# Leech Squashing **URL:** \ **Category:** Japanese Language\ **Created:** [May 5, 2017, 12:38pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543 "2017-05-05T12:38:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chrispthompson](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/chrispthompson/32/5707_2.png) [@chrispthompson](https://community.wanikani.com/u/chrispthompson)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 12:38pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/1 "2017-05-05T12:38:37Z")
Recreating this topic because the [Original Thread](https://community.wanikani.com/t/Team-Leech/14389) got archived. **LEECH:** An item in language learning that just won’t stick, and ends up wasting massive amounts of your time. **蛭 - ひる - Leech** **LEECH VARIETALS:** **Leech-tachi:** That group of very similar items that you constantly confuse **Leech-kun:** That weird long random kunyomi that is only used for the vocab or verb version of a kanji. **Leech-人:** That rendaku’d-ass last kanji that you answer wrong 1 out of 7 times (is it leech-nin? leech-jin? leech-BITO??) **Leech-chan:** The kanji you always miss because WK’s mnemonic uses 5 different radicals instead of combining 4 into a kanji you already know or (worse) don’t realize that you are just about to learn. WKer Klaoth pointed out in another thread that it’s actually helpful to bitch about your leeches – complaining about them out loud helps you process what’s going on and maybe even gives you a chance to organize a way to fix it. Also, complaining is fun! Because these complaints never seem appropriate for the “complaining is a must” thread, this thread can serve as a place to: - bitch about that item you can’t ever, ever remember - bitch about those sets of items you constantly confuse - bitch about leeches caused by the way WK’s radicals are organized (I know, I know, we love WK in every other way) - screenshot your craziest leech. Right now I have over 100 attempts at 仲間. WHY? - share squashing strategies - make a PSA to the WK community about an item with the potential to turn into a leech because of the way it is presented in WK. ## Leechy Resources Let us all thank the great @StellaTerra for creating a Leech Identifier script: > [@Leech Detector](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-detector/18227): > > Over on the Leech Squashing thread I let folks try out this little script I’ve been noodling around with, and the discussion has sort of gotten too large, so I’m posting a new topic here so we can have discussion about the script more specifically. I’ll fill in more stuff here if/when I have more time. [Here’s the thing!](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wktoys/leechDetector.htm) I just added some helpful loading indicators so people aren’t just sitting around so much anymore. Also, I added a retry/backoff so if the API does fail to respond, you’ll ge… and @smrq for creating a forked version with some additional features and improvements: [https://codepen.io/smrq/full/eEJdEG/](https://codepen.io/smrq/full/eEJdEG/) @hitechbunny has created a duo of fantastic leech tools: see a count of leeches for each of the 8 SRS levels on your WK dashboard: > [@\[Unsupported\] Dashboard Userscript: Leech, Apprentice, and Guru detail (aka SRS level progress)](https://community.wanikani.com/t/userscript-srs-level-progress/19353): > > This script gives you fine grained counts of your SRS levels along with leech counts, so that you can see how you’re progressing: [image] You can install it here: [WaniKani SRS Level Progress](https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/32344-wanikani-srs-level-progress). The leech count is shown in the black boxes on the bottom right of each stage. For an SRS level breakdown of your leeches you can hover over the stage, like so: [32 PM] “What is a leech” you say? To see the leeches list you can click on the leech number: That list can be sorted by clicking… And never ever miss a leech again because you force them into your brain via a leech screensaver: > [@Leeches screensaver](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leeches-screensaver/19585): > > I’ve implemented a screensaver of all of your leeches. You can see it by visiting [https://wanikanitools-golang.curiousattemptbunny.com](https://wanikanitools-golang.curiousattemptbunny.com). Animated gif (be patient): To set this as your screensaver try - let me know if you have found a tool that lets you use this page as a screen saver! Mac - [Use a Website as a Screen Saver on Mac](http://osxdaily.com/2016/06/05/web-site-as-screen-saver-mac/) (verified as working on OSX 10.12.6). Windows - [http://www.ilovefreesoftware.com/25/windows-10/set-webpage-screensaver-windows-10.htm](http://www.ilovefreesoftware.com/25/windows-10/set-webpage-screensaver-windows-10.htm) (WORKING on Win 1… \*\* ## Never forget: the first step to squashing your leeches is REALIZING THEY EXIST. \*\* 頑張って、friends! ---
**Author:** ![chrispthompson](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/chrispthompson/32/5707_2.png) [@chrispthompson](https://community.wanikani.com/u/chrispthompson)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 12:40pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/2 "2017-05-05T12:40:50Z")
Things I wish I noticed 18 months worth of Wanikani reviews ago… ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/6/7/673662dc34a327c8f9e36510d42ad0dd4acc516d.jpg) Also, they have different pronunciations! ---
**Author:** ![chrispthompson](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/chrispthompson/32/5707_2.png) [@chrispthompson](https://community.wanikani.com/u/chrispthompson)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 12:45pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/3 "2017-05-05T12:45:46Z")
This guy wrote a good article about strategies for dealing with leeches: > **[Dealing with tricky vocabulary: Killing leeches - Hacking Chinese](https://www.hackingchinese.com/killing-leeches/)** > > Leeches are words or characters that you keep forgetting and therefore consume much more time than other words or characters. Rather than trying to hammer these words into your brain, a specific strategy is needed to kill the leeches. This article... I’m curious how other people deal with them? My current thinking is that I’m gonna get some kind of whiteboard and put it somewhere I see every day (perhaps that spot by my desk where I stare blankly), and fill it with leeches as I find them. One thing I will say is that I would love it if WK would add a feature for dealing with leeches, similar to the way that Anki does – flag them, suspend them, most importantly _point them out to you_. ---
**Author:** ![seanblue](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/seanblue/32/579844_2.png) [@seanblue](https://community.wanikani.com/u/seanblue)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/4 "2017-05-05T13:51:34Z")
> [@chrispthompson](#): > > flag them, suspend them, most importantly point them out to you. Just being able to suspend then would be great. They waste so much time that could be spent reviewing vocab you’ll actually remember. For me, the verbs with long kunyomi on the kanji are most of my leeches. I have so much trouble remembering them. ---
**Author:** ![DaisukeJigen](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/daisukejigen/32/728834_2.png) [@DaisukeJigen](https://community.wanikani.com/u/DaisukeJigen)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 1:54pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/5 "2017-05-05T13:54:40Z")
Recently I discovered that when Anki leeches, and suspends, cards, it doesn’t auto-bring them back at a later time. Went through and unleeched everything and boom, nearly 400 cards back in the mix. 😱 ---
**Author:** ![Ryouki](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/ryouki/32/202681_2.png) [@Ryouki](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Ryouki)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 1:54pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/6 "2017-05-05T13:54:52Z")
The “complain about them” part REALLY works for me. After I miss it for the 100th time, I complain. Lo and behold, I get it right the following times. ---
**Author:** ![abertssquirrel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/abertssquirrel/32/304198_2.png) [@abertssquirrel](https://community.wanikani.com/u/abertssquirrel)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 1:58pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/7 "2017-05-05T13:58:19Z")
正直 honesty, has been on an endless loop between apprentice and guru for months now. I even made up my own pronunciation pneumonic (しょうじき the shogun was so honest, jesus gave them a key to his apartment), which is useless, because I can’t remember that 正直 means honesty in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![polv](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/polv/32/572691_2.png) [@polv](https://community.wanikani.com/u/polv)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 2:10pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/8 "2017-05-05T14:10:15Z")
> [@DaisukeJigen](#): > > Recently I discovered that when Anki leeches, and suspends, cards, it doesn’t auto-bring them back at a later time. Went through and unleeched everything and boom, nearly 400 cards back in the mix. 😱 For Anki, more than un-suspend, you can also create filtered deck using `tag:marked`. I am not sure if `is:suspended` works. And then I drill with something like `1 1 1 10 240 480` WaniKani can’t do that. ---
**Author:** ![chrispthompson](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/chrispthompson/32/5707_2.png) [@chrispthompson](https://community.wanikani.com/u/chrispthompson)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 2:10pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/9 "2017-05-05T14:10:56Z")
Whoa that is a fantastic idea I had no idea that was possible ---
**Author:** ![Luviex](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/luviex/32/210308_2.png) [@Luviex](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Luviex)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 2:21pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/10 "2017-05-05T14:21:16Z")
Just recently I took a close look at 想定 予想 , and also 予定 because I kept confusing the first two. I noticed that 定 seems to indicate intent. (I had previously thought of determine as “find out” rather than “decide”.) Never got them wrong since then. I should have done that earlier. I will look for more leeches this month. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgophone](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/gorgophone/32/6887_2.png) [@Gorgophone](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Gorgophone)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 2:31pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/11 "2017-05-05T14:31:17Z")
黄. _Yellow_. Why. I burned 黄色 (with 100% accuracy…) long ago because it has a built in hint but I failed to burn the radical again the other day. ---
**Author:** ![DaisukeJigen](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/daisukejigen/32/728834_2.png) [@DaisukeJigen](https://community.wanikani.com/u/DaisukeJigen)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 2:39pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/12 "2017-05-05T14:39:33Z")
Nice, good advice. Any idea if there’s a way to filter based on part of a cards content? I can’t seem to get it to work. Have a WaniKani Burned items deck, but would like to split it into radical/kanji/vocab decks. Would like to filter on ‘type’ ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/9/4/94d88b16206e9ce839d2995802e36b893fd0798d.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![polv](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/polv/32/572691_2.png) [@polv](https://community.wanikani.com/u/polv)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/13 "2017-05-05T14:40:14Z")
type:“vocabulary” Something like `-type:"vocabulary"`, `(`, `)` or `OR` also works ---
**Author:** ![DaisukeJigen](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/daisukejigen/32/728834_2.png) [@DaisukeJigen](https://community.wanikani.com/u/DaisukeJigen)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 2:44pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/14 "2017-05-05T14:44:40Z")
Ha, my fault. Also had ‘is:due’ and apparently I didn’t have any vocab due. changed to radical and got 8 results. 😞 Hmm, works for radical, but not kanji or vocabulary. I’ll keep playing Edit: AnkiDroid apparently just had issues. Would edit over and over, and eventually, for no apparent reason, it would magically work, even though I had entered the same thing time and time again. ---
**Author:** ![Wesleey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/wesleey/32/66478_2.png) [@Wesleey](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Wesleey)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/15 "2017-05-05T15:17:54Z")
I still get that one wrong! ---
**Author:** ![plantron](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/plantron/32/783203_2.png) [@plantron](https://community.wanikani.com/u/plantron)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/16 "2017-05-05T15:54:00Z")
![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/5/7/57a061d9f4735568779f11863a82373a89fc9fa2.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![toubeans](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/toubeans/32/6755_2.png) [@toubeans](https://community.wanikani.com/u/toubeans)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/17 "2017-05-05T15:55:06Z")
I always get the radicals and kanji for spicy 辛 and happiness 幸 wrong. Now that I’m taking a moment to look at them: Spicy has a little drop/thorn at the top, and Happiness is (has) a plus. 困 and 因 wtf (╯ರ ~ ರ）╯︵ ┻━┻ Tree is Troubled Cause is Big 化ける to transform 化かす to bewitch 変わる to be transformed (???) ---
**Author:** ![abertssquirrel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/abertssquirrel/32/304198_2.png) [@abertssquirrel](https://community.wanikani.com/u/abertssquirrel)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 11:22pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/18 "2017-05-05T23:22:02Z")
you should just buy 7 of these shirts, then you can wear one everyday and just look down, and see if it’s happiness or not. (I have two of these, one in yellow, one in white) > **[Burgerman | Threadless Artist Shop](https://www.threadless.com/shop/@threadless/design/burgerman/mens)** > > Check out the design, Burgerman, on threadless – available on a range of custom products ---
**Author:** ![Amejanai](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/amejanai/32/42250_2.png) [@Amejanai](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Amejanai)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 11:37pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/19 "2017-05-05T23:37:43Z")
I have lots of problems with close-looking kanji along the lines of what several of you have posted here. If there is such a resource, could one of you point me to a collection of ‘don’t confuse these two with each other’ examples? (For the longest time, I would drive past this ramen place and wondered why they advertised ‘happy ramen’… I finally twigged to the fact that it was shin and not kou) (thinking about that, I now get that the English packaging for ‘Shin Ramen’ isn’t ‘new’, but ‘spicy’. Gah, I’m a doofus.) ---
**Author:** ![maskedkoala](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/maskedkoala/32/290760_2.png) [@maskedkoala](https://community.wanikani.com/u/maskedkoala)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 11:54pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543/20 "2017-05-05T23:54:02Z")
I can never remember if I do or don’t ～ける about the word in question. [Next page](https://community.wanikani.com/t/leech-squashing/17543.md?page=2)