How often should I study?

Hi, I started on WaniKani a couple days ago, and I was wondering how often I should start a session. Is once a day enough?

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It might not be very helpful but you should study as often as you can or as often as you have time.

I check on WK multiple times a day when I have a spare five minutes to avoid reviews building up which they will as you progress.

Your main attention should be on grammar and vocabulary through something like Genki, Minna no Nihongo, or Tae Kim’s guide. The latter resource is free although not perfect.

There are also YouTube courses run by YouTubers such as Misa (Japanese Ammo), CureDolly (Kawa no Japa) and Miku (Real Japanese). These should be done often enough so you’re consistently studying as and when you can.

Basically, you need to find the right balance of the right resources for you personally. Language learning isn’t one-size-fits-all.

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WK works on an SRS schedule, the idea being that you see an item at increasingly long intervals, in order to get it into longterm memory with the fewest reviews needed.

At your level, the intervals are:

Lesson (Appr1) → Appr2 = 2h
Appr2 → Appr3 = 4h
Appr3 → Appr4 = 12h
Appr4 → Guru1 = 24h

From level 3 upwards the timings are:

Lesson (Appr1) → Appr2 = 4h
Appr2 → Appr3 = 8h
Appr3 → Appr4 = 23h
Appr4 → Guru1 = 47h

The idea is that you try to do your reviews as close to when they become available as you can. So at least several times a day, depending on when you do lessons.

For an example I can give you my typical schedule, based on the second chart:

Mornings between 7:00 and 8:00 I do my reviews and about 20 lessons (how many you do is not that important at the moment, but it affects the amount of reviews you have to do that day, and the pace at which you progress through the levels).

Between 11:00 and 13:00 I do another review session, so I can review the morning’s new items.

Depending on whether I made mistakes on the last review, I will do another session when those items become available, between 15:00 and 17:00 (depending on what time I did the previous session +4 hours).

Evenings between 19:00 and 21:00 I will do the third review of the morning’s new items.

Depending on how tired I am, I will stay up to do any other reviews that come in after that, or just go to bed.

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Thank you, that’s really helpful. I’ll start checking in a few times a day.

I’m studying with the Genki book, and so far it’s been going great! I wanted to pick up some more kanji so I looked around and found WaniKani, and I quite like it so far. I’ll give this setup a try for a while, maybe until the free WaniKani expires, and then I’ll see what I do going forward. Thank you!

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Remember that even when the free trial expires you can still use the forums!

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Ah I did not know that, awesome!

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Also, the Wanikani sale season is right around the corner, if you decide to stick around. :crabigator::partying_face:

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Oh, can’t wait!

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The important thing to keep in mind once you get further along is to always finish your reviews every day. Even if you don’t have time to do new lessons, always finish the reviews so you keep the SRS working properly in your head

I personally do a big review session in the morning with some reviews, and then whenever I have a spare minute throughout the day, I’ll do a few reviews (instead of looking at news on my phone or other stuff)

Good luck

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WELCOME!!

With that out of the way, the answer is, study as often as you like and as often as you can. Within the limits of the SRS system, of course!

I try to do 3 sets a day.

7-8 AM - close all open review items. Depending on SRS levels and apprentice item count, I will spend time doing lessons now as well.
12-1 PM - close all open review items. Same as above, if my Apprentice items are less than 100 and I have open lessons, I do lessons.

In the evening, my time is usually a little weird. Instead of sitting down and doing everything in one block, I find I will do whatever is open at 6, then 7, skip 8 and then do anything open at 9 or 10. I try to ensure I go to bed with ALL of my reviews closed. I have, in the last 138, only gone to bed two of those days with open reviews because I was BEAT.

Whatever you do, don’t give up! Stick to it and you will learn! Remember it isn’t a competition it is about you learning! If you are studying even 20 minutes a day, that’s 20 minutes of learning something new or shoring up what you know and that will get you even a baby step closer to the goal.

If you ever get stuck, need more advive, want to complain, or just want to chill, stop on by the forums! Everyone here has been super awesome at helping me so I try to return the favor!

Good luck!

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Thank you for your response! I’m thinking of setting a schedule for myself, but right now I’m just checking in every couple of hours and reviewing what’s available, sometimes also learning new stuff. So far it’s been quite fun, it’s always rewarding to know you’re starting to know more stuff! People here also seem really cool and friendly, so I’ll definitely stop by every so often.

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