The word “synonym” is confusing in this instance because there are actually several kinds of synonyms once we start talking about reversing WaniKani’s system. I’ll explain what KameSame does for each case I can think of off the top of my head.
To do this, I’ll use the example that you are doing a lesson or review for the word “作用”. That means as a user, you’ll see the English word “Action” with synonyms underneath the input field of “Effect, Operation”.
Here’s how a variety of answers would be scored:
- 作用 - of course, KameSame will count this as “exactly correct” and you’ll move on
- さよう - will also count this as correct, but as “reading correct” and tut-tut you in an effort to goad you to learn the kanji
- 作よう - will be marked as incorrect, because that’s weird. (there are cases where subbing out a kanji for hiragana is common, but I don’t currently have a data source for this information and haven’t implemented a way to specify custom correct Japanese spellings)
- 仕草 - because this also means “action”, KameSame counts this as an “alternate match” but does not mark the review right or wrong. It simply tells you what answer it’s looking for so that you try again (aside: this is also why the app will invisivbly keep a max of 20-or-so items in progress to reduce the odds you go tens of minutes without seeing this card again or, worse, running into the card for “仕草” and entering a confusing cycle of not knowing which word the app is asking you for)
- 作業 - this means “work”, but has an alternate meaning of “operation”. Because 作用 also has an alternate meaning of “operation”, KameSame will identify this as an alternate match and not mark you wrong.
- 行為 - this means “deed” and has no alternate meanings in WK, but I personally have made “action” a meaning synonym on my WK account. KameSame will (as of Tuesday), also identify this as an alternate match and not count the review as incorrect
- 恥知らず - this means “shameless person” and is wrong, so it will be counted as “incorrect” by KameSame
The app also logs all of your attempts, how often you get alternate matches vs exactly correct vs reading correct vs incorrect, and so on. I plan on using this data in later features to identify leach loops or to propose items for which you know the reading but should really learn to produce the kanji for.
I hope this lengthy explanation of how answers are scored helps clear up what’s really happening when KameSame grades each of your review responses!