Hello everyone!
I hope you’re having a wonderful summer! 
Whether you’re enjoying some time off, traveling, or simply making the most of the long July days, I hope you’re finding time to squeeze in a few WaniKani reviews too.
From July 8 to July 29, 2026, we’ll be updating WaniKani content with another round of additions and movements. Like before, the updates are designed to make your learning experience better. We’ve considered factors like how common a word is, how hard it is to learn, whether it reinforces under-supported kanji readings, and how easily it can be confused with similar items.
This time, the updates include
- New additions of kanji and vocabulary
- Level movements to improve scaffolding
- Removal of a few old items we have judged not to be common or useful
There will be no downtime for these updates. You won’t need to do anything to see them, and anything you’ve started learning stays right where it is.
The full list of updates is below, along with brief explanations of our reasoning. We’ve spread the updates over four batches this time, and tried to space things out so you won’t see too many similar items all at once.
Happy reviewing! And as always, thank you for continuing to study with WaniKani 
1. Wed, July 8, 2026 (5 additions, 7 movements) - Published
New Items
- 果実 (vocab) - adding to level 17
- 結ぶ (vocab) - adding to level 21
- 返済 (vocab) - adding to level 21
- 決済 (vocab) - adding to level 21
- 図る (vocab) - adding to level 27
Level Changes
- Level 17: 果てる (vocab) - moving up to level 25
- Level 17: 果物 (vocab) - moving up to level 19
- Level 17: 結果 (vocab) - moving up to level 18
- Level 17: 結局 (vocab) - moving up to level 18
- Level 19: 果たして (vocab) - moving up to level 24
- Level 21: 経済 (vocab) - moving up to level 22
- Level 23: 経済的 (vocab) - moving up to level 24
Reasoning
- 果実 is being added as a common word that teaches the more formal way of saying “fruit” (as opposed to the more casual 果物, which is already on WaniKani).
- 結ぶ is being added because it’s an extremely common and useful verb, and it also introduces the kun’yomi reading of 結 — a long overdue addition to WaniKani.
- In conjunction with the additions of 果実 and 結ぶ, the other 果 and 結 vocab items will be moved around slightly to improve level distribution and teaching order. The movements will allow us to introduce new readings sequentially and avoid multiple readings being taught at the same level.
- 返済 and 決済 are being added as common and useful real-world vocabulary that reinforce the kanji 済’s basic on’yomi reading of さい. Currently, all of 済’s on’yomi vocab words on WaniKani use the rendaku’d ざい reading.
- In conjunction with the additions of 返済 and 決済, 経済 and 経済的 will be moved up so that learners can practice 済’s さい reading before they learn the rendaku’d version.
- 図る is being added as a common and useful word which also introduces the kun’yomi reading of 図.
2. Wed, July 15, 2026 (3 additions, 10 movements, 1 item to be removed) - Published
New Items
Level Changes
- Level 25: 交/Mix (radical) - moving down to level 23
- Level 25: 効 (kanji) - moving down to level 23
- Level 25: 効率 (vocab) - moving down to level 23
- Level 25: 効果 (vocab) - moving down to level 23
- Level 30: 盗品 (vocab) - moving up to level 50
- Level 31: 救う (vocab) - moving up to level 33
- Level 32: 結婚する (vocab) - moving down to level 31
- Level 37: 盗聴 (vocab) - moving up to level 38
- Level 37: 聴く (vocab) - moving up to level 40
- Level 42: 網 (vocab) - moving up to level 46
- Level 44: 網戸 (vocab) - moving up to level 46
Removal
- Level 37: 聴者 (vocab) - removing this subject
Reasoning
- 町内 is being added as a common vocab word which reinforces 町’s on’yomi reading ちょう. Currently, this reading is only used in one vocab word on WaniKani (町民).
- 結び目 is being added as a second vocab word to reinforce the kun’yomi reading of 結 introduced in the previous batch with 結ぶ.
- 視聴 is a common word we’re adding as a significantly more useful replacement for 聴者, which is being removed due to the fact that it’s uncommon in most ordinary contexts.
- A number of movements are being carried out involving radical 交, kanji 効, 盗, 救, 結, 聴, and 網 items to improve level distribution and teaching order, as these items are all related to the additions and movements in this and other batches. The only movement not directly related to level distribution and teaching order improvements is 盗品, which is being moved up to a much higher level to reflect its status as an advanced and somewhat niche word.
3. Wed, July 22, 2026 (4 additions, 8 movements)
New Items
- 市町村 (vocab) - adding to level 7
- 農村 (vocab) - adding to level 12
- 効き目 (vocab) - adding to level 26
- 救済 (vocab) - adding to level 31
Level Changes
- Level 33: Inside/内 (radical) - moving down to level 4
- Level 3: 内 (kanji) - moving up to level 4
- Level 4: 内 (vocab) - moving up to level 16
- Level 7: 内ポケット (vocab) - moving up to level 16
- Level 21: 済む (vocab) - moving up to level 23
- Level 23: 済ます (vocab) - moving up to level 25
- Level 30: 盗撮 (vocab) - moving up to level 31
- Level 42: 横綱 (vocab) - moving up to level 43
Content Changes
- Radical Inside/内 is moving down to the same level as kanji 内 (coming before it sequentially), so the radical components and mnemonics for the kanji will be updated accordingly.
Reasoning
- 市町村 and 農村 are being added as additional vocabulary to reinforce 村’s on’yomi reading そん. On top of this, 市町村 will also help reinforce 町’s on’yomi reading ちょう, together with 町内 in the previous batch.
- 効き目 is being added to reinforce 効’s kun’yomi reading, which is currently only taught via 効く.
- 救済 is being added to further consolidate 済’s basic さい reading along with 返済 and 決済 in Batch 1. It will also help reinforce the meaning and reading of 救, since WaniKani currently has only two vocab words for that kanji (救う and 救急車).
- In conjunction with the content changes to Inside/内 and kanji 内, as well as the addition of 町内 in the previous batch, the vocab words 内 and 内ポケット will be moved up by a substantial amount. This is partly because we want to let lower-level users focus on words using 内’s on’yomi reading ない, but also because 内 as a standalone vocab word is deceptively advanced given its intricate nuance and multiple uses. Having users encounter it at a more intermediate stage will allow us to teach it with a wider variety of collocations and context sentences, and hopefully make its nuances and difference with 中 easier to grasp.
- A number of movements are being carried out involving 済, 盗, and 綱 items to improve level distribution and teaching order, as these items are all related to the additions and movements in this and other batches.
4. Wed, July 29, 2026 (4 additions, 6 movements, 2 items to be removed)
New Items
- 要因 (vocab) - adding to level 17
- 結び付く (vocab) - adding to level 22
- 因果 (vocab) - adding to level 40
- 繁盛 (vocab) - adding to level 42
Level Changes
- Level 17: 主因 (vocab) - moving up to level 30
- Level 27: 効果的 (vocab) - moving down to level 24
- Level 30: 盗む (vocab) - moving up to level 32
- Level 42: 網 (kanji) - moving up to level 44
- Level 42: 交通網 (vocab) - moving up to level 44
- Level 42: 通信網 (vocab) - moving up to level 44
Removal
Reasoning
- 要因 and 因果 are being added to provide more common and useful vocab words for the kanji 因. Bringing 要因 in at level 17 also gives us the leeway to move the more advanced 主因 up to a higher level.
- 結び付く is being added both because it reinforces the kun’yomi reading of 結 introduced with 結ぶ (Batch 1) and 結び目 (Batch 2), and also because it’s a very common and useful word in its own right.
- We’re removing 繁昌 and replacing it with 繁盛, which is an orthographic variant of the same word. The 繁盛 version is more common in modern Japanese, so we’ve decided it should be the version taught on WaniKani. Since 繁昌 is the only vocab word on WaniKani for the kanji 昌, the kanji itself will be getting removed as well.
- 効果的 and 盗む are being moved slightly to improve level distribution and teaching order, as both items are related to the additions and movements in this and other batches.
- The 網 items are moving up so we can space out the 綱 and 網 items. Since both kanji currently use the same radical components, having them too close to each other can potentially cause interference.
Made me realize ざい is not the only reading.
