Going all in? Kanji + Vocab for WaniKani

Hi all,

I’ve studied Japanese for ~2 years, including a study abroad program in Tokyo. At that time I reached lower intermediate level. Unfortunately it’s been 3 years since then, and I’ve lost a lot of my Japanese. To get a sense of my current state: I can read Level 1-2 Japanese Graded Reader books, but I totally forgot how to say the special minutes e.g. “八分・はっぷん.”

I decided to get back into studying Japanese, though, because I really missed it! And I’m surprised there are so many great resources now, including a much improved version of Tofugu/Textfugu/WaniKani. I just started WaniKani and I looooove it so far. Heck, even Anki looks better than 3 years ago!

Now that my background is over and done with, here’s my question:

I installed the user script that allows you to import vocabulary into WaniKani. As I said, I LOVE WaniKani’s fun interface… and I would love to study vocab on there as well.

But wouldn’t importing all my vocab into WaniKani make me “dependent” on it? Given the prices, plus the lack of a Lifetime member option… would you recommend me moving all my studying to WaniKani? Or is it not enough to make you abandon Anki, the good ol’ faithful?

tl;dr: Do you think it’s a good idea to rely on WaniKani for vocabulary study (via the Self Study Plus user script) in addition to kanji? Or would you rather go for Anki, which is free and can be stylized to approximate WaniKani?

Thanks in advance :slight_smile: Hail the crabigator!




quinn said... Hi all,

I've studied Japanese for ~2 years, including a study abroad program in Tokyo. At that time I reached lower intermediate level. Unfortunately it's been 3 years since then, and I've lost a lot of my Japanese. To get a sense of my current state: I can read Level 1-2 Japanese Graded Reader books, but I totally forgot how to say the special minutes e.g. "八分・はっぷん."

I decided to get back into studying Japanese, though, because I really missed it! And I'm surprised there are so many great resources now, including a much improved version of Tofugu/Textfugu/WaniKani. I just started WaniKani and I looooove it so far. Heck, even Anki looks better than 3 years ago!

Now that my background is over and done with, here's my question:

I installed the user script that allows you to import vocabulary into WaniKani. As I said, I LOVE WaniKani's fun interface... and I would love to study vocab on there as well.

But wouldn't importing all my vocab into WaniKani make me "dependent" on it? Given the prices, plus the lack of a Lifetime member option... would you recommend me moving all my studying to WaniKani? Or is it not enough to make you abandon Anki, the good ol' faithful?

tl;dr: Do you think it's a good idea to rely on WaniKani for vocabulary study in addition to kanji? Or would you rather go for Anki, which is free and can be stylized to approximate WaniKani?

Thanks in advance :) Hail the crabigator!




 WaniKani's vocabulary isn't extensive enough yet. It only teaches enough Vocab to reinforce the reading for the Kanji. Which means it doesn't include kana words either. I would recommend using your favorite SRS program or site (Anki, HouHou, Memrise) for additional Vocab.

If you like, you can find some Anki decks for additional Vocab here → [Some Supplemental Material]
There is also a nice collection of courses on Memrise here → [HELLO Courses]
1 Like
hinekidori said...
quinn said... Hi all,
I've studied Japanese for ~2 years, including a study abroad program in Tokyo. At that time I reached lower intermediate level. Unfortunately it's been 3 years since then, and I've lost a lot of my Japanese. To get a sense of my current state: I can read Level 1-2 Japanese Graded Reader books, but I totally forgot how to say the special minutes e.g. "八分・はっぷん."

I decided to get back into studying Japanese, though, because I really missed it! And I'm surprised there are so many great resources now, including a much improved version of Tofugu/Textfugu/WaniKani. I just started WaniKani and I looooove it so far. Heck, even Anki looks better than 3 years ago!

Now that my background is over and done with, here's my question:

I installed the user script that allows you to import vocabulary into WaniKani. As I said, I LOVE WaniKani's fun interface... and I would love to study vocab on there as well.

But wouldn't importing all my vocab into WaniKani make me "dependent" on it? Given the prices, plus the lack of a Lifetime member option... would you recommend me moving all my studying to WaniKani? Or is it not enough to make you abandon Anki, the good ol' faithful?

tl;dr: Do you think it's a good idea to rely on WaniKani for vocabulary study in addition to kanji? Or would you rather go for Anki, which is free and can be stylized to approximate WaniKani?

Thanks in advance :) Hail the crabigator!
 WaniKani's vocabulary isn't extensive enough yet. It only teaches enough Vocab to reinforce the reading for the Kanji. Which means it doesn't include kana words either. I would recommend using your favorite SRS program or site (Anki, HouHou, Memrise) for additional Vocab.

If you like, you can find some Anki decks for additional Vocab here → [Some Supplemental Material]
There is also a nice collection of courses on Memrise here → [HELLO Courses]
 Hi hinekidori, 
I meant importing/creating my own vocabulary via the user script Self Study Plus. /t/UserScript-Wanikani-Self-Study-Plus-v-0113/6444/1

Pretty cool idea! I never have a problem motivating myself to do Wanikani but Anki is a different story.  As long as you aren’t worried about the subscription fee I say go for it!

quinn said...
hinekidori said...
quinn said... Hi all,
I've studied Japanese for ~2 years, including a study abroad program in Tokyo. At that time I reached lower intermediate level. Unfortunately it's been 3 years since then, and I've lost a lot of my Japanese. To get a sense of my current state: I can read Level 1-2 Japanese Graded Reader books, but I totally forgot how to say the special minutes e.g. "八分・はっぷん."

I decided to get back into studying Japanese, though, because I really missed it! And I'm surprised there are so many great resources now, including a much improved version of Tofugu/Textfugu/WaniKani. I just started WaniKani and I looooove it so far. Heck, even Anki looks better than 3 years ago!

Now that my background is over and done with, here's my question:

I installed the user script that allows you to import vocabulary into WaniKani. As I said, I LOVE WaniKani's fun interface... and I would love to study vocab on there as well.

But wouldn't importing all my vocab into WaniKani make me "dependent" on it? Given the prices, plus the lack of a Lifetime member option... would you recommend me moving all my studying to WaniKani? Or is it not enough to make you abandon Anki, the good ol' faithful?

tl;dr: Do you think it's a good idea to rely on WaniKani for vocabulary study in addition to kanji? Or would you rather go for Anki, which is free and can be stylized to approximate WaniKani?

Thanks in advance :) Hail the crabigator!
 WaniKani's vocabulary isn't extensive enough yet. It only teaches enough Vocab to reinforce the reading for the Kanji. Which means it doesn't include kana words either. I would recommend using your favorite SRS program or site (Anki, HouHou, Memrise) for additional Vocab.

If you like, you can find some Anki decks for additional Vocab here → [Some Supplemental Material]
There is also a nice collection of courses on Memrise here → [HELLO Courses]
 Hi hinekidori, 
I meant importing/creating my own vocabulary via the user script Self Study Plus. /t/UserScript-Wanikani-Self-Study-Plus-v-0113/6444/1
 Ah, sorry about the misunderstanding. ^_^

That script is great, and if you like it I say go for it.

Still, for me, I would prefer Anki. I like to go beyond just using recognition when I study my vocabulary. Things like audio comprehension and recall. Which is what I currently have set up in my decks. 


(@quinn what an awesome avatar you have)

hinekidori said...
 Ah, sorry about the misunderstanding. ^_^
That script is great, and if you like it I say go for it.

Still, for me, I would prefer Anki. I like to go beyond just using recognition when I study my vocabulary. Things like audio comprehension and recall. Which is what I currently have set up in my decks. 

 I just found your threads about customizing Anki... wow! Thank you for consolidating all the info and sharing your templates with this community. I'm seriously inspired to get back into Anki. You're right about the extremely high level of customization that Anki offers -- plus audio, which isn't avail on WaniKani. As a plus, template styling also shows up on the Anki iOS app.
positivek said... Pretty cool idea! I never have a problem motivating myself to do Wanikani but Anki is a different story.  As long as you aren't worried about the subscription fee I say go for it!
 I know what you mean about feeling meh about Anki. In some ways it seems very "Windows 1998" and I don't have time nor energy to learn how to manipulate all the settings lol. On the other hand, I'm eagerly checking WaniKani every few hours for new reviews to do, lol! But after viewing hinekidori's free beautiful templates for Anki, I'm motivated to give Anki a wholehearted try. 

Btw, in case you decide to go the Self Study Plus user script route -- I don't think the subscription fee is a problem. It seems that you can create/import as much of your own vocabulary as you want and use WaniKani to power your reviews indefinitely. You only have to start paying if you want to review higher levels of kanji.
tomboy said... (@quinn what an awesome avatar you have)
Right!? :D 
About a billion more cats here: https://society6.com/product/a-lot-of-cats_print#1=45