So, one thing I am noticing as I get more vocab under my belt is that a lot of times a vocab word will come up that has the same meaning as a word several levels ago, or that has the same reading as a previous word but a different meaning.
I would find it extremely helpful if wanikani, when viewing a vocab word, would have a section that pointed out any other vocab words that mean the same thing, and any that have the same reading. Something like the “visually similar kanji” section in the pages for Kanji.
It would make it much easier to study, since otherwise it can be difficult to even tell when you have learned the same word in two different ways since they can be so spread apart. This makes it more difficult to recall the word when forming sentences, and more difficult to tell when a reading could mean multiple things when listening. Right now it is annoyingly time consuming and inefficient to make these notes myself by searching through the entire list of words I have learned each time I learn more, and it would be so much simpler and more helpful if it was a feature on wanikani.
Yes, that is what I meant, but it still would mean using the search for every word if I really wanted to be sure to catch all duplicates. Also, as far as I can tell, the search mostly goes off meaning and not reading, so any homonyms would not be able to be searched for.
It would still be much simpler to simply have any duplicates or homonyms noted on the page for that vocab word, and it doesn’t seem like something that would be very difficult to implement, though I’m not a programmer so I could be wrong.
Did you install an IME to do that? I can’t seem to get that to happen on mine. Regardless though, it’s still massively inefficient as a long term study solution for finding homonyms.
Well, it’s not why I have an IME, but yes, I used the IME to type the Japanese.
I’m not arguing against this proposed script / feature (I’m not certain there isn’t a script that does something like it) but I just wanted to clarify the searching part.
That is useful! Thanks! Do you know if there’s a corresponding script for words with the same meaning? Cuz then I would finally have the full functionality i wanted lol
at the time you get the kanji, the meaning being “the same” as that of a previously learned one is a mnemonic in itself. “oh look, same meaning as x, wonder how it’s different”. then come the words a level later and provide a clue, and where that’s still not enough, you can read sentences on sites like alc.co.jp … but in the end, it doesn’t matter at all, because the precise meaning of kanji is not important. take 場所, one being more of an area thing (but the real area is 辺), whereas the latter is more of a point thing (but the real point is 点).
in words, it’s “some approximation or some part of the meaning” that’s being used as spelling, and a rough knowledge is enough.
kanji by themselves are more of a concept thing when not standalone. learning one meaning is more than enough. you’re going to use them for so many things later, what you’ll remember in the end, after WK, in daily life, is “oh look, that’s 後, like in 後半、後輩”.
In addition to what @OmukaiAndi said, even if you just want similar meanings creating the list of words that should is not straight forward because you can’t just auto-create it. You need some intuition that break, destroy, damage is roughly the same thing.
Someone must either create a list manually, or use some software that can give you similar meanings.
[If you just go for literally the same meaning I think you would miss most stuff you really want to see.]
I’m pretty sure the OP just wants a heads up that the English meaning is literally the same word as something that previously came up.
When you get to 監視 and it says “observation” and then you get to 観測 and it says “observation” you’d just be notified on the lesson page that this matches a previously learned meaning, so you have a heads up to do your own research.
BTW, 監視 is like standing watch, and 観測 is what you do when you are looking at natural phenomena for research.
(And presumably any script wouldn’t be limited to just the primary meanings, so I think most overlapping things would get pulled up)
Yeah! Tbh while it would be IDEAL to have the subtle differences explained, I would settle for a notification that I there is a word I need to do that research for, since sometimes the other version of the word was learned many levels (and sometimes months) ago, and I just am not going to notice all of those without help lol.
for WK vocab, i don’t even care about that, because it doesn’t matter. i would use example sentences for words i think are useful, but in my opinion, more information means a heavier load to carry around, making it harder to keep it all in mind.
the precise meaning of a word is unimportant while memorizing, of low importance while reading (you’ll “get it” from context then and connect it appropriately), and the aha-moment while reading it in meaningful
and relevant context, when you figure out what exactly it means, creates a strong memory itself, much stronger than the impact it would have during the memorization phase.
edit: of course you want clarification ASAP if you want to be able to produce it, but i have no such immediate need most of the time).
You have an ability that I don’t think I’ll ever have. I need my trusty thesaurus to parse the nuances.
Maybe if we were talking about seeing a word dozens of times before “fully getting” it, maybe… But I generally can’t resist the curiosity to check. Rather than hope I’ll see a word a bunch more times.
but looking it up in a thesaurus is what i do, too. it’s not the what, it’s the point in time that’s different.
while memorizing, i accept them as-is. when encountering them in the wild, i take note and have epiphanies.
but for production, i do checks via thesaurus first.
most words are cool for my passive vocabulary, but others are extremely useful, and for those, i want to be sure i know what i do when i use it.
i once said まじめに雨が降ってきたね and my wife corrected me and said it’s 本格的 in this case. the fact i still remember it, because i was so embarrassed, is kind of amazing, too. sometimes it’s this kind of thing that has to happen for me to really “master” a word.
i’m not different at all, and certainly not better at this than you. i just settle for some less solid knowledge until i really need it, and by that time, it has already ripened to some degree. so i split the effort of learning it, makes it easier on my brain
