I would say there is plenty of pop culture references in WaniKani which not everyone is kind of expected to be familiar with. I personally have a friend who’s always been hardcore into studying, because she found it fun, but now she’s completely not up-to-date with fantasy, sci-fi or general Internet memery (like other nerds would be) so she would whoosh all of those references.
I’m personally looking forward to learning more hardcore vocab like hegemony, idolatry, etc.
Off topic here but I want to learn Vietnamese so badly because it sounds so damn cool. Can’t nail the tones though, probably the most difficult language in the world from a phonetic standpoint.
I would argue idolatry and worship don’t mean the same thing, because idolatry specifically refers to the worship of objects and in a broader sense things or people that are not worthy of worship, but yeah, one can use regular synonyms as well . Don’t think I would use either word at the kitchen table.
I would use 河豚 quite a lot, though. Maybe even as a code word for taboo words (禁句) .
Oh… it’s already hurting my brain reading those words. And it’s kinda frustrating because they don’t give off any cues on their meaning upon being read, you know? Lol or I’m just being too lazy
That’s dope!!! I know right, I’m very proud of the language too. I can say we have an advantage when it comes to learning other Asian languages like Korean, Japanese or Chinese, but English pronunciations are a challenge for us
I use Flaming Durtles app to always check for the longer vocab list.
台 for instance appears in 台風(たいふう) which I already knew and an easy word since ‘typhoon’ is prononced similarly. Just have to remember that main prononciation is voiced (だい instead of たい).
Remember a reading with an already known word is always more spontaneous. A lot we have to learn, when we already know it’s easier
On lessons the web interface on Wani Kani only gives you 3 examples of vocabulary for a kanji, whereas on Flaming Durtles (for instance) the lesson is with the full info sheet on the kanji so you see further examples.
For 台 the first examples illustrate the meaning ‘machine’ and counter for machines( and assimilated), but if you see ‘taifuu’ and ‘taiwan’ lower on the list the fact that this kanji reads tai/dai immediately clicks into place. Well, remembering that the same kanji appears in those different words still need some efforts of course, but it helps to refer to something we may already know.
I forgot that WK only gives you 3 vocab examples. This is one of those times when WK prioritises form over function. There is no reason why they only give you 3 examples except that it looks prettier. However, this was done at the cost of our learning.
Honestly, to me Wanikani is best supplemented with other stuff.
It is useful alone but add a grammar book and language listening and you’re even better off.
It’s slowed my progress on WK considerably, but it’s becoming ever more clear that this is in fact, a marathon endeavor.
There are kanjis and words WK does not cover, but you can oftentimes guess what they’re with what WK does cover.
It is still the best resource I have and most importantly, it keeps me engaged.
Finally, I am not a native speaker either (though I do teach and have a majors in English) but I find it a good opportunity to expand my knowledge of English as well.
And if that’s not your case, user synonyms are definitely very useful when WKs definition doesn’t work for you or you want to expand it
Can WK definitions be alterred here or am i understanding this wrong? It gets rather frustrating sometimes when i type in the words i know, which is a synonym of WK answers, but get marked wrong, and hence they become leeches
You can add your own synonyms, yes (which is a fancy way of saying you can add whatever answer you feel should be marked right, as long as it’s not explicitly blocked from being marked as correct by WaniKani - so you can also for instance add a word from your native language, if it’s not English, which might cover the meaning better)
Yes! Each word you add as a user synonym will be accepted as the correct answer from then on. Just make sure to add them one at a time. If you just separate them by commas then it doesn’t work.
I have these exact issues with WK. I’m not a native English speaker so this is quite a problem for me. Sometimes I know the meaning in my own language but forget the English words or know its synonym.
I use these scripts, it’s really helpful for these problems because sometimes I didn’t want to bother with adding synonym. Though be careful to not overuse it, or it could become a bad habit.
yes… and also I think because I’m used to British English, some WK words are quite foreign since the creators are from America as far as I’m aware. Some words are foreign not because I don’t know the English words, I’m just not exposed enough to all their equivalents and nuances in the US
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