Hello there! 
From June 7th to July 12th, 2023, we’ll be making further adjustments to the item levels. We’ve carefully considered factors such as frequency, difficulty, and visual simplicity to make your studying more efficient and enjoyable.
As usual, there won’t be any downtime. You don’t have to take any additional steps either. All the items you’ve already started studying will remain in your review queue, so you can continue making progress without any interruption.
Below, you’ll find a list of the changes we’ve made. Keep up the fantastic work, and happy studying!
Wednesday, June 7, 2023 - Posted
Movements
- Level 13: 願 (kanji) - moving up to level 14.
- Level 13: お願いします (vocab) - moving up to level 14.
- Level 18: 祈 (kanji) - moving up to level 21.
- Level 13: 心願 (vocab) - moving up to level 47.
- Level 14: 悪例 (vocab) - moving up to level 36.
- Level 17: 悪因悪果 (vocab) - moving up to level 55.
- Level 18: 祈る (vocab) - moving up to level 21.
- Level 18: 祈願 (vocab) - moving up to level 21.
- Level 18: 祈念 (vocab) - moving up to level 39.
Reasoning:
- 願 (kanji), お願いします (vocab), and 心願 (vocab): We’ve decided to move 心願 up because it’s a highly advanced word that is mostly used in the phrase 心願成就. However, if we move this item up, we wouldn’t have an on’yomi reading item together with the kanji to consolidate the reading better. To address this, we’ve made the decision to move the kanji 願 and the vocabulary word お願いします up one level. This way, learners will have the words for on’yomi (念願 and 願望) right after they learn the kanji.
- 祈 (kanji), 祈願 (vocab), 祈る (vocab), and 祈念 (vocab): Based on user feedback, we’ve recognized the confusion caused by teaching 祈願 and 祈念 at the same level. To address this, we’ll separate them into different levels. Both 祈願 and 祈念 are advanced words with limited usage, making them more suitable for higher levels. We’ve also moved the kanji 祈 and the vocabulary word 祈る to the same level as 祈願 to facilitate learning the on’yomi reading alongside the kanji. This llows learners to immediately apply the on’yomi reading to the vocabulary 祈願 while also learning the more common word 祈る.
- 悪因悪果 (vocab): 悪因悪果 is a highly advanced word that is not commonly used. As a result, it is more suitable for a higher level.
- 悪例 (vocab): 悪例 is a less common, formal word that belongs to a higher level.
Wednesday, June 14, 2023 - Posted
*Movements
- Level 4: 申し申し (vocab) - moving up to level 60.
- Level 7: 未だ (vocab) - moving up to level 28.
- Level 16: 残品 (vocab) - moving up to level 27.
- Level 20: 残余 (vocab) - moving up to level 51.
- Level 39: 飛躍 (vocab) - moving up to level 40.
- Level 39: 躍動 (vocab) - moving up to level 42.
- Level 39: 躍進 (vocab) - moving up to level 42.
- Level 47: 躍如 (vocab) - moving up to level 55.
Reasoning:
- 申し申し (vocab): This word is very only very rarely written in kanji, and if it is, it’s usually pronounced もうしもうし. Now that we’ve added もしもし as a kana-only vocabulary, we can move this to a much higher level to reflect how uncommon the kanji version is, and focus on the reading もうしもうし.
- 未だ (vocab): This word can be read まだ, but it’s usually read いまだ, which is relatively advanced. Now that we teach the kana version of まだ (which is much more common) we can move this kana version to a level that reflects its more advanced use, and focus on the いまだ reading.
- 残品 (vocab): 残品 is a less common and formal word that is more suitable for a higher level, reflecting its specialized usage.
- 残余 (vocab): 残余 is a technical word primarily encountered in legal and financial contexts. Due to its specialized nature, it belongs to a higher level.
- 飛躍 (vocab), 躍動 (vocab), and 躍進 (vocab): These 躍 words introduced at level 39 have varying degrees of difficulty. To ensure a more appropriate distribution and better retention, we have decided to move 飛躍 to level 40, 躍動 and 躍進 to level 42, reflecting their increasing levels of complexity.
- 躍如 (vocab): 躍如 is a highly advanced word that is mostly seen in the phrase 面目躍如たる. As a result, it is more suitable for a higher level.
Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - Posted
Movements
- Level 43: 誰 (kanji) - moving down to level 11.
- Level 44: 俺 (kanji) - moving down to level 13.
- Level 8: 出所 (vocab) - moving up to level 38.
- Level 9: 入所 (vocab) - moving up to level 11.
- Level 10: 算定する (vocab) - moving up to level 35.
- Level 43: 誰 (vocab) - moving down to level 11.
- Level 43: 誰か (vocab) - moving down to level 12.
- Level 44: 俺 (vocab) - moving down to level 13.
- Level 44: 俺たち (vocab) - moving down to level 13.
- Level 44: 俺ら (vocab) - moving down to level 14.
Reasoning:
- 出所 (vocab) and 入所 (vocab): These words are more advanced than their current placement. To provide better clarity and offer nuanced explanations with examples, we have decided to move 入所 after 研究所 and place 出所 after 刑務所, which aligns with their respective contexts and makes more sense.
- 算定する (vocab): This advanced word is more suitable for a higher level due to its technical nature.
- 誰 (kanji), 誰 (vocab), 誰か (vocab), 俺 (kanji), 俺 (vocab), 俺たち (vocab), and 俺ら (vocab): Based on user feedback, we have made the decision to bring down the levels of these kanji and vocabulary words. While they were originally placed at higher levels, they are more suitable for lower levels in terms of difficulty and frequency.
Wednesday, June 28, 2023 - Posted
Movements
- Level 1: leaf (radical) - moving up to level 2.
- Level 2: stone/石 (radical) - moving up to level 3.
- Level 35: 彼 (kanji) - moving down to level 12.
- Level 35: 彼 (vocab) - moving down to level 12.
- Level 35: 彼ら (vocab) - moving down to level 12.
- Level 37: 彼女 (vocab) - moving down to level 13.
- Level 35: 彼氏 (vocab) - moving down to level 13.
- Level 10: 求人 (vocab) - moving up to level 19.
Reasoning:
- leaf (radical) and stone/石 (radical): To address user feedback regarding the potential confusion caused by learning the radical “leaf” and “gun” at the same level, we have decided to separate them. The radical “leaf” is first encountered in the radical “stone” and then in the kanji 万 at level 3, so we’re moving the radical “stone” up one level to make this adjustment.
- 彼 (kanji), 彼 (vocab), 彼ら (vocab), 彼女 (vocab), and 彼氏 (vocab): Taking into consideration user feedback, we have made the decision to lower the levels of these kanji and vocabulary words to better reflect their difficulty and frequency.
- 求人 (vocab): This word is slightly difficult for its current level. To ensure a more natural progression, we have decided to move it up to above 情報 as 求人情報 is common collocations.
Wednesday, July 5, 2023 - Posted
Movements
- Level 28: 絶 (kanji) - moving down to level 25.
- Level 25: 景観 (vocab) - moving up to level 27.
- Level 25: 前景 (vocab) - moving up to level 28.
- Level 25: 全景 (vocab) - moving up to level 28.
- Level 28: 絶対 (vocab) - moving down to level 25.
- Level 28: 絶望 (vocab) - moving down to level 25.
- Level 28: 絶景 (vocab) - moving down to level 26.
- Level 36: 廃絶 (vocab) - moving up to level 45.
Reasoning:
All the above items: 前景 and 全景 are more advanced compared to the other 景 words introduced earlier, so we have decided to move them up to level 28 for a better alignment.
Additionally, 絶景 should be lower in level than 前景 and 全景 but higher in level than other 絶 words such as 絶対 and 絶望, so we’re moving down the kanji 絶 and the vocabulary words 絶対 and 絶望 to level 25 and the vocabulary word 絶景 to level 26.
Lastly, 廃絶 is a more advanced word that belongs to a higher level, so it will be moved up to level 45.
Wednesday, July 12, 2023 - Posted
Movements
- Level 7: 札 (vocab) - moving up to level 9.
- Level 8: 助力 (vocab) - moving up to level 44.
- Level 8: 対外 (vocab) - moving up to level 38.
- Level 9: 千円札 (vocab) - moving down to level 7.
- Level 12: 血族 (vocab) - moving up to level 51.
- Level 27: 構え (vocab) - moving up to level 30.
- Level 31: 人脈 (vocab) - moving up to level 32.
- Level 31: 血脈 (vocab) - moving up to level 57.
Reasoning:
- 札 and 千円札: There has been some confusion caused by 〜札 (さつ) and 札 (ふだ) being taught at the same level. To address this, we will move 札 (ふだ) to level 9 and emphasize the さつ reading initially. Additionally, we will move 千円札 down to level 7, where it will be taught alongside 〜札 (さつ) to reinforce the さつ reading.
- 助力 (vocab): 助力 is a highly advanced word mainly used in formal contexts and is better suited to a higher level.
- 対外 (vocab): 対外 is a formal, advanced word that should be at a higher level than level 8.
- 血族 (vocab): 血族 is a formal term commonly used in legal contexts, so it’s better suited to a higher level to reflect its advanced usage.
- 構え (vocab): 構え will be moved after 構える for better scaffolding.
- 血脈 (vocab): 血脈 is not a commonly used word and is more suitable for a higher level.
- 人脈 (vocab): We are going to place 人脈 one level higher for better scaffolding of the range of meaning of 脈 words.
