I’m level N3 but I just started using this site. Do I really have to start from the beginning? I want to learn more kanji befor I go on my year abroad in Japan in September but at this rate I won’t learn anything new lol. Also how do I proceed to kanji practice? It’s only letting me do basic radicals review now and that’s pretty boring and I don’t really need it. Sorry if this was answered elsewhere but I couldn’t find any info anywhere. Thanks in advance!
Sorry, this is asked a lot
Thank you for not reading the FAQ and the Guide. If you were unable to locate the search function I refer you to this post which explains it in detail.
However since I see you are new here I will provide you with what you’re looking for so you don’t have to overexert yourself looking for the answer.
24 hour wait and 0 reviews tomorrow
a bit slow to progress?
About the first (infamously) slow levels
Already know a few kanji…
A Three Day Wait
At Level 4 but stilll seems a bit slow.
Brutally slow feeding of new items and reviews for intermediate student
Brutally slow feeding of new items and reviews for intermediate student
Can I speed up the pace at WaniKani?
Can I speed up the pace at WaniKani
Can new users jump to their appropriate level
Can you study Japanese in a faster way?
Does it start this slowly?
Early level unlock speed
Enough with radicals, why won’t kanji come already?!
Faster…?
Feel like there needs to be a more concise way for non-beginners to bypass content already known.
Give me more reviews
Going through the start faster.
Help new to WaniKani
Help please new subscriber
Help with lessons cant seem to get anymore
horribly slow for intermediate, any way to skip levels??
How many reviews before new lessonlevel
How to level up
In 72 hours some reviews very sparse
Is it just me or do the reviews suck For level 2
Is it supposed to be this slow?
Isnt five days a bit too long of a wait
Is skipping from apprentice to guru/master/enlighten/burn possible?
Is skipping levels possible?
Is there any way to make this thing go faster?
Is there ANY way to speed this up?
Is there anyway to speed wanikani up? I find this too slow.
is there any way to speed wanikani up?
Just started, why is it this slow?
New here
New lessons arent unlocking
New user checklist and lesson speed
New user question 0 Lessons and 0 Reviews means I should just wait
New user questions
No New Lessons
Not being able to continue/skip ahead
Not getting a new lessons
OH GOD WHY IS WK SO SLOW!?!?
One study session just one radical now must wait 8 hours
Only 1 kanji in the reviews since 3 days
Only 86 reviews within the next day I am bored
Pace is too slow for intermediate-level users.
Progression question!
Progression speed
Pshh… This is too easy and slow!
Question about wait times
Review and level up wait time for the millionth time probably
Reviews
Shorten wait periods
Skipping Ahead
Skipping Levels (or making them quicker)
Skip?
Slow Progress customise starting level
Slow progression
Slow Start?
So slow
Speeding up lessons
Speed too slow
Speed up the first 5 levels of wanikani
Suggestion: Assessing Levels of New Users
Suggestion: Skip Waiting Time
The SPEED!!! of WaniKani.
The starting-as-non-beginner / placement-test / I-already-know-this thread
The wait times are ridiciously long
Think WaniKani is slow? You’re not alone.
This newbie needs help on unlocking more lessons
This website sure starts slow…
Time between reviews for each SRS level
Too Slow
Two days until next review No lessons either
Unlocking new radicalskanji
Unnecessary waiting for new content
Wait 4hrs to review only one word
Wait times
Wanikani isn’t as slow as I expected it to be and I am disappoint.
WaniKani is so slow!
WaniKani is so slow at the start
WaniKani is so slow
WaniKani Is Too Slow!!!
Wanikani painfully slowhttps://community.wanikani.com/t/Wanikani-painfully-slow/1580/1.
ways to make the learning processes faster?
way to speed up the lessons?
What do you need to do level up
When are my lessons coming
When do you get a new lesson
When may I start studying Kanji
When will WaniKani increase speed?
Why is this site soooo slow?!?!?!?
Why must it be so “slow”?
Wish the intervals between reviews were shortened. Any tips on getting to the next review faster?
76 Likes
I had passed N3 when I got here and starting from the beginning didn’t kill me.
As far as you all know.
Also if you start now at a good pace, you’ll be over 1000 kanji before September, which is well more than N3.
Or you can just do whatever. Koichi won’t cry.
35 Likes
Well that’s kind of useless lol.
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I too have passed N3. And yeah, the prospect of having to slog through the same old stuff made me put it aside for three years in the middle of level 3.
But I came back. And I’m learning new stuff, even among all the kanji I already know. Someday I hope to learn enough kanji that I can actually read solid blocks of text, and not just the isolated sentences they give you in the N3 exam.
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Useless? I’m just pointing you to the answer, which has been given in more than 100 places, including the official FAQ. How can it be useless if it has your answer? I know for a fact that you didn’t open a single link I gave, so don’t judge their contents.
34 Likes
He thinks WK is useless because you can’t skip ahead.
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Think he’s saying WaniKani is useless rather than your answer.
7 Likes
Oh, if that’s the case then I apologise for the attitude. Just didn’t seem that way to me since I didn’t give an explicit answer, and no link had been opened.
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Oh no, sorry, I read your answer and the links. It’s just it’s useless that you can’t skip forward or be accurately placed at your level. Wish it was more like duolingo. Except the duolingo for Japanese is kinds of meh. But at least it places you at your level.
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Not according to the example sentence for 見送る：
コウイチは、彼らを見送った後、どっと涙の雨を流した。
Koichi burst into tears after seeing them off.
Edit: I’ll just show myself out, now.
36 Likes
This has (clearly) been said many times, but… WK relies on building up a system of radicals which would fundamentally not work if you did not start at the beginning. There is no alternative.
If you don’t think that will work for you then this isn’t the kanji-learning site for you, but as Leebo said, you can learn a hell of a lot by September, especially as you’ll be able to go fast with your pre-existing knowledge.
6 Likes
Well, the kanji aren’t linked to a certain JLPT level, or textbook chapter, etc., so there wouldn’t really be a way to “skip”.
It’s February now and you have until September. The max speed you can go on Wanikani is about one week/level. Counting every month as four weeks (minus one for February, since it is already the 7th) you have 27 weeks, so about 27 levels.
If you know the material by heart already keeping max pace shouldn’t be much of a problem and shouldn’t cost you much effort/day. You might even have time over to use on studying more things.
By level 27 you have 907 kanji, with the option to learn more while being in Japan.
If you already know over 900 kanji by heart then I agree, Wanikani is probably not for you. If that’s the case you probably also already have a good routine for learning new kanji, so the remaining 1100 kanji that Wanikani teaches should come to you just by keeping up what you’re currently doing.
If you keep an open mind and can conform to Wanikanis way of teaching kanji I can very much recommend it. It’s is extremely efficient at what it does. Just jump on the treadmill, follow the program, and you will be very likely to get good results. If you can’t then you might get frustrated with the system. My personal belief is that there is never anything wrong with polishing and refining your fundamentals, but I am aware people have different opinions on this.
Whichever path you choose, I wish you the best of luck from here on!
And enjoy your year in Japan 
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Damn. In alphabetical order and everything.
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They kind of are though. You have a list of kanji for every JLPT level. It’s arbitrary but at least it’s a method of classification. Which this service sadly doesn’t use.
There is no official list of kanji for JLPT levels. Anyone saying they have a list is guessing.
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You actually have a list for the OLD JLPT that is getting more and more inaccurate as time goes by.
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Jisho.org categorizes their kanji under the JLPT levels tho. Coincienetally, it’s how I found out about this place.
And wherever they’re pulling their data from (Jisho just uses free databases to compile its info, they didn’t write a dictionary from scratch) is just guessing at what level each kanji is. You can and will see them at different levels.
4 Likes