Level 60 at last 🎉 My thoughts!

Hello good people of Wanikani! After quite some time I have to say I finally did!! Lvl 60!! :partying_face: :partying_face:
Before saying anything else let me show you the statistics of my progress.

Level Duration

Status and Accurancy

Status

As you can see I had my ups and downs, mainly pausing for about 160 days due to work. I then tried to rush things. Especially starting around level 41 I took advantage of the fast levels in order to hit that 60. The reason? Well due to COVID I’m starting a 2nd Master’s degree and I decided that at least I wanted new lessons out of the way.

My advise? If you don’t HAVE to rush, DON’T DO IT! :exploding_head: I have to admit at some point I felt burned out and was really close to quitting. I admit I cheated a bit on the Kanji, but I know this will bite me back eventually. I already see it with previous Kanji I’m having trouble remembering.

Below I will try to reply to a few questions out of my head!

Was it worth it?

Yes! A thousand times yes. I started learning Kanji using some free material around, but after a while I realized I wasn’t making any progress. Simply by spending each day 3 hours for example reading Kanji from a textbook won’t help you in the long run. By using WaniKani I was able to memorize Kanji and Vocabulary, and I got excited when I realized that: HEY!!! I’M LEARNING JAPANESE!!! Whether it was the fact that I paid for this service, or simply seeing the reviews pile up, the result is that I had a motive to push myself hard in order to succeed.

Do you remember every single Kanji and Vocabulary you've learned? Especially the burned ones?

Well obviously not. I’m afraid I only started with grammar recently, and grammar would certainly helped me in the long run. BUT, and this is a big BUT, about 8 out of 10 times I am able to remember either the reading or the meaning of the Kanji/Word, and that is something amazing. Whenever I run into a word I don’t remember I usually open WaniKani, check the reading/meaning, and then ask myself:

Will you remember this the next time you see this?
If the answer is yes, I move forward.
If not, then I unburn the item and start reviewing it again.

It’s a simple as that.

What advise would you give to someone who is just now starting?

Take your time and don’t stress. It’s okay to make mistakes, it’s okay to forget things. And if you can spare the time, start with Grammar around level 25 or so.

Finally remember, learning Japanese isn’t a race, it’s a long paved cobblestone path leading up the mountain. The shrine at the top is what makes it all worthwhile.

What's the next step?

Well, like I said before, Grammar, Grammar, Grammar. This also includes start reading anything I can get my hands on. From a funny manga to a piece of newspaper. It won’t be easy, because I will have my hands full with my Master’s, but even if I can read something small once per week, it’s something.

Progress is progress, no matter how small

I also have another forum post here: Slowly starting with Grammar. Tips and General Advise
A lot of people had the kindness to help me out, so I gathered some of the best advise hoping that it will do some good to someone who feels lost.

That’s all I can think of for now. Feel free to ask me anything, and I will do my best to reply by adding them to the main post!

For closure, please let me say this: It’s great to be part of this community, and while I’m not an active user in the forums, whenever I was lost people rushed to help me. And that is what makes this place so special! A big Thank You to Koichi & the WaniKani Team, and of couse to all of you!!

Now you can stop reading this, open the main page, cry a little bit :sob: because you got 300 reviews and start doing them :joy:

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Congratulations on reaching level 60 :partying_face::fireworks:

And best of luck on your second Master’s degree!!!

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Congratulations

I am not yet level 60 but I already see an improvement in my ability to read Japanese. I agree with your assessment: WK is totally worth it. I also support your recommendation on grammar, but we can start way earlier than level 25. I started around level 5 and it is totally worth it.

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Congratulations! It’s so inspiring to read your story.

Good luck with your Masters!

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I started grammer at level 15(started way before that but it became consistent at this point)
I do recommend people doing that if they got time. I also recommend studying vocabulary too

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It is cute that you think I have only 300 reviews today


Edit: I guess I only do have 300 today since level up workload was split between yesterday and today

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Congrats :balloon::tada: Steliosv san :raised_hands:t2:

I am delighted for you, this is a major milestone in our everlasting journey to climb Fuji san :rainbow: I admire your perseverance to not quit and push through to completion. You are a star :star2:

Thanks for your help and guidance. ă‚ˆă‚ă—ăăŠă­ăŒă„ă—ăŸă™ :bowing_man:

Good luck with your Masters :+1:

image

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Congratulations! :tada:

Now it’s time for some hard-earned cake! :cake:

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Congratz🎉.
As a new user there is a mountain to climb up for me. Also good luck for your next journey.

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Oh wow! I didn’t expect so many people to reply!! :slight_smile: I do hope my thread will give some courage to those of you who still climb that mountain!!

Thank you so much!!! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

Yes of course, I only said that so many won’t be discouraged by the lack of Kanji!! :blush: But you are both correct!!

Thank you so much!! Wishing you a fast and easy climb to level 60!! :smiley: :heart:

Hahaha I so understand you. At some point I had like 1300, took me 1 week to get them to 0!!

Thank you so, so much for your kind words!!! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: You keep pushing hard as well!!! You got my full support!! And one day I’m going to be the one to tell you what a Star you are!!! :star2::star:

Yaaaaaaay! I love cake!!! :laughing: :moon_cake:

Thank you so much!! Yes, I know how it feels, but trust me soon you’re going to be enjoying the ride! And then you’ll be proud you’ll be making a Level 60 thread!!

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:cake: :crabigator: :fireworks: :confetti_ball:

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I do not! I only have 21, and they’re all burns, so it ain’t a thang! Congratulations and now you can stop reading this and open the main page and cry a little bit, because you have 300 reviews and start doing them! :muscle:t5:

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Awesome post - thanks for sharing your thoughts and congratulations on your achievement! :cake:

My graph is going to look a lot like yours in the end.

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grats :slight_smile: good luck with your masters.
don’t worry about recall, a lot of reading will help with that.

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Congratulations!! :confetti_ball: :tada: :partying_face:

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I didn’t expect so much love!! Thank you everyone! :heart: I keep smiling while I read your replies!

NOM NOM NOM!!!

Okay thats quite impressive! Hats off to you!! :sunglasses:

Thank you!!! And I can’t wait to see you join the 60 club!! Maybe you can even beat me and complete it way faster!! :100: :star:

Thank you so much!!! Hopefully yes. Not much free time, but I’m going to try! Good luck with your journey!! :grin:

Thank you!!! Glad to be joining the club!! :hugs:

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Thanks a lot Steliosv San for your kind words and encouragement :slightly_smiling_face: I will move forward steadily.

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Congrats mate! I hope that you will be able to master the language one day, now that a large chunk of vocab and joyo kanji is out of the way!

I hope to one day also reach the end of the WaniKani journey. Wish me luck

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*42+ reviews
 fixed it for you!

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:smiling_face_with_three_hearts: :muscle:t2:

Thank you, thank you!! You can definitely do it! If you are just starting it can be intimidating, but keep pushing! Soon it will become part of your life! And never forget that you don’t have to burn yourself out. It’s okay to take breaks between leves!!

:grin: not bad! I currently have 240 :nauseated_face: :face_with_head_bandage:

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