(Vocabulary) Best supplement for WaniKani?

I’m now nearing level 20 and want to begin to read.

What do you use? WK is great and all but doesn’t teach a lot of important Beginner and Intermediate vocabulary (naturally, as it is for reinforcing Kanji only).
I know about the Anki 2000 Set but it seems to “broad”, I really want the most common and useful ones that WKs misses. For example, you do learn 様 -sama, but you don’t learn さん -san, since it doesn’t have a Kanji.

Or should I just dive into reading right away? What did you guys start with and at what level?

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Let me present you the best Anki decks ever made by @hinekidori :3

https://community.wanikani.com/t/so-much-vocab/12050

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Haven’t tried it personally, but IKnow seems like a good tool to learn vocabulary.

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I can’t recommend Jalupnext.com enough!!

It cost money after the first decks but it’s well worth it.
It uses the 1 plus method of language and teaches vocab using sentences and SRS.
Each card has native audio recordings which are great for shadowing!
And by intermediate all the definitions are in Japanese which forces you to start thinking in Japanese.
It’s also gamified a little (not enough if you ask me)

It teaches a lot of kana words Wanikani misses so I think it’s the perfect compliment to Wanikani. I started the intermediate deck around level 18 but I also had a background in Japanese grammar before all of this.

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How much does a deck cost? It sounds really interesting, but the complete lack of any price point on the site is a real nuisance…

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It depends on the set but for vocab one deck chapter (100 cards) is $12.99 or the full set (1000 cards) is $99
It’s a bit pricey but I think it’s because the audio is so beautiful and it’s not subscription based. (You should be able to find the prices in the store if you click on a specific set)

They give you the first 100 cards of each deck free to try out which I’d recommend if you’re interested!

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@Powerpuncher mentioned iKnow. I use it. I like it because it teaches vocab and kanji and the example sentences are good reading practice for me. It does cost money once the free trial is up, but for me it has been worth it.

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I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I went ahead with Anki + Subs2SRS / Morphman decks.
So I basically use the same material I do immersion with, to actually learn vocab, plus I get so see WK (or any other known vocab) to use.

I goes like this…

  • from WK words

imagen

  • To vocab card

  • To Context sentence

You can get the decks (limited to what has been uploaded) or make your own (which can be more time consuming).

For me I think it’s worth it, to see the vocab in context and the actual reward to get to understand your shows it’s a plus for shure. :nerd_face:

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Learning vocab by JLPT-levels helps reinforce what you know by your level of Japanese. Just keep in mind that the lists don’t really apply to the actual exams these days. They are still very useful.

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Other than WK, I am using Nayr’s anki deck. Frequency based sentences with really good audio for shadowing. I feel like this deck is less painful and more fun to move through. Going through 50 reviews of listening and reading full sentences doesn’t leave me feeling exhausted. I have my reviews capped at 50 and new cards at 10, and I always mark cards as “good”.

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I checked it out after you recommended it and I cannot get over the fact they pronounce the “i” in “先生” and other words where it should just extend the “e” sound. It really irks me.
Other than that it seems really good. Thanks for sharing.

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Haha I hadn’t noticed. :sweat_smile: Maybe they stopped doing that after beginner.

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iknow.jp is really good because there is audio and you learn new words in a sentence. I hope to finish it soon now that I have less wanikani reviews.

Anki is also very useful, especially when you have no internet access (subway…). I use this deck : JLPT Grammar from Jtest4you - AnkiWeb . It is useful to familiarize yourself with grammar, and read sentences in japanese so you also learn vocabulary and reinforce your kanjis. There are some mistakes in it but not too much.

These 3 SRS systems (wanikani, iknow, anki grammar deck) are really nice, but in the end you have to read real japanese texts if you want to progress. SRS are never enough on their own. It’s easier to read in japanese within a browser (using yomichan extension) or using a Kindle, otherwise it’s painful to check words in a dictionary.

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Start reading, and use houhou to keep track of uncommon words. Common words you’ll pick up naturally just by virtue of them occurring so frequently.

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Excellent thread. I’m struggling to properly supplement words that are written in Kana.

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iKnow is the first online app I’ve discovered outside of Wanikani that really clicked with me. It’s a good system, especially when paired with WK. You have to pay a small subscription fee, but IMO if you like how Wanikani works, it’s worth it.

I also use some JLPT vocab books.

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I also recommend iKnow. It’s useful even for words already learned on WaniKani since it also tests you by audio, E–>J, and so on.

Some of the example sentences are too trivial, but they are otherwise really good. They recently added hundreds of new sentences, so hopefully they will keep expanding it.

FYI, the one year subscription is on sale right now. It’s about $55 if you subscribe via their iPhone app, which I think is cheaper than subscribing via their website with the current exchange rate (the subscription works for both the website and app of course).

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Some of the example sentences are too trivial, but they are otherwise really good. They recently added hundreds of new sentences, so hopefully they will keep expanding it.

Although some can be trivial (in terms of providing an example that’s practical but doesn’t really show off the meaning), it’s still nice that they’re there and that they’re read.

As you said, the fact that it simultaneously tests listening, kanji-recognition, meaning, and recall is one of its strongest points.

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I’m not sure about vocabulary supplement websites but I did find a good beginner reading website that has over 300 short articles in the forms of mostly story chapters. it allows you to click on any word in the article and you can see a definition and also tells what grammar form is being used (you can even add the word to your pile of flashcards for later study).

It is extremely useful in my opinion and the subscription is $9/month for full access and they are continuing to add more articles. you can try some of the articles and features for free to see if you like it with free registration and upgrade anytime if you think it is worth it.

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@anon79193723 Will you share the link of the beginner reading website which you have mentioned please? Thank you.