Hello everyone! 
From November 26 to December 3, 2025, we’re rolling out a new round of additions and level movements to your WaniKani lessons.
This update specifically focuses on items related to 直.
Here’s why:
The kanji 直 is introduced with the on’yomi reading ちょく, but there are no vocabulary words using that reading at the same level. Instead, learners first encounter vocab that uses the readings じき and なお, which interferes with the retention of ちょく. To improve this issue, we will be adding and moving items so that vocabulary using ちょく can be learned alongside the kanji, with different readings being gradually introduced.
However, this leads to a little complication. Currently, the primary meaning of the radical/kanji 直 is “fix,” which matches なお words like 直す and 直る, but doesn’t match most of the ちょく vocabulary. Because of this, we’ve decided to change it to “straight,” which will not only better support the ちょく words, but is also more faithful to the fundamental meaning of the kanji 直. Other meanings like “direct,” “honest,” and even the current “fix” all derive from this core meaning.
We know that changes like this can be disruptive, so we’ve given this decision a lot of thought and are not making it lightly. We believe that by changing the primary meaning of both the radical and the kanji 直 to “straight,” we can improve the learner experience both in terms of reading retention and meaning comprehension.
To prepare for this update, we also reviewed all kanji that use the 直 radical (植・置・値・殖) and made sure that their mnemonics work well when the radical is taught as “straight.”
Please keep in mind that we’re keeping the old meaning “fix” in the allow list for the radical (with a warning message) and as an alternative meaning for the kanji. That means if you enter an older meaning that’s no longer primary, you won’t be marked wrong. We hope this helps make your learning experience smoother and less frustrating.
As always, there’s no downtime, and you don’t need to do anything. Anything you’ve already started stays right where it is.
Below is the full list of changes. We will be making most of the changes in the first batch, but we separated a couple new words into a second batch to prevent some users from getting all the new 直 words in a single week.
Thank you for your understanding and for continuing to study with us. Happy reviewing! 
1. Wed, November 26, 2025 (2 additions and 12 movements) - Published
New Items
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直線 (vocab) - we’re adding this vocab to level 10
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直進 (vocab) - we’re adding this vocab to level 10
Level Changes
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Level 6: 直 (kanji) - we’re moving up to level 10
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Level 6: 直す (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 15
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Level 6: 直行 (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 12
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Level 6: 正直 (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 13
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Level 7: 直る (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 18
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Level 8: 見直す (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 16
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Level 9: Pope (radical) - we’re moving up to level 10
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Level 11: 仲間 (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 14
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Level 11: 仲直り (vocab) - we’re moving up to level 19
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Level 12: 直 (radical) - we’re moving down to level 10
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Level 13: 仲良し (vocab) - we’re moving down to level 12
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Level 18: 書き直す (vocab) - we’re moving down to level 17
Content Changes
- Radical and Kanji 直’s primary meaning will be switched from “fix” to “straight” along with this addition and movements, and other related content will be updated accordingly.
Reasoning:
- Explained at the top of this page
2. Wed, December 3, 2025 (2 additions and 1 movement) - Published
New Items
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直前 (vocab) - we’re adding this vocab to level 11
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直ちに (vocab) - we’re adding this vocab to level 35
Level Changes
- Level 25: 問う (vocab) - we’re moving down to level 15
Reasoning:
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直前: This vocab helps to reinforce the ちょく reading and the straight meaning.
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直ちに: This vocab teaches the new reading ただ
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問う: This vocab is not related to 直, but we are also making this movement so that this will appear before 問い合わせる (16) for better learning order.
