My 20 more levels, with emphasized Kanji readings and vocab lists
61-70 常用
71-80 人名用
2 Likes
Please no more levels…
1 Like
Shoo… shoo away! 
There will never be enough of turtle burning! 
3 Likes
PLEASE MORE LEVELS
As a level 60 and due to my recent experience going to Japan, I’m gonna chip in a bit.
As far as kanji goes, I cannot say in terms of what it was like based purely on what WK has taught me because I also learned kanji outside of WK.
But yeah I think I’m going to have to separate my impressions into 3 categories at least:
- Japanese Media: anime, games, manga, etc.
- Everyday conversation with friends
- Everyday usage in common situations as a traveller
If it’s based on Case No. 1 (Japanese media), I do really think that another 10 levels deserve some attention. In the thread that attempted to create those levels, some kanjis that are brought to my immediate attention are kanjis like 匂、嬉、羨、凄、溢、曖、昧、戚、捻、etc. An argument like “if these are so common, you’ll learn them outside of WK on your own eventually” makes it sound like what’s the point of WK teaching common kanjis in the first place. It feels silly that these kanjis aren’t taught here, to be honest. Do I welcome an extra 10 levels for these kanjis? I do.
In Case No. 2, obviously kanji learning has very little impact if the main mode of communication is verbal. Although if it’s texting… well. This becomes a bit interesting. Some kanjis like 匂、嬉、羨、凄、眩、etc. definitely need to be learned too. But the main gaps for me to be filled are vocabularies that are mostly kana only or a combination of kanjis that have been covered by WaniKani. Like I just encountered someone texting 短編 to me and I think I’ve learned that but it was so long ago that I forgot but so in this case, if most of the vocabs I need to pick up are kanji combinations, then WK’s increased levels is irrelevant. But that’s just simply not the case because of the kanjis I mentioned earlier.
In Case No. 3, unfortunately I never paid special attention to being able to read things that WK has not taught me. Only I remembered a few times I couldn’t read some things correctly like 杏仁豆腐 even though these kanjis are all covered by WK or 餃子 and I don’t see that it’s a bad thing for WK to include that kanji. However, what I’d also like to say is based on the things I read, whether I’ve learned them through WK or outside, there was very little that I couldn’t read. One of the things I know I would’ve been too lazy to learn on my own would be prefecture names, but thanks to WK I definitely remember that I could read 栃木県 xD most things that I needed to learn a bit mostly involved: hearing words and not recognising them unless I see the kanji, not knowing what is used where (what a very niche example. But I said 二番目ターミナル instead of 第二ターミナル or I said ライン instead of 線), not knowing what they would mean when combined together like 連絡無料バス (but no big deal since the translation is immediately there. I was like, I def know 連絡 and 無料 and バス lol I didn’t know it’d be used this way), special bloody readings, vocabs that aren’t taught by WK like 下り、警備員、自撮り、ネジ、門限, words I know that weren’t part of my active vocab before, using counters properly, better listening skills… but well, as someone who merely travels through Japan and not live there, those kanjis that I mentioned in Cases No. 1 and No. 2 dim in importance significantly o.O or I might have not paid enough attention even when I read the ads that have the kanji like 匂 there.
I think these are some of the most common scenarios as a traveler: checking in and out of a hotel, buying things (shopping, konbini, being able to follow an instruction when you ask for where to buy x), using public transport (trains, buses; knowing how to ask how to get to x, minor: being able to listen to the announcements; knowing how to book seats; knowing how to buy passes), eating out (being able to read menus, being able to listen to the recommendation properly), entering the tourist sights, gathering information of the city you’re visiting (getting a map, day plan, preferred transportation mode).
I needed very little more kanji knowledge for what I needed, as far as I’m concerned.
But again, emphasis as a tourist, not as someone who’s working or living in Japan short term or long term.
One stark contrast between before travelling in Japan and after was how relevant being able to read city names were and how irrelevant so many of those common kanjis were (溢、曖、昧 for example).
So… what do I think of this? Case No. 1 has the most compelling force for me to think that WK should include those very common kanjis, Case No. 2 has a medium force but Case No. 3 has very little force.
If utilitarianism is being… utilised here cough then the more people here encounter Japanese from Case No. 1, the more they will benefit greatly from those extra 10 levels. The more people here encounter Japanese from Case No. 3, the fewer the benefits of having those extra 10 levels. I don’t even think a poll is necessary to roughly guess if there are more Case No. 1 or Case No. 3.
Before I went to Japan, I think I wildly underestimated how much I could travel with ease in Japan because most of my Japanese studies were based on a strong combination of Case No. 1 and Case No. 2. But also since I’m not living in Japan, to be honest, most of my Japanese knowledge will be tested based on upon Cases No. 1 and 2. Until I am ready to read or watch anything sufficiently, all I’ll feel is a sense of inadequacy.
TL;DR Extra levels: Y/N? Y!
18 Likes
I think WK could achieve the goal of adding the really common missing kanji without adding 10 more levels. They could just be spread around the existing levels. There really aren’t that many super common ones that are missing.
5 Likes
Looking forward to it too! Please, more levels 
I’m level 60 and swamped with reviews and I still feel the same way. 
6 Likes