Context: I already speak Japanese around a N2 level, and I started Wanikani recently in the hopes that completing it to the end would get me closer to N1 (among other resources like textbooks, literature, newspapers, classes, etc). So far I’m enjoying the process but I’ve found myself sometimes a bit confused by which reading is expected for kanji.
When I see a kanji on my own my brain jumps to kunyomi (and indeed, that’s what is expected on vocabulary items), but I understand that sometimes the onyomi reading is a lot more useful because the kanji shows up much more often in jukugo than on its own. But what I get from that is a general feeling of confusion, and usually I spend a few seconds thinking, “ah, which reading did they want for that one?”
Obviously I know it’s not much of an issue because giving a reading but not the one Wanikani wants is not counted as a mistake and I could just keep throwing readings at it until I find the one it wanted, but if someone can explain the rationale I’d really appreciate it Because these days, I feel like Wanikani just wants me to randomly remember one specific reading for each kanji, and especially at the lower levels when I already know a few, I feel like I have to remember “which one of those Wanikani wants”, which doesn’t feel particularly useful as a language skill. But maybe it’s just because I’m not the intended audience yet, since I’m just flying through the early levels and waiting to get to kanji I don’t know yet.
I’d be curious to know if someone knows how/why the chosen readings are selected for kanji, and/or if someone is in the same situation as me and feels the same confusion!
If your Japanese is at that level already I’d probably consider if you really need to be spending time on Wanikani – assuming you have SOME reading ability since you absolutely already know a big chunk of grammar and words, you should be able to just pick up the kanji you need by reading. Use Anki or your preferred alternative if you want some SRS for them.
That aside, yeah, the reading chosen to represent a kanji on WK is semi arbitrary and basically chosen based on what the creators decided would be most useful. It’s one of multiple reasons WK is really best suited for someone essentially starting learning Japanese from zero.
If it’s sufficiently a drag, ultimately being able to read a word is what matters and figuring out the particular out of context kanji reading is a form of scaffolding WK presents but not worth dragging down reviews over. You could consider looking into scripts that allow for marking an answer correct (eventually I personally went full anki mode just pressing right or wrong without typing) so that if you know the kanji and get a reading right you don’t have to stop and cycle through them til you hit WK’s chosen one.
there’s no particular rhyme or reason you can rely on. the majority of WK kanji cards use the on’yomi reading, since this reading is then quizzed repeatedly in jukugo cards, but I believe that basically all 60 levels have at least one kanji for which it is the kun’yomi which is taught, and above level 50 there are a couple which teach a nanori reading.
if i had to take a guess, i would say that WK tends to choose the reading which occurs most frequently with a kanji. So for 飲 for instance, that reading is the kun’yomi, since the word 飲む is very common, and probably even more so in beginner content, while for … idk 高 that reading is the on’yomi, since although 高い is common, so are compounds like 高校.
on a meta level, this slapdash approach is good, i’d argue, since it mirrors real life: the only thing you can really rely on is that words have pronunciations (unfortunately occasionally plural lol); there are useful heuristics you can apply but exceptions abound because you’re learning a language and not some sort of inorganic crystal.
As for the reasoning for choosing a reading over another for individual kanji, I wouldn’t say it’s a particular drag or annoyance. I was mostly curious to find out if there was a rule of thumb, but if there isn’t that’s also fine and if I forget the reading I can just loop over them until I find the right one
To be honest I still see value in going through Wanikani, besides the long-term investment aspect of levels 40-60. I only recently got back to studying so I appreciate being able to review things from the ground up and fill any gaps. I even learned a new word, 中古! And I generally find Wanikani a pleasant tool to use so I’m happy to hang around for 1-2 years よろしくおねがいします！
This is a common topic of discussion and it fairly divisive among the userbase. I personally think that the way WaniKani haphazardly decides which reading to use for every kanji is a detriment to the course, even more so when they teach meaningless truncated kun readings.
But beyond that I’m with @Daisoujou, I really don’t think WaniKani makes a lot of sense for advanced learners. I started WaniKani as a complete beginner just after learning the kana myself and got a lot out of it, but I would never recommend it for someone in your position.
WaniKani’s greatest strength for beginners, IMO, is that it doesn’t give you any flexibility. It tells you what to learn and you just have to do your reviews. This turns into a big problem if you have significant pre-existing Japanese knowledge and don’t want to be forced to drill 言う、明日 and 大丈夫 all over again.
If you’re speaking at an N2/N1 level, that means you know the words. You don’t need to look at a kanji and go “hmm, what reading does this kanji use?” You’re instead going “oh, I know this word and how it’s pronounced, and now I know which kanji are used for it”. You don’t need to guess anything about the kanji, you just need to associate it with the words you already know. On that basis, you’re in a similar position to native Japanese speakers, who learn how to speak long before they learn how to read.
Etymology. Specifically, when kanji were first introduced to Japan from China, they came with their own readings and associated vocabulary, but they also arrived in a country that already had a spoken language. Kanji were pasted on top of Japanese readings so that existing words could now be written down, and this became the kun’yomi, while the readings that came from China along with the kanji became the on’yomi. So again, it was words first, kanji later - people in ancient history weren’t sitting around with kanji flash cards going “hmm, which reading should we pick for this word?”
There are many non-official clients for wk.
The one I use for reviews is an android app called Smouldering Durtles. You can configure it so that in the question it says whether it wants an ON reading or a kun one.
This might save you having to guess?
(I also have it set to require katakana for ON readings and hiragana for kun. I think the wk philosophy is that some learners don’t want to or don’t need to make the distinction but I find it useful.)
Just wanted to share a “punished for knowing too much” moment: while doing a review, I was asked the meaning of 社 so of course, my brain jumped to やしろ and I answered shrine, but the Crabigator wanted company (which makes a lot more sense, obviously, as a kanji it’s much more used in 会社、商社、社員、etc). So, oops, that one’s on me
Other than that it’s a refreshing learning experience, going over kanji once again but from the perspective of radicals is helping (hey, I got better at looking up kanji by radicals, even the ones I already knew) and I’m even learning some new vocabulary when the Crabigator decides to give me some N1-2 vocabulary at the early levels.
Of course I’m stating the obvious, but at my level the most important tools are JLPT textbooks, the newspapers and general immersion, novels, TV shows, etc. But in addition to that I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised that I’m already getting some value out of Wanikani when I was sort of expecting to blow through 30 levels, and then start learning new vocabulary. (And of course, I appreciate the comments here being mindful of my time and money by saying I’m not the originally intended audience for Wanikani)
Because these days, I feel like Wanikani just wants me to randomly remember one specific reading for each kanji, and especially at the lower levels when I already know a few, I feel like I have to remember “which one of those Wanikani wants”, which doesn’t feel particularly useful as a language skill. But maybe it’s just because I’m not the intended audience yet, since I’m just flying through the early levels and waiting to get to kanji I don’t know yet.