# Leech determination **URL:** https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-determination/56230 **Category:** Questions **Created:** [March 15, 2022, 7:19am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-determination/56230 "2022-03-15T07:19:03Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Showing post:** 2
### Author: ![ekg](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/ekg/32/680984_2.png) [@ekg](https://community.wanikani.com/u/ekg) #### Post date: [March 15, 2022, 7:42am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-determination/56230/2 "2022-03-15T07:42:38Z")
A leech isn’t a strict term. Basically, it’s any item that you keep failing and so ends up bouncing between Guru and Apprentice for a prolonged time. It’s an item you’re struggling with to memorize. That being said, there are some very helpful scripts to work on your most difficult items, like the **Item Inspector**. It calculates which items you’ve failed the most across your reviews. So, with it, you can make it list these items, giving them a leech value of sorts (from worst to less bad), so you’ll know which items to put more effort into learning. Basically, there are two approaches to leeches: 1) ignore them and just do your reviews even if the same items keep appearing in them. With enough exposure they’ll eventually move up the SRS levels; OR 2) you can address the leeches pro-actively, like using the Item Inspector and study those pesky items separately. I defo did the latter as it helps keep the number of Apprentice and Guru items under control. Especially later on when you’ll have accumulated a bigger number of leeches across all levels. it just takes up a LOT of time to do your reviews if you leave the leeches as they are. Better to put your reviewing time on the newly learnt items! But, it’s really up to you to decide what to do about them. You won’t have many leeches before lv 10 anyway. I only started taking note around lv 25-30-ish that they had become something of a problem. Anyway: very helpful script Item Inspector can be found here: > [@\[Userscript\] Wanikani Item Inspector](https://community.wanikani.com/t/userscript-wanikani-item-inspector/44564): > > warning This is a third-party script/app and is not created by the WaniKani team. By using this, you understand that it can stop working at any time or be discontinued indefinitely. Requirements: [[General Script Installation instructions](https://community.wanikani.com/t/visual-guide-on-how-to-install-a-userscript/12136)] point_left You’ll need a script host plugin like TamperMonkey [[Open Framework Installation](https://community.wanikani.com/t/installing-wanikani-open-framework/28549)] [[Open Framework Additional Filters Installation](https://community.wanikani.com/t/userscript-wanikani-open-framework-additional-filters-recent-lessons-leech-training-related-items-and-more/30512)] [[Self Study Quiz Installation](https://community.wanikani.com/t/userscript-self-study-quiz/13191)] [[Kanji Stroke Order Font](https://www.nihilist.org.uk/Home) ] Download the script here: Descriptio… --- _[View the full topic](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-determination/56230)._