Now, I don't want to get pedantic here, but

Ah, I see what you mean now. And, you’re right, of course. For some reason I had thought you were replying to my earlier comment and not to OP. My bad, sorry :smiley:

1 Like

This is actually a thing that really bugs me lol If you type in the “wrong” reading for the kanji it says like “that’s the kun-yomi, we’re looking for the on-yomi” but it doesn’t do it for vocab, it just marks you wrong >.<

1 Like

Because there’s a difference - for most words, using onyomi instead of kunyomi or vice versa is just not how the word is read, it’s an actual mistake. With kanji, both readings are correct, it’s just Wanikani has arbitrarily decided which to test you on, so it’s not a real mistake.

2 Likes

Which means you should be advised that it’s the incorrect reading, and that you need to enter a different one, and you should be given a chance to correct it without losing progress. It’s not like I’ve typed “typhoon” instead of “wind”, I just had a brain fart and typed “fuu” instead of “kaze”. If they always taught on-yomi for kanji, and always taught kun-yomi for vocab, it wouldn’t be an issue. But there’s no rhyme or reason to the meanings they teach, so it should have a failsafe just incase. If you type the wrong reading, redo it and still get it wrong, then you obviously don’t know it, but people like you need to stop with the holier than thou attitude and acting like mistakes don’t happen. We’re learning a new language for christ’s sake lol. Not everyone is perfect lmfao

1 Like

It seems to me that if the issue is a technical limitation of only having one hiragana input for a vocab word, you could just add something like 主様 and use the alternate reading for that.

The difference is whether or not, as a vocab, it can be said both ways.
Can you refer to the wind as a stand alone word as fuu?
If not, then it was in fact a mistake.

The word in question from OP is one that is a real word, which is what makes the difference. They didn’t give a reading that doesn’t exist, just not the one WK wanted.
Giving on instead of kun for vocabs where only the kun is a stand alone word should be marked wrong.
Don’t see it as being punished, but a chance to learn. If you disagree, use scripts to ignore answer

2 Likes

Wanikani does have the ability to allow two readings for a vocab, for example 方 accepts both ほう and かた. If WK hasn’t given an alternate reading for a word then there’s probably a good reason.

In the case of 偽物, it’s pretty much always read にせもの, I don’t think I’ve ever heard it read ぎぶつ; it’s probably a rare or archaic reading and a native speaker might not even recognize it (or confuse it for another word! my IME gave a different kanji when I typed it in). Just because something’s in a dictionary doesn’t mean it’s worth learning, and it’s probably better to mark it wrong when you type it rather than give you the impression that both are equally common.

3 Likes

The important difference is whether it’s vocabulary or not. There is usually only one correct way to read a vocabulary item. It doesn’t matter if the reading is on’yomi or kun’yomi, it matters that the reading is an actual word in Japanese or not.

3 Likes

I’m familiar with the different meanings of yameru vs tomeru, yeah. I’m mostly basing this off of Jisho.org, which describes both 止める and 辞める as similar but separate words both read as やめる, and both commonly used:

spoiler'd pic to avoid wasting a bunch of vertical space

only noticed the alternate reading of 止める and interesting relationship of stopping movement vs stopping an event because of looking up the classic refrain: やめろ!

@IanD There’s another. We know too much Japanese :D.

@Mods @TofuguJenny Would it be possible to have a shake-y message for vocab that have multiple readings? Even if the words are different because of the different readings, the reading is technically correct, just not the one WaniKani is looking for. :durtle_megane:

8 Likes

There’s also どける
Shown here without furigana, but the images on google search with furigana were a bit too brutal.

4 Likes

We’ve added shakes for のける and どける for 退ける and のく, どく, and ひくfor 退く :blush:

17 Likes

Thank you, Jenny! :durtle_love:

4 Likes

Can you add a shake for (したた)める too?

2 Likes

Shake added :slight_smile:

7 Likes

Thank you!

2 Likes

That sounds dirty :eyes:

As a vocab 主 has another common reading besides ぬし and あるじ (well, common depending on the people you hang out with). It is also (しゅ) in a Christian context, and it’s how one says “The Lord” in Japanese. Probably uncommon enough not to warrant any change in Wanikani, but it’s still useful to know, especially if you watch some anime about the clash between science and magic, and you have combat nuns who will use this vocab.

10 Likes

No shake when typing the On’yomi reading for (pear) :cry:
It’s not common, but it certainly exists: 梨園(りえん), 梨花(りか), 梨果(りか)! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

1 Like

Added り as on’yomi :slight_smile:

4 Likes