Hello everyone! 
From May 29th to July 31st, 2024, we’ll be making some more adjustments to item levels. As in the past, we’ve carefully considered various factors, like 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’re making. Unlike previous times, we will be spreading some related movements across different batches. This is because we sometimes move things to space them out and lessen interference, but if we move them in the same batch, depending on what level you are, you might end up getting everything at once in your lesson queue. So we think it would be better to spread certain things out a little.
What that means for this post is that batches are now numbered, and the reasoning for all related movements will be explained with the first batch that includes them, while entries in subsequent batches will direct you to the batch with the reasoning.
Keep up the fantastic work, and happy studying!
1. Wednesday, May 29, 2024 - Published
Movements
- Level 45: 疲 (kanji) - moving down to level 12
- Level 45: 疲労 (vocab) - moving down to level 12
- Level 30: 更 (kanji) - moving down to level 22
- Level 30: 変更 (vocab) - moving down to level 22
- Level 30: 更新 (vocab) - moving down to level 22
- Level 23: Clothes (radical) - moving down to level 22
- Level 41: 衣 (kanji) - moving down to level 22
- Level 41: 衣服 (vocab) - moving down to level 22
- Level 41: 脱衣 (vocab) - moving down to level 22
- Level 22: 脱税 (vocab) - moving up to level 23
- Level 22: 脱走する (vocab) - moving up to level 23
- Level 22: 脱線 (vocab) - moving up to level 23
- Level 22: 脱ぐ (vocab) - moving up to level 24
Reasoning:
- 疲 (kanji) and 疲労, 疲れる, 疲れ, お疲れ様 (vocab): 疲 is very common and reasonably visually simple, so we are moving it from level 45 down to level 12. We teach the on’yomi ひ reading first, so 疲労 will move down with it to level 12, and the kun’yomi vocab 疲れる and 疲れ will follow on level 13. お疲れ様 will be moving to level 14, after 様 is first introduced on level 13. 疲れる and 疲れ will move in Batch 2, while お疲れ様 will move in Batch 3.
- 更 (kanji), 変更, 更新, 更衣室, 更に, and 今更 (vocab): We are moving the 更 kanji down to level 22 because the vocab associated with it are relatively common, and so that 更衣室 can be taught along with other vocab for the 衣 kanji. 変更 and 更新, which use the on’yomi こう reading, will be taught alongside the kanji on level 22, while 更に and 今更, which use the kun’yomi さら reading, will be moved to levels 24 and 25, respectively. 更衣室, 更に, and 今更 will move in Batch 2.
- Clothes (radical), 衣 (kanji), 衣, 脱衣, 衣服, 更衣室, 浴衣 (vocab): We are moving the 衣 kanji down to level 22 because the vocab associated with it are more common than level 41 would suggest, and we would also like to introduce 脱衣 along with the kanji 脱 on level 22. As a result, the Clothes radical will go down by one level to level 22. 衣服, which uses the on’yomi い will be taught with the kanji on level 22, 更衣室 will further consolidate the い reading on level 23, and 浴衣, which has an irregular reading, will be moved down to level 27 so as to prevent interference. 更衣室 will move in Batch 2, the 衣 vocab in Batch 3, and 浴衣 in Batch 4.
- 脱線, 脱走する, 脱税, 脱ぐ and 脱衣 (vocab): Level 22 currently has many vocab that use the 脱 kanji with different readings. To create better scaffolding, we are moving 脱線 and 脱走する, which use the だっ reading for 脱, as well as 脱ぐ, which uses the kun’yomi reading, up by a level. We are also bringing 脱衣 down from level 41 to level 22 because it is more common than its current level suggests, and to demonstrate the “undress” meaning taught with the kanji. Finally, we are moving 脱税 up by a level to level 23 to spread things out a little more, and it is slightly less common compared to the other 脱 vocab taught on level 22.
2. Wednesday, June 5, 2024 - Published
Movements
- Level 45: 疲れる (vocab) - moving down to level 13
- Level 47: 疲れ (vocab) - moving down to level 13
- Level 13: 皆様 (vocab) - moving up to level 14
- Level 13: 様々 (vocab) - moving up to level 15
- Level 26: 刺 (kanji) - moving down to level 20
- Level 26: 刺す (vocab) - moving down to level 20
- Level 26: 突 (kanji) - moving down to level 23
- Level 26: 突然 (vocab) - moving down to level 23
- Level 41: 更衣室 (vocab) - moving down to level 23
- Level 30: 更に (vocab) - moving down to level 24
- Level 32: 今更 (vocab) - moving down to level 25
- Level 17: 勇む (vocab) - moving up to level 35
Reasoning:
- 疲れる and 疲れ (vocab) - See Batch 1.
- 皆様 and 様々 (vocab): We are moving 皆様 up by one level to level 14 so that it is taught one level after the similar 皆さん to spread out the 様 vocabulary a little more. 様々 demonstrates a different use of 様, so it will be moving up by two levels to level 15 so that the “formal name ender” uses can be consolidated first.
- 刺 (kanji), 刺す, 刺身, 刺さる, and 名刺 (vocab): The kanji 刺 and its associated vocab are fairly common, so we are going to bring the kanji down from level 26 to level 20. The vocab 刺す will also move to the same level because we are changing the reading taught with the kanji from the on’yomi し to the kun’yomi さ, since the most common vocab use the kun’yomi reading. The kun’yomi vocab 刺身 and 刺さる will be moved to levels 21 and 22, respectively, while the on’yomi reading will be introduced at level 25 with 名刺. 刺身 will move in Batch 3, 刺さる in Batch 4, and 名刺 in Batch 5.
- 突 (kanji), 突然, and 突く (vocab): We are moving 突 down from level 26 to level 23, because like 刺, the vocab that use it are fairly common. As we teach the kanji with the on’yomi, we will move 突然 to the same level, and move the kun’yomi 突く to level 25. 突く will move in Batch 3.
- 更衣室, 更に, 今更 (vocab): See Batch 1.
- 勇む (vocab): 勇む is a fairly advanced word, so we are moving it from level 17 up to level 35. Placing it at that level also allows it to reinforce the 勇 radical and 勇 kanji meanings right before the 湧 kanji, which is moving to level 36, is introduced (see Batch 3).
3. Wednesday, June 12, 2024 - Published
Movements
- Level 15: Man (radical) - moving down to level 4
- Level 49: お疲れ様 (vocab) - moving down to level 14
- Level 60: Courage (radical) - moving down to level 15
- Level 28: 刺身 (vocab) - moving down to level 21
- Level 20: 経つ (vocab) - moving up to level 22
- Level 26: 突く (vocab) - moving down to level 24
- Level 41: 衣 (vocab) - moving down to level 25
- Level 60: 湧 (kanji) - moving down to level 36
- Level 60: 湧水 (vocab) - moving down to level 36
- Level 49: 桑原 (vocab) - moving up to level 50
Reasoning:
- Man (radical): We are moving this radical from level 15 to level 4 so it can be taught with the 男 kanji.
- お疲れ様 (vocab): See Batch 1.
- Courage (radical): We think it makes sense to teach this radical before the kanji 勇, so we are moving it down from level 60 to level 15.
- 刺身 (vocab): See Batch 2.
- 経つ (vocab): We are moving 経つ up by two levels to level 22 so that the on’yomi reading taught with the 経 kanji at level 20 can be consolidated first with other vocab before moving on to the kun’yomi reading.
- 突く (vocab): See Batch 2.
- 衣 (vocab): See Batch 1.
- 湧 (kanji), 湧水, and 湧く (vocab): The 湧 kanji is more common than level 60 suggests, so we are moving it down to level 36 along with 湧水. 湧く, which uses the kun’yomi reading, will move to level 38.
- 桑原 (vocab): 桑 and 桑畑 are more basic vocab, while 桑原 is a bit less common these days and is mostly used as a family name, so we’re moving it up by one level to level 50 for better scaffolding.
4. Wednesday, June 19, 2024 - Published
Movements
- Level 42: 床 (kanji) - moving down to level 7
- Level 42: 床 (vocab) - moving down to level 7
- Level 45: 井 (kanji) - moving down to level 14
- Level 45: 井戸 (vocab) - moving down to level 14
- Level 27: 刺さる (vocab) - moving down to level 22
- Level 17: 建物 (vocab) - moving up to level 24
- Level 17: 建つ (vocab) - moving up to level 25
- Level 17: 建前 (vocab) - moving up to level 27
- Level 43: 浴衣 (vocab) - moving down to level 27
- Level 26: 再建 (vocab) - moving up to level 29
- Level 44: 涙 (kanji) - moving down to level 35
- Level 44: 涙 (vocab) - moving down to level 35
- Level 60: 湧く (vocab) - moving down to level 38
Reasoning:
- 床 (kanji), 床, 起床, 病床, 温床 (vocab): The 床 kanji and vocab are both visually simple and common, so we are moving them both down from level 42 to level 7, and are also adjusting the kanji reading mnemonic to teach the more common kun’yomi first. The on’yomi vocab 起床, 病床, and 温床 are not as common, so they will be moving down to levels 35, 36, and 37, respectively. 起床 will move in Batch 5, 病床 in Batch 7, and 温床 in Batch 8.
- 井 (kanji), 井戸, and 天井 (vocab): Like 床 above, the 井 kanji is visually simple and relatively common so we are bringing it down from level 45 to level 14. We will also teach the kun’yomi reading い first and reinforce it with 井戸 on the same level. 天井, which uses the on’yomi じょう, will be taught two levels later on level 16. 天井 will move in Batch 5.
- 刺さる (vocab): See Batch 2.
- 建 (kanji), 建築, 建築家, 建てる, 建物, 建つ, 建前, and 再建 (vocab): The 建 kanji is used in many similar contexts to 築 (see Batch 5), so we are moving it up from level 15 to level 21. We will also be redistributing its associated vocab based on frequency, with the on’yomi 建築 on level 22 and 建築家 on level 23, and the kun’yomi 建てる on level 23, 建物 on level 24, 建つ on level 25 (to separate it from the similar 建てる and reduce interference), and 建前 on level 27, and finally the on’yomi 再建 on level 29. The 建 kanji and 建てる will move in Batch 5.
- 浴衣 (vocab): See Batch 1.
- 涙 (kanji) and 涙 (vocab): The 涙 kanji and vocab are fairly common and useful so we are bringing them down from level 44 to level 35.
- 湧く (vocab): See Batch 3.
5. Wednesday, June 26, 2024 - Published
Movements
- Level 33: 閉 (kanji) - moving down to level 14
- Level 33: 閉店 (vocab) - moving down to level 14
- Level 33: 開閉 (vocab) - moving down to level 14
- Level 45: 天井 (vocab) - moving down to level 16
- Level 15: 建 (kanji) - moving up to level 21
- Level 15: Saw (radical) - moving up to level 22
- Level 15: 築 (kanji) - moving up to level 22
- Level 15: 新築 (vocab) - moving up to level 22
- Level 15: 建築 (vocab) - moving up to level 22
- Level 15: 建てる (vocab) - moving up to level 23
- Level 17: 建築家 (vocab) - moving down to level 23
- Level 26: 名刺 (vocab) - moving down to level 25
- Level 42: 起床 (vocab) - moving down to level 35
Reasoning:
- 閉 (kanji), 閉店, 開閉 閉める, 閉まる, and 閉じる (vocab): The 閉 kanji is visually simple and very common, so we are moving it down to level 14, so that it doesn’t get too close to the visually similar 開 on level 10. Since we are teaching the on’yomi with the kanji, 閉店 and 開閉 will join the kanji on level 14, while the kun’yomi 閉める, 閉まる, and 閉じる will be distributed across levels 16, 18, and 20 to avoid interference. 閉める will move in Batch 7, 閉まる in Batch 8, and 閉じる in Batch 9.
- 天井 (vocab): See Batch 4.
- 建 (kanji), 建てる (vocab): See Batch 4.
- Saw (radical), 築 (kanji), 新築, 建築, 建築家 (vocab): The kanji 築 is fairly visually complex, and its associated vocab are reasonably advanced (though still common and useful), so we are moving the kanji along with the Saw radical from level 15 to level 22. 新築 and 建築 will be taught along with the kanji, with 建築家 one level later on level 23.
- 名刺 (vocab): See Batch 2.
- 起床 (vocab): See Batch 4.
6. Wednesday, July 3, 2024 - Published
Movements
- Level 7: Pig (radical) - moving down to level 5
- Level 26: 豚 (kanji) - moving down to level 5
- Level 26: 豚 (vocab) - moving down to level 5
- Level 26: 豚肉 (vocab) - moving down to level 6
- Level 6: Lack (radical) - moving up to level 7
- Level 6: 次 (kanji) - moving up to level 8
- Level 6: 次回 (vocab) - moving up to level 8
- Level 6: 目次 (vocab) - moving up to level 9
- Level 6: 次 (vocab) - moving up to level 10
- Level 8: 次々 (vocab) - moving up to level 10
Reasoning:
- Pig (radical), 豚 (kanji), 豚 and 豚肉 (vocab): 豚 (pig/pork) is a common kanji, particularly in restaurants and grocery stores, and it also makes sense to teach the 豚 kanji and kun’yomi vocab along with the pig radical, so we are moving them down. We are moving the Pig radical down by two levels to level 5 so that it can be used to teach the 豚 kanji first before it is used for the 象 kanji, which is moving to level 7 (see Batch 8).
- Lack (radical), 次 (kanji), 次回, 目次, 次, and 次々 (vocab): The Lack radical will be moving up by a level to be taught alongside the 欠 (lack) kanji on level 7, and we will also be moving the kanji 次 up from level 6 to 8, so that it will be taught after the simpler 欠 kanji for a more natural progression. We will also redistribute the 次 vocab according to their readings, with the on’yomi vocab 次回 and 目次 on levels 8 and 9, and kun’yomi vocab 次 and 次々 on level 10.
7. Wednesday, July 10, 2024 - Published
Movements
- Level 45: House (radical) - moving down to level 6
- Level 7: 家 (kanji) - moving down to level 6
- Level 7: 家 (vocab) - moving down to level 6
- Level 7: 作家 (vocab) - moving up to level 15
- Level 33: 閉める (vocab) - moving down to level 16
- Level 57: 漬 (kanji) - moving down to level 36
- Level 57: 漬ける (vocab) - moving down to level 36
- Level 42: 病床 (vocab) - moving down to level 36
- Level 58: 絹 (kanji) - moving down to level 37
- Level 58: 絹 (vocab) - moving down to level 37
Reasoning:
- House (radical), 家 (kanji), 家 (vocab), 作家 (vocab): We are moving the House radical down to level 6 so that it can be used for the 家 kanji. Additionally, we are moving the 家 kanji and its associated kun’yomi vocab 家 to level 6, to avoid confusion with the visually similar 象, which is moving to level 7 (see Batch 8). 作家 introduces 家’s use as a suffix to refer to a person’s profession, so we are moving it up from level 7 to level 15 so that it is near 芸術家 on level 16 to better reinforce that nuance.
- 閉める (vocab): See Batch 5.
- 漬 (kanji), 漬ける, 漬物, 〜漬け, and 漬かる (vocab): The 漬 kanji is more common than level 57 suggests, so we are moving it down to level 36, which puts some space between it and the visually similar kanji 積 on level 29 and 績 on level 32. 漬ける will be taught alongside the kanji, followed by 漬物 on level 37, 〜漬け on level 38, and 漬かる on level 42 (as it is less common than the others). 漬物 will move in Batch 8, and 〜漬け will move in Batch 9.
- 病床 (vocab): See Batch 4.
- 絹 (kanji) and 絹 (vocab): We are moving the kanji and vocab 絹 down from level 58 to level 37 to better reflect their frequency.
8. Wednesday, July 17, 2024 - Published
Movements
- Level 13: Center (radical) - moving down to level 4
- Level 6: Box (radical) - moving up to level 7
- Level 6: 画 (kanji) - moving up to level 7
- Level 13: 映 (kanji) - moving down to level 7
- Level 13: 映画 (vocab) - moving down to level 7
- Level 13: Elephant (radical) - moving down to level 7
- Level 24: 象 (kanji) - moving down to level 7
- Level 24: 象 (vocab) - moving down to level 7
- Level 33: 閉まる (vocab) - moving down to level 18
- Level 42: 温床 (vocab) - moving down to level 37
- Level 59: 漬物 (vocab) - moving down to level 37
Reasoning:
- Box, Center, and Elephant (radicals), 画, 映, 象, and 像 (kanji), 映画, 画像, 映像, 映る, 映す, 映画館 and 本館 (vocab): Sorry, this one is very complicated! The kanji 画 is currently not close to vocab that use it, since the most common vocab paired with it use kanji that are in higher levels. So to fix this (and bring down some common vocab), we are doing several things. We are moving the Box radical and the kanji 画 up by a level to level 7, and moving the Center radical down from level 13 to level 4 so that it can be introduced along with the kanji 央 and also be used for the 映 kanji, which is moving from level 13 to level 7. That way, 映 can be used to reinforce 画 with 映画, an extremely common vocab that will be moving down to level 7. Since 画像 and 映像 are also both common words from level 13 that we wish to move down to reinforce 画 and 映, we are moving the Elephant radical down to level 7, teaching the 象 kanji along with it, and then teaching 像 on level 9. That way, 画像 and 映像 can both move from level 13 to 9. Since the 映 kanji is coming down, the kun’yomi vocab, 映る and 映す, will also be moving down to levels 10 and 12 respectively, to place them after the on’yomi and slightly apart so reduce interference between the two. Finally, we will move 映画館 down by two levels to level 13 where the 館 kanji is so it is closer to the other 映 and 画 vocab, and 本館 up by a level to spread out the 館 vocab a little more. The 像 kanji, 映像, 画像, 映る, 映画館, and 本館 will move in Batch 9.
- 閉まる (vocab): See Batch 5.
- 温床 (vocab): See Batch 4.
- 漬物 (vocab): See Batch 7.
9. Wednesday, July 24, 2024 - Published
Movements
- Level 4: Roof (radical) - moving down to level 3
- Level 4: 字 (kanji) - moving down to level 3
- Level 4: 字 (vocab) - moving down to level 3
- Level 4: 太字 (vocab) - moving down to level 3
- Level 13: 像 (kanji) - moving down to level 9
- Level 13: 映像 (vocab) - moving down to level 9
- Level 13: 画像 (vocab) - moving down to level 9
- Level 13: 映る (vocab) - moving down to level 10
- Level 15: 映画館 (vocab) - moving down to level 13
- Level 13: 本館 (vocab) - moving up to level 14
- Level 33: 閉じる (vocab) - moving down to level 20
- Level 59: 〜漬け (vocab) - moving down to level 38
Reasoning:
- Hole and Roof (radicals), 穴 and 字 (kanji), 穴, 字 and 太字 (vocab): We plan to move the Hole radical down from level 8 to 4 so that it can be used with the 空 kanji on level 5. It uses the Roof radical as a component, so we are bringing it down from level 4 to 3. Since these radicals are coming down, we are also moving the following common kanji and vocab down to reinforce them: the 字 kanji and 字 and 太字 vocab will be moving from level 4 to 3, and the 穴 kanji and 穴 vocab will move from level 20 to 4. The Hole radical, 穴 kanji, and 穴 vocab will move in Batch 9.
- 像 (kanji), 映像, 画像, 映る, 映画館, and 本館 (vocab): See Batch 8.
- 閉じる (vocab): See Batch 5.
- 〜漬け (vocab): See Batch 7.
10. Wednesday, July 31, 2024 - Published
Movements
- Level 8: Hole (radical) - moving down to level 4
- Level 20: 穴 (kanji) - moving down to level 4
- Level 20: 穴 (vocab) - moving down to level 4
- Level 6: 点ける (vocab) - moving up to level 8
- Level 8: 点く (vocab) - moving up to level 10
- Level 15: 映す (vocab) - moving down to level 12
- Level 21: 企 (kanji) - moving down to level 16
- Level 21: 企画 (vocab) - moving down to level 16
- Level 59: 漬かる (vocab) - moving down to level 42
- Level 29: 法規 (vocab) - moving up to level 51
Reasoning:
- Hole (radical), 穴 (kanji), and 穴 (vocab): See Batch 9.
- 点ける and 点く (vocab): We are moving the kun’yomi vocab 点ける from level 6 to 8, and 点く from 8 to 10 to space them a little apart from the vocab that reinforce the on’yomi reading taught with the 点 kanji on level 6.
- 映す (vocab): See Batch 8.
- 企 (kanji), 企画 (vocab): We are moving 企 down from level 21 to level 16 so that 企画 can be introduced right after 計画 on level 15. We are also adding an explanation on the difference in nuance between the two to the meaning explanation for 企画.
- 法規 (vocab): 法規 is a formal term that isn’t as common, so we are moving it up to level 51.
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But anyways, whether to consider something a useless or unwanted word depends on one’s goals and perspective, and we’ve typically only depreciated/hidden vocab in exceptional cases, in part due to feedback in the past.