Use on Mobile Devices (Specifically Phone)

WaniKani Feedback
#1

I have my phone set to have the japanese keyboard and I frequently use my phone for practice. I realized early on that:

  • I got a lot of accidental typos on a computer and
  • Typing “sha” to get しゃ is very different than actually typing a “Shi + small Ya”. My brain only knew how to spell it if I was typing on an English keyboard. This is of course very less than ideal.

Using the review page on a mobile device though has three issues that I have found which I would love a solution for:

  • While the font size is large and very readable on a computer screen I wish I could increase the font size on a mobile device. This is the smallest of the issues.
  • The home button on a mobile device is tiny and very difficult to press. It hides very small and at the edge of the screen so it takes me a dozen tries to finally click it.
  • I use my left hand. So reaching up 2/3 of the screen and to the right side to click the “next/submit” button is super inconvenient. It would be great if the “right arrow” next button appeared at both the left and right hand edges of the text input.
#2

Is using one of the apps out of the question, or does that not solve any of your issues.

1 Like
#3

Android (device?) or iPhone?

Do you mean the font size of what you’re typing?

#4

Both I guess. Sometime it would be nice if the display kanji was bigger, but yeah I have to squint to tell if I have the tenten or Maru sometimes on the words I type. It would be easier to tell if I typed it correctly if that text was bigger.

Also Android with Firefox

#5

I didn’t know there were apps. Are they in the play store? Wanikani works really well in a mobile browser so I didn’t even look for an app

#6

I use the WK for WaniKani app (yes on Play Store). There have been other apps available but that was the only one I could find just now. You might find you have some of the same problems with the app. I find the display kanji really big but the typing a bit on the small side. Home will also likely be small in the app but the back button works if you have one.

I do think the left hand issue could easily be fixed by the developers of all the different mobile apps and the main site could have a left hand option. I use both hands to type/swipe so for me it isn’t an issue but I do see your point. Sometimes you just want to be able to hit an enter button on the keyboard instead of moving the hand up.

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#7

I use wk with chrome in my Android phone. Default setting do not let you zoom in but there is an option in accessibility options to force to enable zoom in web pages.

#8

I don’t have an answer for the font size, but:

For the home button: I’m surprised that you ever need to press the in-review home button - I pretty much never do that as it aborts a review session uncleanly, such that you may have answered only one of the meaning/reading for a given item. You can use the (much larger) ‘wrap up’ button to schedule a clean end to the current review session after 10 more items.

For the next/submit button: I hardly ever use that either, preferring to use the soft-keyboard’s return button. Does that not work for you? (I’m using the same Android app as already mentioned in this thread.)

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#9

Oh hmm. I didn’t know about the wrap up feature. I’ll have to look into that.

I guess I haven’t tried hitting enter twice. I got the return button to submit the answer and it accepts it. I never pressed it a second time to try and go on to the next one. I’ll try it.

#10

Ok the keyboard goes away because there is not an editable text box anymore. So once the field turns green I don’t have access to the “enter” button anymore

#11

I find doing it on a phone less than ideal as well (except that it slows me down enough to make fewer typos, so there’s that.) I just fat-finger the right-hand end of the input box for both enter AND next, and it works for me. I don’t have much use for the home button either, but that does sound annoying.

#12

Ah. I can see that would be annoying. The “WK for Wanikani” Android app resolves this by forcing the keyboard to remain present (as well as a bunch of other helpful tweaks too).

#13

Just in case you are not aware: since you are on Android it is easy to install userscripts and you could use the Anki mode script where you can just press a button depending on whether you know the answer or not. That’s how I do reviews an my phone. I don’t know how everyone does it by typing but it drives me insane.

(not posting a link because I’m in a hurry and on mobile but if you search for android and anki you should find them; you need a modified version of the anki mode script with buttons)

#14

If you use the romaji keyboard it makes it easier.

#15

how do you install userscripts on android? i’m dying for override (even more on mobile b/c of fat fingers :frowning: )

#16

Here’s a how to: Userscripts on Android (Browser)

1 Like
#17

tyty10char

#18

I was going to say that I was having similar issues with the Audio button in vocab lessons being difficult to press on phones because it’s so small. But I might give one of these fabled Play Store apps a try.

#19

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