Hi. I am new on WaniKani

WaniKani
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Hi. I have recently completed the hiragana and katakana guides on tofugu.com and now I want to start getting to into Kanji.
I will leave for Japan in about two months and stay there for a whole year. Is it worth paying for this service for just two months ?
Because I am not sure about my financial situation in Japan yet and I am also not sure how much time I can dedicate to study Kanji.

Any other tips would also be appreciated.

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First of all, the first three levels are free, so definitely check it out.

If money is tight, you can always grab a kanji book at the library or download one from the internet and study kanjis that way (thatā€™s how most people study them anyways). Itā€™s harder, but doable if you are motivated enough.

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I am definitely going to complete the first few levels first.

Thanks for the reply. :slight_smile:

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Welcome! Iā€™m sure youā€™ll have a lot of fun here ^^

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Thanks. I think I will :slight_smile: I love learning about languages. How do you like so far ?

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It took me two months to finish level 1, but Iā€™m also not really busting my ass because I have a year before I leave.
Try the first three levels and see how it goes. Even that should really help a lot (at least iā€™m hoping it does).

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Well, going at a fairly fast pace, you can probably get to around level 8 in two months, which comes out to 274 kanji (the first 89 kanji are in the free levels). Is that worth your $18? Thatā€™s really just up to youā€¦

You can check out wkstats.com, which has some charts showing how frequently the kanjiā€™s are usedā€¦

As others mentioned, if itā€™s a problem financially, then learning at your local library (or other sources online) is probably your best bet. Iā€™d add to that by saying that you could look into using some other SRS programs (such as anki) to help you out.

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Thanks for the great reply :slight_smile:
I think that is more than worth it. Sounds like a really good turnout, as I am planning to go hard with this.

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Hello nice to cys

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Welcome! I think that youā€™ll learn a lot in two months. Iā€™ve been on WaniKani for 37 days as of today, and I ought to be getting to level 7 in less than 48 hours. In that time, Iā€™ve learned way more kanji and vocabulary than in an entire semester of college Japanese.

You wonā€™t get any conversational Japanese or grammar from WaniKani though. I recommend that you supplement with some listening materials, useful phrases, and the like. In fact, you might consider finding a conversational partner or tutor on italki, just to get some experience talking with native speakers. You sure donā€™t want your first exposure to ā€œreal Japaneseā€ to be landing at Narita!

The most important resource in learning a language is the one that you actually use. If you find that WaniKani motivates you to learn, like it does me, then by all means use it! If another resource works better for you, use that one. Either way, Iā€™m sure you will be successful. Good luck!

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Here is a list of a bunch of other resources you might find helpful:

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I havent heard the expression bust my ass yet. Its pretty much the same in German. Gotta remember that.

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I was absurdly pleased with how many word-for-word correspondences there are between German and English.

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It is pretty fun. From what I have learnt and heard, German is pretty much the mother of English. I think that is why they are so similar. Some of the connections/ similarities are still mind boggling to me.

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Thanks man. Im parallely doing the free lessons by the youtuber ā€œthat japanese man yutaā€. He recommended this book
Basic Japanese Grammar https://www.amazon.de/dp/4805311436/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_y8WbBb8YXCB3X
for some basic understandimg of the grammar. Do you or does anybody have any experience with this book ?

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His content is not very good to be honest. If you like watching youtube videos, subscribe to Japanese Ammo with Misa and check her playlist :slight_smile: She has a bunch of high quality videos about grammar for beginners :v:

Never heard about that book. Usually, the most recommended are in this list:

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Welcome! I started Wanikani about a month ago. This is a really fun way to learn. Iā€™m sure youā€™ll like it :).

I recommend you to install the Wanikani app on your phone (Android app is WK). Also, if possible, try to do your reviews when they are available and donā€™t wait too much. In my experience, I had more problem remembering things if I waited too long ā€¦

Have fun on Wanikani :smiley:

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Call them cousins. :slight_smile: English and German both descended from Proto West Germanic, with German descending from old High German. High German underwent a consonant shift that other West Germanic dialects (e.g., Frisian, Dutch, Old English) did not. For example, the /p/ ā†’ /f/ change, which gives us English ship and German Schiff, English penny and German Pfennig.

Of course, Old English also had the Celtic substrate to contend with. In fact, there are close relationships between the English progressive tense and Welsh that are most easily explained by proto-Welsh influence. Then you had the Viking invasions which layered on some North Germanic / Scandinavian features, including stuff as basic to English as pronouns like they and their. Then there was the Norman invasion which dumped a whole new set of vocabulary and features into English. And finally, the explosion of printed English in the 16th century and beyond allowed ā€œlearnedā€ vocabulary from Latin and Greek to proliferate.

Thatā€™s why English will have three different words to say the same thing. For example, weak came from Old Norse, but it means very much the same as frail, which came from Old French. Then you have fragile, which has the same Latin root as frail, but was reimported as a Latin-based word hundreds of years later.

I think thatā€™s part of why I enjoy learning Japanese so much. It works the same way! You have native Japanese words, but then these successive waves of Chinese word imports. The same word might be imported several times, hence the multiple onā€™yomi readings on top of the native kunā€™yomi reading.

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Nice. You going for work or study or an extended holiday? Where are you going to live?

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Hey, @Kanilearnkanji! :sparkles:

Welcome! In this realm, you will find life forms that seek to reach the point beyond kanji enlightenment (The Burning of Turtles). Worshippers of the Crabigator come in all forms - lovely humans, mythical creatures, the brightest and most colorful fruits, vegetables to feed your soul, a poll option you should always chooseā€¦ and even bittersweet chocolate disguised as ć‚ć£ć”ć‚ƒć‚¦ć‚¶ć‚¤ little pods.

Now, hereā€™s what you need to know:

  1. The WaniKani FAQ which gives you the 101 on
    a) Before You Join
    b) Common First-Level Problems
    c) The Basics
    d) Learning Method
    e) Account
    f) Sect Names Other :durtle_officer::durtle_stabby::durtle_officer:

  2. The WaniKani Guide (ā€¦also known as ā€œhow I learned to learn ~2,000 kanji.ā€)

  3. The Unofficial FAQ that further addresses specific questions on how lessons and reviews work.

  4. The Ultimate Additional Japanese Resources List! which is a long and thorough list of Japanese resources that the community has worked hard to gather together and is consistently being updated.

  5. The New And Improved List Of API and Third Party Apps that enhances your learning experience with WaniKani.

  6. WK Stats to check your accuracy, progress, projections and more.

  7. And finally, the Community Guidelines that will help you better interact with all of us.

See you around! If you have any questions, just ask. We donā€™t bite much. :sparkles:

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