to spend it, because gestures broadly to 2020. I’ll stick to the monthly subscription for now and wait till December rolls around. In the meantime, I’ll keep chugging along on WaniKani! And hopefully I’d have broken level 10 by then
Howdie there congrats
Glad to see other people making peace with their natural learning pace too
I don’t think you and I r that far apart I joined 117days ago x )
Here’s my progress to compare
Wanikani thought me that I don’t lack self discipline as much as I thought … Maybe just organization
I’m only figuring out a nice schedule till now
Best of luck in your journey
don’t follow that path… by the time you reach lv 15 you’ll be overloaded with hundreds of news reviews…
i, for instance, had to restart from lv 1 cause i was doomed.
I understand that. I just thought I mention the Christmas sale since newbies often don’t know about that. 33% off is really a lot of money you can save. And with your speed it would be way cheaper than the monthly subscription in the long run. I think they might also have a discount for the yearly subscription but I am not sure. (If you buy the yearly subscription and the decide to get the lifetime subscription. The money that wasn’t used of your yearly description will be subtracted from the lifetime subscription. So by getting the yearly subscription until you can pay for the lifetime subscription on christmas is a way to save a bit money compared to having the monthly subscription and then getting the lifetime one. Well not this time since Christmas is too soon to really save a bit of money but maybe next year).
And let’s not forget to mention any months left in your yearly subscription will bring down the final cost of the lifetime subscription.
Also, when I went to do a yearly subscription, I asked via their help whether there were any available discounts. They gave me a 20% coupon just for asking so my subscription for a year, while waiting for the lifetime discount, helped me.
Darnit, that’s what I’ve been doing wrong this whole time!
But congrats on level 6! That’s good progress, and persistence is more important than speed!
(Also you’ve got a nice roughly bell curve started there, which means you should finish level 6 in 1-2 weeks, level 7 in four days and then levels 8-60 will happen instantly.)
Wooooo well done on reaching level 6!! I just reached level 5 today, I’m excited and nervous about the pacing of the fast levels… I’m looking forward to pushing myself though, as this is the kick up the rear I need to actually take my japanese learning seriously!
Please do not compare with others, it doesn’t matter whether they do it in 29 days or 7 days or 5 days. What matters for us is we are learning and having fun. Everybody moves at their own pace. The fact that you completed the level in 99 days is no lesser or greater an achievement than a 29 day or 5 day level. It is an achievement, YOUR achievement 
congrats
