Hi everyone. My personal goal for learning Japanese is mainly so that I can hold a very basic conversation with people, even if in the process I say some things a bit ‘off’, or I don’t know a particular vocabulary (and have to be creative/descriptive, in getting the other person to understand what I’m getting at). And while, initially, I thought it not all that important that I be able to read, after spending more time in Japan (simply visiting for two months…not planning to live here, long-term…) …while I initially put no focus on being able to read, I quickly realized that being able to read, somewhat, has a variety of benefits.
That, in turn, led me here to WaniKani, which I think is spectacular. I’m now at Level 3, and am looking at the various paid subscription levels. In considering the price options…that there are up to 60 potential Levels of Kanji I can learn here, and realizing that, at the rate I’ve been going, it could be a few more years before I even reach Level 20 or so (never mind Level 60), I’m just wondering… for someone like me, who’s more interested in conversation, but who also wouldn’t mind learning more kanji - particularly the most common kanji - but not necessarily more than that… do you think that if I even make it up to Level 20, that that will probably suffice for my needs?
Most of all, I think learning more kanji would help me when it comes to reading menus, and also when I am out and about on the street and inundated with signage, everywhere I look. The better and faster that I can quickly understand some of what I’m seeing, out on the street, the less overwhelmed I’ll feel, when trying to find a particular establishment, or a particular street etc.
You can learn to speak enough Japanese to ‘get by’ without learning any kanji - that’s roughly the path that I had taken up until a few years ago when I discovered WK - and I had learned probably a few thousand words and at least rudimentary grammar, via romaji and then kana, as well as by listening and doing dictionary lookups.
That said, learning at least some kanji has opened up a whole new dimension in understanding for me. I get a lot of ‘aha’ moments when I learn the kanji for words that I already know, and it helps me in learning new vocab as well.
By the time you get to level 20 (I’m currently on vacation mode at level 17) you should be comfortable enough with the kanji that you can put it to good use, and even continue learning on your own without the benefit of an SRS like WK. It seems that lots of WK users tend to agree that past level 30 brings you to a point of diminishing returns vs. study time, instead preferring to ‘learn by doing’ through immersion on web sites and with videos, as well as by reading native materials.
So I guess that what I’m trying to say is that there may be no single “right answer”, but sticking with WK all the way to level 60 is not necessarily required, given the description of what you want to accomplish from your Japanese learning activities.
I agree with the comment above, if you only want to do very basic conversations you don’t need kanji.
But never be afraid to learn “too much”. Learning kanji actually helps me memorize Genki vocabulary, words start making sense rather than being just a sequence of syllables.
Also keep in mind that WaniKani teaches you not only kanji, but vocabulary.
Anyway, here is what being level 20 looks like in terms of frequency of kanji.
A common opinion that I’ve seen been said on the forums is that most things added after level 30 become so professional/out there kanji that they are much harder to read and much harder to remember because they are not used as much. By level 30 you should be reading a great bit. If speaking is your style/goal, then yeah, you don’t need kanji at all, just grammar and kana, but if you want to stick with Wanikani at least for a little bit, I would say 30 is best to get most of the common kanji under your belt.
We have the same basic goal. I have been learning by listening to stage productions for years, but started actually studying about 3 months ago. At first I thought I didn’t need Kanji at all and I knew very few, but then realized that Kanji are part of the Japanese language system and that knowing some Kanji helps in learning new words and remembering them. I don’t know the exact wanikani level you will need to get to. Personally, I’m hoping I’ll know when I get to the stopping point. There is a lot of discussion about the price which I understand many people think is too high for what is being offered. I think the real “price” to think about is your time.
Thanks for all the inputs. Shoujiki ni, I have ‘zero interest’ in manga, anime and video games. I’d just like to have an easier time reading restaurant menus, and, when I’m out and about on the street and looking for a certain restaurant or shop (by name), or for a certain street (by name), I’d like to be able to read some of what I see (versus my current feeling like a deer in the headlights, especially when bombarded with tons of signage and kanji characters, all at one time, whether on a menu or out in Shinjuku, etc.
Sounds like if I can get to Level 20, I’ll be good!
I’m not super into manga either but, if you ever decide to get into reading more seriously, I wouldn’t discount them. They’re usually more approachable than novels and they are so diverse that you’re bound to find something that interests you. It’s not all Naruto and Demon Slayer!
Also, you must know this already. But, there are tons of sites, videos etc. that teach Japanese menu vocabulary/Kanji and words and place names you will see on trains and on the street. Using those resources would be free and much faster than wanikani. But, if you are also interested in learning the Japanese word for diplomacy along the way, then wanikani is the way to go.
It never hurts to know too much! That said, I would say that if your only goal is touristy things (talking to people in basic formulaic conversations, reading street signs, asking for help if you get lost, ordering off of menus) then you are absolutely fine with just knowing up to Level 20 and never learning any others (arguably, you’d be overprepared). But I would bet that if you actually make it that far, you won’t give up THAT easily, because it’s kind of… dare I say, fun?
I would say that if your goals are just talking, consider spending more time polishing things like pitch accent, あいずち, diction, speed of conversation, rehearsing common scripted phrases, etc. That will go much further for your uses than grinding the remaining thirty levels of WaniKani.
