This is driving me nuts - Kanji w/ okurigana vs. without

WaniKani
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I was learning the kanji for “above” and it says this (copied and pasted): When a vocab word is a single kanji and doesn’t have okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) it usually will use the kun’yomi.
IMMEDIATELY after that, I received the vocab “to raise” and it says this (copied and pasted): Since this word has okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) you know that it’s probably going to use the kun’yomi reading, which you didn’t learn with the kanji.

These descriptions sound completely contradictory. What am I missing? When is onyomi used then?

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It says that on the page for the 上 kanji?

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It says it for the vocab 上。

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Just a single kanji without okurigana - usually kun.

Kanji with okurigana - usually kun.

Two different commonalities and not mutually exclusive. ^^

On’yomi usually used in jukugo; a word made up of multiple kanji without any okurigana.

There are always exceptions, of course, but those will reveal themselves over time.

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Ah. Okay.

Anyway, there’s no contradiction. Both “single kanji with no okurigana” and “single kanji with okurigana” are usually kunyomi. Kanji compounds with no okurigana are usually onyomi.

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Yeah, I can see what the OP is saying though. The fact WK has emphasized kanji with no ofurigana will usually take kunyomi, sort of implies that kanji with ofurigana won’t take kunyomi. Which isn’t true as you’ve stated.

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It’s just that they were solely dealing with the one example being taught at the time, I guess.

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Ahh thank you. This makes sense when you emphasize single kanji vs. compound. The way I read it felt like it was emphasizing with vs. without okurigana.

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Yeah, thanks Kyle–it’s the emphasizing that was throwing me off.

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