Hello everyone! 
From March 18 to April 15, 2026, we’re rolling out another new round of additions and level movements to your WaniKani lessons 
. Like before, these changes are designed to improve your studying experience. We’ve taken into account factors like how common a kanji or word is, how hard it is to learn, and how useful it is in real life.
These updates include:
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New additions of kanji, vocab, and one radical
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Level movements to improve the order in which subjects are taught
As always, there’s no downtime, and you don’t need to do anything. Anything you’ve already started stays right where it is.
You’ll find the full list of changes below. This time, we’ve spread out some related items across five batches. That’s because if we added or moved them all at once, you might suddenly get a bunch of similar items at the same time, depending on your level. By spacing them out, we hope to reduce confusion and help reinforce the right concepts at the right time.
The reasoning for the updates is explained under each batch.
Thanks for continuing to study with us—we’re cheering you on! 
Happy reviewing!
1. Wed, March 18, 2026 (4 additions and 6 movements) - Published
New Items
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平行 (vocab) - we’re adding to level 5
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甥 (kanji) - we’re adding to level 33
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甥 (vocab) - we’re adding to level 33
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蘇る (vocab) - we’re adding to level 54
Level Changes
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Level 14: 骨格 (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 15
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Level 14: 格好 (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 16
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Level 14: 人格 (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 25
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Level 16: 不合格 (vocab) - we’re moving down to level 15
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Level 49: 紫外線 (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 52
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Level 52: 紫蘇 (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 53
Reasoning:
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We are adding the vocab 平行 to teach the most basic word for “parallel.” Currently, we have both 並列 (parallel) and 並行 (in parallel) on WaniKani, but these words are slightly more complicated nuance-wise, and more situational in their usage. 平行 is the basic word used to describe the geometric quality of being parallel, so learning this word first will help users better understand more advanced words like 並列 and 並行.
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We are adding the kanji 甥 and the vocab 甥 as a counterpart to 姪, which is already on WaniKani.
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We are adding the vocab 蘇る as further reinforcement for the kanji 蘇, which is already on WaniKani. 蘇る is a common verb, and it will also introduce learners to the kun’yomi reading of 蘇.
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We’re moving 紫外線 up closer to 紫蘇 to help consolidate the on’yomi reading of the kanji 紫 better. We’re also moving up 紫蘇 by one level to put more focus on the word 蘇生 first, since 蘇生 more clearly demonstrates the core meaning of the kanji 蘇.
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We’re moving up three vocab with 格 because there are currently too many at level 14. On the other hand, we’re moving down 不合格 by one level because it helps teach the core meaning of the kanji 格.
2. Wed, March 25, 2026 (6 additions and 4 movements) - Published
New Items
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夕方 (vocab) - we’re adding to level 5
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騙 (kanji) - we’re adding to level 32
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騙す (vocab) - we’re adding to level 32
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腫 (kanji) - we’re adding to level 39
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腫れる (vocab) - we’re adding to level 39
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腫れ (vocab) - we’re adding to level 40
Level Changes
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Level 12: 祭日 (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 33
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Level 14: 文化祭 (vocab) - we’re moving down to level 12
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Level 29: 玄米 (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 30
Content Changes
- The vocab 祭 will be updated to 祭り to reflect the way the word is more commonly written.
Reasoning:
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We are adding the vocab 夕方 because it’s a core, fundamental vocab word which appears commonly in everyday Japanese conversation.
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We’re adding the kanji 腫, as well as its vocab words 腫れる and 腫れ, to introduce new common kanji and vocabulary.
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We’re adding the kanji 騙 and the vocab 騙す to introduce new common kanji and vocabulary. 騙 is not joyo kanji, and the verb 騙す is often written in kana as だます, but we still feel that the kanji appears often enough in print media to make this a useful addition for learners.
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We’re moving up the vocab 玄米 by one level because it reinforces the kanji 玄’s secondary meaning “dark” rather than its primary meaning of “mysterious.”
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We’re moving down the vocab 文化祭 and moving up the vocab 祭, which will be updated to 祭り, to put more focus on the kanji 祭’s on’yomi reading vocab first. However, we’re moving up the vocab 祭日 because it’s a less common way of saying the level 24 word 祝日, which we want users to encounter first.
3. Wed, April 1 
, 2026 (6 additions and 5 movements) - Published
New Items
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餌 (kanji) - we’re adding to level 21
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餌 (vocab) - we’re adding to level 21
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捕まえる (vocab) - we’re adding to level 27
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遡 (kanji) - we’re adding to level 44
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遡及 (vocab) - we’re adding to level 44
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漢 (vocab) - we’re adding to level 53
Level Changes
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Level 25: 捕まる (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 29
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Level 25: 捉 (kanji) - we’re moving up to level 35
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Level 25: 捉える (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 35
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Level 27: 捕える (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 33
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Level 27: 逮捕する (vocab) - we’re moving down to level 26
Reasoning:
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We’re adding the kanji 餌 and the vocab 餌 to introduce new common kanji and vocabulary.
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We’re adding the vocab 捕まえる because it completes the transitive/intransitive pair with 捕まる. It is also a more basic way to say “to catch” than 捕える or 捉える, so learning it first should help learners understand those words better as well. We’re also moving related items including the kanji 捉 and the vocab 捉える, 捕まる, 捕える, and 逮捕する for better teaching order.
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We’re adding the kanji 遡 and the vocab 遡及 to introduce useful advanced-level kanji and vocabulary.
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We’re adding the vocab 漢 to reinforce the “man” meaning of the kanji 漢, which is currently only seen in the vocab 痴漢 (54). This version of おとこ also appears somewhat often in entertainment and other media, so we think it’s useful for learners to be aware of.
4. Wed, April 8, 2026 (7 additions and 3 movements) - Published
New Items
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列車 (vocab) - we’re adding to level 16
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餌食 (vocab) - we’re adding to level 23
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行方 (vocab) - we’re adding to level 25
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騙る (vocab) - we’re adding to level 34
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遡る (vocab) - we’re adding to level 46
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壺 (kanji) - we’re adding to level 50
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壺 (vocab) - we’re adding to level 50
Level Changes
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Level 55: 神髄 (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 56
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Level 55: 脊 (kanji) - we’re moving up to level 57
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Level 55: 脊髄 (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 57
Reasoning:
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We’re adding the vocab 列車 because this is a very common word that is missing from WaniKani, and it also teaches the shortened form (れっ) of the kanji 列’s on’yomi reading.
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We’re adding the vocab 餌食 to further reinforce the kanji 餌. It’s being added in this batch rather than the last one to prevent some users from seeing it together with the single-kanji vocab 餌. The two words have slightly different readings, so it would be ideal for learners to encounter 餌 before moving on to 餌食.
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We’re adding the vocab 行方 to introduce a very common word that learners will encounter often both in conversation and in media. It also introduces new readings for both of its component kanji.
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We’re adding the vocab 騙る to further reinforce the kanji 騙. It’s being added in this batch rather than the earlier one to prevent some users from seeing it together with the other vocab 騙す, which has a different reading.
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We’re adding 遡る to further reinforce the kanji 遡. It’s being added in this batch rather than the last one to prevent some users from seeing it together with the kanji and with 遡及, which are both being taught with the on’yomi reading. By staggering the additions, learners can focus on 遡’s on’yomi before encountering its kun’yomi with 遡る.
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We’re adding the kanji 壺 and its single-kanji vocab 壺 to introduce new common kanji and vocabulary.
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We’re moving up 神髄 because we are currently teaching the homophones 真髄 and 神髄 at level 55, and we want to move up one of them to put space between them. We are also moving up the kanji 脊 and the vocab 脊髄 because some users have been confusing 脊髄 with 骨髄 (55). We want to put some space between the two words to mitigate the confusion.
5. Wed, April 15, 2026 (1 addition and 2 movements) - Published
New Items
- Rib Cage/龶 (radical) - we’re adding to level 5
Level Changes
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Level 23: 責任感 (vocab) - we’re moving down to level 22
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Level 29: Blame/責 (radical) - we’re moving down to level 21
Content Changes
- The new radical Rib Cage/龶 will be added, so the components and mnemonics of the kanji using this radical will be updated accordingly.
Reasoning:
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The radical Rib Cage/龶 is used in the radical Blue/青 and the kanji 麦, 表, 毒, 喫, 害, 素, 責, 割, 潔, 憲, 契, 俵, and 轄. Currently, all of these kanji use the radical Life/生 in their mnemonics, but this is not accurate to their actual composition. By adding Rib Cage/龶, we can write mnemonics which will help learners to remember the composition of all of these kanji more accurately.
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Along with the above change, we’re moving down the radical 責 to be placed before the kanji 責. We’re also moving down 責任感 by one level to put it closer to 責任 for better consolidation of the kanji 責 and 任.
These are all very common and very useful Kanji that fit perfectly into WaniKani’s existing content pool. Good mnemonics to go with them too. Good job guys!