Level 120!

[Poikkax]

So, I reached level 60 for the second time. The first time was in August 2019, and after months of procrastination, I decided to reset to level 1 on January 8th 2020, having reached 60 again on January 1st 2021.

Some things I noticed this second time:

• I retained virtually everything from level 1 to ~24, then from there to ~40 I retained something like 40% of the kanji, and after that I only retained 2 to 4 kanji per level.
• I really burned out in the fast levels, much like the first time.
• The process of learning kanji was way more natural, as one would expect.

This time I did all of it using Flaming Durtles in Anki mode, and to retain better I read some mangas and put my smartphone in Japanese for a little immersion.
I didn’t do any grammar, because after discovering the SRS, I am too lazy to do it through books, and while knowing the existence of Bunpro, I couldn’t do it because of Brazilian student economic reasons. But I will start Bunpro after I stop paying for WK.

Schedule

First I would do all radicals and kanji, then divide the vocabulary in batches of 20 and 1 stage distance between them, which resulted in 3 batches of lessons per day, one in the morning, another late afternoon and the last late at night. During the fast levels I upped the batches to 30.

If anyone has questions, I will be happy to answer.

I did not receive any cake this time around, must be a one time thing.

[YoungAdam]

congratulations! that’s a huge accomplishment to get to level 60 twice!

[Stay_coolXD]

Great work. Looking forward to your level 240.

[sundayRoast]

That’s amazing, being level 10 myself that seems like a very, very tall mountain to climb.

Can I ask how well you feel you can get around Japanese content with your current knowledge? I am curious with the amount of kanji knowledge and wide vocabulary you must have how you find reading manga or books/ listening to japanese since you haven’t done any grammar practice if I understood you correct. This is purely out of curiosity I apologize if it sounds judgy.

@Poikkax

The process of learning kanji was way more natural, as one would expect.

I would love if you ellaborated on this

Congrats again on your achievement!

[Toyger]

I never had 60, but reset a few times.
Levels 1-20 is starting to get super easy now, but 21-31 is very hard for me still O_o (also where I had to throw in the towel and start over)
So far I’m liking 32-43, even though it is my first time going through them =)

With the power of Lifetime, I am fairly certain I’ll reset again once I’m done. I’ll try for an all burn first before resetting (or all Enlightened+, then go for all burn on second time around

[Poikkax]

@sundayRoast

I would love if you ellaborated on this

You know the weird feeling when you start learning Japanese coming from a Latin language? Trying to learn how to read “symbols” that are a lot more complex than Latin letters, on top of learning that it signifies an “entire thing” instead of just a sound.
At least for me it was like that, it felt strange. But by the second time I was doing WK, this feeling wasn’t there, learning kanji felt as natural as learning another Latin language.
It was more fluid, I didn’t even need mnemonics for the majority of the kanji.

[Poikkax]

@sundayRoast

Can I ask how well you feel you can get around Japanese content with your current knowledge?

Sorry, I missed this question.
I can read manga in Japanese, but because I lack proper grammar knowledge, anything intermediary+ is a challenge, having to search for a lot of things. I feel that if I keep reading constantly, naturally the grammar will enter my brain, as it did when I was learning English, but I understand there will be things that I will need to learn the formal way. Keep in mind that the only thing I read in Japanese is manga and my smartphone, for now.

For the listening part, I can hear the separate words and not just a bunch of sound, if you get me. I understand some words here and there, but too few to really know what is being talked though.

[sundayRoast]

Thank you for your reply, super interesting to read.

Again congratulations on your feat!

[UdonMagoo]

Would you recommend resetting back to level 1? I have been thinking about it for a while. Is it worth the time you put in? Did the removal of the old radical names present any problems during your second run?

[Poikkax]

@TheFlaminMunch

Would you recommend resetting back to level 1?

After the months of procrastination, in which I did nothing about learning Japanese, I really wanted to get into it again, that’s why I reset. I also had the time to do it.
If you feel you need it for some motive or another, and have the time to do it all over again, I would say go for it, but do think well about it, after all it’s at least a 1 year journey.

@TheFlaminMunch

Is it worth the time you put in?

It was worth because I feel that now I will not go away from Japanese again, I will keep reading at least to not lose touch with it.

@TheFlaminMunch

Did the removal of the old radical names present any problems during your second run?

As I didn’t use mnemonics a lot, I haven’t had problems.

[Maulrus]

Well done, but can I ask why you reset to level one? Some of the earlier levels have kanji that are painfully basic and you can’t really forget. Surely it would be better to set to your level back to ten and then go onwards?

EDIT (Combining two posts into one):
Also, if you want a more economical solution to Bunpro, I would recommend just reading through a chapter of Tae Kim’s grammar guide every night before going to sleep. That’s what I did for ages, seemed to work really well, however, I must say that the ability to click on kanji to see the reading enabled me to continue with me sh*t kanji knowledge far longer than I rightfully should have .

[pragmata]

Congratulations!

[Poikkax]

@Maulrus

Surely it would be better to set to your level back to ten and then go onwards?

I thought about it too, but as my objective was to get into Japanese again I felt that it was better to restart at level 1.

@Maulrus

I would recommend just reading through a chapter of Tae Kim’s grammar guide every night before going to sleep.

Well, I do have a pdf of Tae Kim’s grammar guide (which I never touched ), so I guess it doens’t hurt to try your method.

[ontron]

Just downloaded the Flaming Durtles app and loaded by API token. How do you restart from level one from there if I may ask?

[sergiop]

@Poikkax

I didn’t do any grammar, because after discovering the SRS, I am too lazy to do it through books,

Without grammar, can you read any native material? Seriously, I think it is great what you have accomplished but why not study grammar right now? What is the point of learning Kanji if you are not going to read? Depois que eu cheguei no nivel 60, eu comecei a dedicar mais tempo estudando gramatica e e’ impressionante a diferenca que faz… O Bunpro e’ um bom complemento mas e’ horrivel se voce usar como a sua fonte primaria para aprender gramatica. Abs.

[Maulrus]

You can’t, it is only possible to reset your level from the website dashboard. From there, click on your profile (top right corner) and select the option ‘danger zone’.

(btw, you should start your own thread to ask a random question like this one).

[Maulrus]

I find this is the case with a lot of people using WK. WaniKani makes it so easy and brainless to learn Kanji that people forget about the rest of the language.

I don’t believe that it is a major issue though, compared to kanji, grammar doesn’t take all that long to learn. At least they don’t do the other way around like I did .

[Poikkax]

@sergiop

Without grammar, can you read any native material?

answer:

@Poikkax

I can read manga in Japanese, but because I lack proper grammar knowledge, anything intermediary+ is a challenge, having to search for a lot of things.

@sergiop

why not study grammar right now?

right now I’m not doing it because of the reasons stated, being lazy to do it through books and not having money to pay for Bunpro alongside WK.
That being said, I do not pretend to burn everything on WK, so I’ll stop paying for it after 2 more months I guess, then start Bunpro.

@sergiop

O Bunpro e’ um bom complemento mas e’ horrivel se voce usar como a sua fonte primaria para aprender gramatica.

This is a good point you make, I will try to make plans and start grammar with Tae Kim’s grammar guide before Bunpro then.

como é bom ler em português.

@Maulrus

I find this is the case with a lot of people using WK. WaniKani makes it so easy and brainless to learn Kanji that people forget about the rest of the language.

I do agree and admit again that I’m lazy and have neglected grammar, but at least I try to read some material in Japanese.

[Captainn]

Congratulations! You’ve worked hard to reach level 60 x2. I look up to you because you decided to go the extra mile and one day I will reach Level 60 aswell.

I would be really happy if you can write your story and how you were kept motivated to continue on my featured post, I really want to hear what everyone has to say!

Once again lots of respect to you and well done!

[reverseleft]

Thanks for sharing that Tae Kim grammar resource. I have started going through it and it seems quite useful.