Give some examples. I’m curious to see what kanji have been hiding from you.
I think its just a “majority wins” kinda thing. It works for most users. For some people, WK isn’t the best option and that is A OK.
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That’s what my whole post is about. Teach tomodachi instead of yuujin. 80/20 rule, teach real-life Japanese, not formal versions in the early levels. Teach formal, not-commonly-seen versions later.
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Recently I’ve been having the opposite problem, with seeing a bunch of kanji not taught on WK at all (in Persona 5). Of course, it’s an opportunity to learn them, but yeah.
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I gave examples in my post
友達 is taught in level 18, and since it’s often written as 友だち anyway, I don’t see the issue. WK isn’t telling you to use 友人 instead of 友だち.
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Yes, I have this problem too. There are a number of kanji I know by sight because I see them everywhere but I still don’t have any idea what they mean. I’m sure they’re in wanikani somewhere but I haven’t learned them yet. Meanwhile I learn tons that I never see.
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I’ve accepted the fact that half of the vocabulary is nearly useless, and I treat it as practice for the onyomi/kunyomi readings since the kanji might be used in other words that are more commonly used.
If we continue into the high levels, we will know all of the kanji we need. Vocabulary and grammar should be practiced separately on top of this, and WaniKani should be treated as reading practice only.
As for learning useful vocab and whatever else, their next app EtoEto is being designed for that purpose.
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The ones I’m seeing in Persona 5 are fairly rare in typical writing. Typically they are kanji versions of words usually written in kana (i.e. はず > 筈, どう > 如何). I do not think WK should bother teaching those.
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Which kanji sounds easier for beginners to learn?
- 人
- 達
0 voters
Again, prioritizing the simplicity over complex stuff is something WK wants.
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里実家友達友人飲食自殺好起算定計算
Are all the kanji you used in your post unless I missed some. Which one of these individual kanji have you never seen. Im genuinely curious.
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Wanikani IS telling you to use yuujin instead by virtue of teaching it in level 3, and tomodachi in level 18. Imagine you are a newbie, you would think yuujin means friend. It’ll take months to get to level 18. You would use the word yuujin and people would tell you to use tomodachi. You would wonder why wanikani taught you the wrong word. Is there a reason why it’s not the other way around?
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Ok this is getting repetitive. Simplicity first is a concept we have brought up enough times for you to have seen it by now.
友人 still means friend. Leebo already said that its recommended you look the word up outside of wk on your own.
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This was explained multiple times, and you responded. 友人 is an easier kanji combination to learn how to write and read than 友達.
WK explained their reasoning in the FAQ, so to say that they are recommending 友人 in conversation is just… not what they said.
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I haven’t seen 算定 or 自決. But you’re missing the point. It’s not about having never seen a kanji, it’s about usage. As I mentioned, you’ll see 友達 at least 20 times more than 友人. Why not teach real-life Japanese? If you learn 友人, then use it, people will tell you to use 友達 instead. So why teach 友人 in level 3? I honestly want to know. Ok, the kanji is simpler, I guess that’s the reason. My point is it’s a bad reason.
There’s your mistake. You skipped learning how to use it. You only learned how to read it.
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Bro come on. You should know by level 11 what a kanji is. 算定 and 自決 arent kanji.
I even said individual.
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I feel like I may as well give my two cents since I posted already.
As a total newbie to Japanese prior to tofugus hiragana, katakana guide, WK was and is great.
The problem seems to be with what you think WK should be rather than what it is. Its a site designed to (IMO) prepare you for reading and to give you the necessary skills and tools to learn “real” Japanese easier. Sure, a lot of what I’m learning might not be useful, but did learning 友人 make both 人 and 友 easier to read and remember separately? Yes.
Could it maybe teach some more common things on the side? Sure, but that’s not it’s purpose.
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Ok, fair enough. I get that the reason for this ordering is the simplicity of the kanji. But it is not the right way to order kanji in my opinion. Your situation may differ, but I’m actually attempting to learn the language. Yes, it’s good to know 友人 for those relatively rare instances where you see that instead of 友達, but…
I guess one of my questions is answered - the “why”. But I still stand by my post - it shouldn’t be that way.
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And thats life. I think you gotta understand that sometimes people disagree. WK has done its best to cater to the largest user base possible since its a business, but its ideas wont align with everyones. Personally, I love it. A lot of other people do. Some don’t. Thats how it goes.
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友 + 人 separately are both very common kanji, and the point of vocab using them is to practice the kanji and readings.
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