Thursday July 4 2024 Content Updates

[mamimumason]

Kanji

二 (2) - Updated the reading mnemonic and hint.

北 (3) - Updated the reading mnemonic and hint.

組 (7) - Changed the primary reading from the on’yomi そ to the kun’yomi くみ, updated the reading mnemonic and hint.

苦 (9) Added “painful” to the allow list.

験 (9) Added “exam” to the warning list, updated the meaning mnemonic and hint, and updated the reading mnemonic hint.

看 (23) Added み as a kun’yomi reading.

Vocabulary

少年 (4) - Moved “juvenile” to the allow list, added “little boy,” “young man,” “boy child,” “young people,” and “young person” to the allow list, and updated the meaning explanation.

角 (5) - Moved “corner” to the primary meaning, moved “angle” to the alternative meaning, moved かど to the primary reading, moved かく to the alternative reading, updated the meaning explanation, and updated the reading explanation.

青年 (5) - Updated the reading explanation.

組 (7) - Updated the reading explanation.

横 (10) - Updated the meaning explanation.

欠かす (11) - Added “to do without” as the primary meaning, moved “to miss an event” to the alternative meaning, moved “to fail to have” to the allow list, added “to go without” to the allow list, and updated the meaning explanation.

二階 (12) - Added “1st floor” and “first floor” to the allow list.

整理 (13) - Updated one context sentence.

閉店 (13) - Updated the translation of one common word combination.

企てる (21) - Updated the reading explanation.

河 (26) - Added “big river” to the allow list, added “Yellow River” to the warning list, and updated the meaning explanation.

管理人 (26) - Added “superintendent” as the primary meaning, added “administrator” and “custodian” as the alternative meaning, moved “manager” to the allow list, added “caretaker,” “janitor,” “executor,” “building superintendent,” “park superintendent,” “property custodian,” “rental manager,” “apartment manager,” “building manager,” “supt.,” and “on-site manager” to the allow list, added “super” to the warning list, and updated the meaning explanation.

居間 (27) - Updated the meaning explanation.

組織 (27) - Updated the reading explanation.

黒幕 (34) - Moved “Dick Cheney” to the warning list.

揚げる (42) - Moved “to deep fry” to the primary meaning, moved “to hoist” to the alternative meaning, moved “to fly” to the allow list, and updated the meaning explanation.

悔しい (48) - Updated the reading explanation.

鬱気 (50) - Added “gloomy mood” as the primary meaning, added “feeling downcast” and “gloom” as the alternative meaning, moved “gloomy,” “melancholy,” and “gloominess” to the allow list, added “feeling depressed,” “feeling gloomy,” “downcast mood,” “feeling down,” and “feeling melancholy” to the allow list, and updated the meaning explanation.

鬱陶しい (50) - Added “annoying” as the alternative meaning, moved “gloomy mood” to the allow list, added “dull” to the allow list, updated the translation of one context sentence, added two context sentences, and updated the meaning explanation.

公告 (50) - Added “official announcement,” “official statement,” and “public statement” to the allow list, added “statement” to the warning list, and updated the meaning explanation.

駿馬 (53) - Removed “fleet stead” from the allow list, and added “fast steed” to the allow list.

柔和 (53) - Moved “gentle” to the primary meaning, moved “tender” to the alternative meaning, added “mild,” “peaceful,” “mildness,” “soft,” and “softness” to the allow list, updated the meaning explanation, and updated the reading explanation.

Movements

• Level 7: Pig (radical) - moving down to level 5
• Level 26: 豚 (kanji) - moving down to level 5
• Level 26: 豚 (vocab) - moving down to level 5
• Level 26: 豚肉 (vocab) - moving down to level 6
• Level 6: Lack (radical) - moving up to level 7
• Level 6: 次 (kanji) - moving up to level 8
• Level 6: 次回 (vocab) - moving up to level 8
• Level 6: 目次 (vocab) - moving up to level 9
• Level 6: 次 (vocab) - moving up to level 10
• Level 8: 次々 (vocab) - moving up to level 10

You can check reasoning here!

[2tea]

@mamimumason

験 (9) Added “exam” to the warning list, updated the meaning mnemonic and hint, and updated the reading mnemonic hint.

I find this distinction between test and exam for the kanji itself somewhat perplexing, would really appreciate if you’d elaborate what stands behind this decision.

[leoxs]

Am I crazy or 豕 was moved to level 5 and it wasn’t before?

I was about to finish the level and suddenly I had a new radical

[Kanden50]

It surprised me as well, it seems that it is one of the kanji that has been moved to a lower level recently.

[ctmf]

二階 (12) - Added “1st floor” and “first floor” to the allow list

??
Is this some kind of Canadian thing where they call the 1st floor the “ground floor” and the “first floor” is actually the second floor or something like that?

gratuitous @Safarigirl bait

[talentobdo]

It does make sense to have 豕 in the early levels tho, it is a super-duper common and useful word!

[leoxs]

yup, for sure! I was just very confused about the radical and the kanji randomly spawning

[Safarigirl]

It depends whether you’re in Quebec or not

[escargotagile]

@ctmf

Is this some kind of Canadian thing where they call the 1st floor the “ground floor” and the “first floor” is actually the second floor or something like that?

This is the case in Israel and I’m curious where else.

[nick_lee]

Hi 2tea,

Thank you for asking! We thought about this and decided that although “test” and “exam” can be synonyms, “exam” has a narrower meaning than both “test” in English and the kanji 験. Some of our reasoning is also informed by Kanjipedia:

We felt “test” better encompasses the senses of ためす, しらべる, and こころみ (“try,” “check,” “attempt,” “experiment,” etc.). It works in broader situations like “lab test” too, where “exam” wouldn’t quite fit.

I know it’s a pretty fine distinction, but we didn’t want the association of 験 with paper exams to be too strong. The non-exam “test” sense of 験 feels a bit more important, and appears in vocab like 体験, 実験, and 経験.

[superelf94]

@mamimumason

黒幕 (34) - Moved “Dick Cheney” to the warning list.

The end of an era lol

[TofuguNico]

@ctmf

Is this some kind of Canadian thing where they call the 1st floor the “ground floor” and the “first floor” is actually the second floor or something like that?

@escargotagile

This is the case in Israel and I’m curious where else.

Close, it’s exactly as you say but it’s a UK thing, and also an Israeli thing seemingly.

[2tea]

@nick_lee

I know it’s a pretty fine distinction

Thank you for the thorough explanation.
I always assumed that when a kanji has more than one meaning and they are not complete synonyms it implies that the first one is the main/broader use and the latter are some more niche usage of it in certain compounds/idioms/contexts, so saying it’s a pretty fine distinction is an understatement… I’ve never used exam for 験 it is and will always be test for me, but seeing the update and knowing it is associated with words and phrases that use the word exam in them made me think I am missing something, so again - really appreciate you took the time to answer so thoroughly.

[Angelodmage]

@ctmf

??
Is this some kind of Canadian thing where they call the 1st floor the “ground floor” and the “first floor” is actually the second floor or something like that?

Oh my summer child, you have no idea

Floor Counting Around the World - Vivid Maps

[Buket1]

Please, please, please kindly take this constructive criticism into consideration.

While I sincerely appreciate the reasonings behind moving the radical/kanji to lower/upper levels, you need to kindly note that it totally ruins user experience and learning especially when you (without noticing?) completely erase the mnemonic for that radical and kanji both from WK or forget to update the mnemonic of the one moved down. The same thing goes true for when you change the mnemonic and/or meaning for a previously learned radical/kanji. As a matter of fact, these were among the reasons why I first quit and then decided to reset WK. At some point I couldn’t even figure out if I was misremembering or making up the kanji/radical mnemonic and/or meaning or if it were just another WK update.

It recently happened with 想 which whose meaning was “concept” when I was studying it, and it was suddenly changed to “imagine” during the reviews. On that note, he explanation for 想像する still uses the meaning “concept” for 想. So disorienting to say the least. The most recent example is house 家. I vaguely remember that the kanji for house 家 had an explanation that had to do with keeping a pet pig in the house. Now that the radical 家 is moved down to level 6, both the kanji and radical for 家 refer to one another: “This radical is the same as the kanji. It means house.” and “The house radical makes up the house kanji! Pretty easy.” Which reminds me of that Spider-Man meme. If you must make these changes ad nauseam, please at least make sure you update everything accordingly. Thank you.