Noob in need!

While i do agree with where you’re coming from, it’s a bit misleading to say it takes japanese schoolkids 12 years to learn their Kanji, when it would be the same matter to say it takes 5 years for kids in most western nations to use a comma, despite a dedicated language learner managing it in about a month.

The kids are learning a considerable amount of other stuff, too.

Sure, point taken. However, I’m learning a considerable amount of other stuff, too.

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Hey, if you use it then it’s a real radical! I just used it yesterday in learning 民 even though WK wanted me to use another set of radicals (it’s a narwhal holding up a flag, claiming this land for its nation).

@Kanakotka
It’s true that WK isn’t the fastest tool around. They say that up front in their FAQ – it’ll take most people about two years to hit level 60 (you can motor through as quickly as 1 year though). However, it’s a great tool for people who can’t sit down and sink 8 hours a day into learning a foreign language.

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I know the kangxi radicals (because I’ve taken/am taking Kanken) and the mnemonics on WK are for an entirely different purpose. Go ahead and rename them if you want, but there are more mnemonics radicals than kangxi radicals (because kangxi radicals don’t cover all the “parts” that can appear in kanji) so you’ll have to make up something at some point.

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I think i use about 2 hours a day on average… and that’s average with weekends off often. That being said, i don’t really count reading stuff like Boruto as active learning, unless i take effort to look up the definitions i can’t understand, i just fill in the blanks and re-read at a later date.

Given the “freeform” approach that a lot of kanji have taken with the radicals(that’s just natural evolution of the language), the 常用漢字 (common use kanji, for those unable to read) is made up of only 114 radicals. There’s… 240-ish of the kangxi, i believe? I’ve only really learned the 50 most common, and considering 10 of those are must-learn numbers and about 15 of them are actual common use kanji…

What’s your point? I used the term “kangxi” to differentiate from “WaniKani radicals” not to suggest I know all of them.

The fact remains that the two sets of radicals are not used for the same purpose, and WK chose their names for use in memorable mnemonics designed for English speakers. Sometimes that means something more vivid or concrete that than the typical translations you’ll find (none of which are really all that official, btw). If someone wants to brush up on the radicals for Kanken (or whatever reason) they can do that in an afternoon.

If they never learn the “real” radicals’ English translations, they won’t ever be at a tangible disadvantage either.

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Its not arbitrary at all. Also after you move up in the levels you’ll be wishing for the " pace of a snail " SRS has been proven to be very effective, if you have faith in the system you won’t be disappointed. Learning a language takes a lot of time and patience. I’m sure there are plenty of other things you could study to fill your wait times. That being said SRS systems such as WK aren’t for everybody, so good luck in whatever approach you decide to take if you end up not using WK.

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Go use Remembering the kanji then. You might end up knowing more JP than a native in 2 years.

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If it’s just supplemental then I don’t see why the waiting is really that big of a problem. I know the phone app tells you when you have reviews available & i’m sure there’s other userscripts for that by now. Otherwise just go do other things & study. The first few levels are even sped up lol.

The point is that you’re getting used to the method that WK has chosen to pursue to teach you and for retention. It’s not going to change just b/c you feel like you’re more or less advanced. How fast you go outside of that set speed is up to you.

Trust me, you aren’t the first to have this issue nor will you be the last. We’ve literally heard all of these complaints before. If you’re truly more experienced and a fast learner you’ll get thru the levels soon enough & have like 200-400 reviews a day it’s no big deal, right?

Edit: For the record, I’ve been in the mid-40s & Leebo has been at 60 prior to resetting so we’ve seen the whole gambit of how many reviews you’ll get & we’ve seen these complaints for a looooong time.

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It is a notable hindrance in learning kanji if you do not know the meanings of the actual radicals. While in some cases they do not make all that much sense to a learner, for instance 学 is a child and a seed(that implies on both counts it has growing to do). You would recognize it as study, learning or science. I do not know what arbitrary names WK has given to the radicals, but they have probably lost the meaning of the word.

So far I have never noticed a need to know this random information in looking up kanji by radicals. If that’s what helps you learn that’s fine but it definitely isn’t a requirement. I bet the Japanese children don’t know those tidbits either when they learn yet they can speak it just fine.

There can be an advantage to knowing the meanings, but it doesn’t mean that the mnemonic method can’t work either.

I can read 2000+ kanji thanks to WK, and knowing those things is certainly useful, but it’s not a barrier to getting to the kanji meanings.

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How? The word still means study, just by getting there differently doesn’t make it a wrong approach. It’s not a hindrance at all, it’s actually kind of a help. I personally don’t have any use for the ‘real radicals’ as it were, so the WK radicals for the sake of remembering readings and meanings are fine for me.

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For the record too, I saw you mentioned Duolingo before: you can study Duolingo for a long time & not get better at grammar or sentence structure if you don’t already have some concept as to what the heck you’re doing. If you choose to go via inputting your own sentences & not choosing their pre-made bubbles you’ll do much better at learning but still. They don’t have any pacing method built in, it’s completely set.

If you want to choose your own intervals use Anki or something. But for a simple product that does all the work for you & works, that’s what WK is designed for.

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They do actually have a pacing method, i don’t know when you used it last, but you select it when you select a language to learn, and can change it later. What they don’t have is an arbitrary upper limit. Their fastest learning was recommended 5 courses a day, on the first week i did about 40 a day.

As far as learning… sure, you can do anything daily, for hours on end and do it poorly. It’s not explicitly the fault of the system there is. For instance there are a lot of people who spend years in jobs they do poorly at and never advance anywhere nor get a raise, the common term would be “salaryman”. You can’t really just casually learn a language, it takes considerable effort… and that usually means multiple sources.

It would only help if you knew that the old character form is 學, two hands cramming stuff into a child’s head. The viking part is just a simplification of the unrelated 𤇾. How does a seed that is not visible help a learner?

You should get your understanding of radicals and kanji decomposition straight as well, what you are saying is just not correct (all over the place).

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Sounds like you’ve got Japanese all under control, so no one will be forcing you to subscribe. I’m sure you’re ahead of me in learning and you’ll find what works for reviewing kanji somewhere.

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In the end, it’s kind of moot, isn’t it? Learning the proper radicals didn’t get me personally very far, while WK has. It’s all about finding what works for you. Personally, I’ll stick with what getting results for me, and I absolutely suggest everyone else do the same. The method matters less than the results…

Except, of course, if you have some poor fluent speaker chained in your basement surviving on scraps and being forced to tutor you. Maybe then the ends don’t justify the means so much. :rofl:

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學 is knowledge, school and learning. 学 is study, learning and science. They are 2 entirely separate kanji.

Basically what you’re saying is that since the word “far” is etymological parent of the word “foreigner”, they mean the same… which is incorrect.