Basically I started WaniKani at an intermediate level (I have N3 and I’m planning to take N2 as soon as I can) in February, and I have already come across some vocab I either didn’t know or was uncertain about. But now at level 13 I’m starting to see some kanji I have seen before, but I’m a bit shaky on. I actually looked up 整 in the dictionary today and then it popped up in my lessons!
I was a bit nervous at first about “wasting time” starting from the beginning but I’m actually thankful for the review and I also feel like it didn’t take that long to get to this point (obviously I still have a long way to go!) I’m just really grateful I decided to try out WaniKani even at a bit of a later stage in learning.
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It’s such a nice feeling.
I didn’t want another resource that just focused on 雨 and 木.
I’m quite deep now into kanji I don’t recognize.
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I honestly don’t know if I would be capable of learning kanji without WaniKani. All the other methods seem so complicated in comparison. I admire people who learn it the old fashioned way, whatever it may be.
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I’m with you one hundred percent, I wouldnt have been able to get this far if I didn’t have Wanikani.
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My japanese teacher always frowns when I mention I’m learning kanji readings. He sometimes makes a point to say during class: “And this is why I don’t teach on and kun readings, it’s dumb.” etc.
And he’s a young guy, so I don’t get the reason he does this lol
But, you know… I wish I could make him understand how effective it is haha
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Yeah, before WaniKani I was basically plateauing. I had learned a lot of complex kanji in my kanji class when I studied abroad in Japan, but after I came back I forgot a lot. I was trying to learn with the Nihongo Sou Matome textbooks and review with Quizlet and Anki but the WaniKani system is so much easier. I still use my textbook just so I can get extra exposure to the kanji I need for N2 but WaniKani helps with both learning and memorization so much. It’s a godsend
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I have recently started leaning Japanese and reading all these make me a lot hopeful. Even I think that my progress is a bit slow but I guess it would be all worth it in the end.
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I’ve been learning for like 9 years and I’m still upper intermediate at best, there’s no race at all. Take it at your own pace! For kanji and vocab, you’re lucky to have started WaniKani at an early stage 
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That just sounds like he thinks taking a kanji and learning it’s readings on their own is not effective, which it really isn’t. But that’s not what WK is. You don’t even need to really know what on and kun are to use wk.
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Yeah, occasionally we see people trying to study kanji by memorizing something like this
Which is just a mess and nearly useless on its own (trying to memorize it in that form)
That may be what the teacher is imagining.
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Nah I made it clear I was using mnemonics to learn the most used readings (1, 2 or 3 at max). And then applying it to vocabs.
I’m used to it though: It’s very common to get negative reactions when I mention I’m using WK. Specially in non english speaking communities =p
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There is no way I would be where I am without Wanikani, and I’m still such a beginner. I tried using Anki to learn but starting out it is rough and it just wasn’t clicking. Also I knew I didn’t want to go down the RTK route because to me what is the point of learning to recognize a Kanji and then come back months later to actually learn how to apply readings (within reason) and see it in words.
Getting started with basic grammar and jumping into Wanikani has helped me so much. Because I’ve got what I have down I am more able to go back to Anki/Kitsun and it doesn’t look as hard. I love the feeling I’m having of looking at very basic Japanese sentences and be like “I know mostly what is being said! Yes that pen is red and no it isn’t raining today!”
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I know. Thankyou. And the forum discussions help a lot too.
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Same experience here! I passed N2 two years ago and I’m aiming for N1 this year so I wasn’t expecting to learn new things before long but I actually learned new vocabs already. I’m so glad they didn’t choose to start with the same kanji & vocab we usually learn in beginner textbooks 
And also there’s something so motivating about the SRS, I’m actually looking forward to review kanji haha (which wasn’t really the case before)
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A good chunk of the Kanji I look up turn out to be ones I’m supposed to know … 
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that’s a mood
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Good for you! And good luck on N1!
And I agree, it’s really motivating. I think I’ve only missed maybe one day since I started in February.
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your teacher’s methodoloy is the same one as the ones I had when I went to japan and studied there using genki II, basically for them was "just memorize! don’t think! "
I got overwhelmed and forgot about studying japanese for almost 10 years.
I had no Idea about srs system until WK, and so far the 500 kanji I learned in 4 months is waaaay more than those when I was having classes with japanese teachers in japan and using genki II.
I feel more confident now at my own pace
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Same here but I’m getting better at it. In most cases it’s not that I don’t remember them, it feels like I just got into the habit of confirming things after using WK for so long. 
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Same here. I got right about 50 precent on N3 a little while back. Then, I failed N2. I just got to level 13, and that same kanji was the one that made me think, “Wow, I’ve definitely never seen this one before,”
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