I’ve been using Wanikani on and off for years, and this time around I’ve decided to stick around for the long run!
Along the way I discovered I liked writing the vocab and kanjis in paper while I practiced with Wanikani, usually I would just copy the kanjis I felt like writing from my reviews and lessons, for the pleasure of writing them. Eventually the idea of getting a graphical tablet to learn and practice came up, but until recently I did not take it seriously, but this Christmas I was gifted one and I started playing around with it and setting it in a way I liked, I spent quite a while investigating IMEs for Linux and various platforms (a real headache, not recommended) and the such and finally came up with a way to practice kanji really comfortably!
It is really simple and multiplatform, I love it. Basically it consists in a Google Chrome and Chromium powered engines (Opera, Brave etc) browser extension called Google Input Tools. You can try it out here without installing.
It can detect kanji, hiragana, katakana, latin characters… whatever you throw at it, it is magical. Just install it, setup the Japanese handwritten input language and a hotkey to show the drawing pad, and you’re good to go. It only works on a browser, but for my purposes it is just the thing I needed 丁度いいねえ！
I like to use it more with Kaniwani, as it allows the input of kanjis, this way I can practice writing kanji while I do my reviews (double the trouble!!)
If you have any questions or suggestions of a cooler way to do it do not hesitate to share!
Cheers and hope it makes someone’s practice richer as it did mine!!
I love the idea!!!
I ended up throwing out my tablet, because the drivers were no longer supported
But, in case I get another one, I’ll definitely be giving it a try!
Yes! I also find it hugely beneficial to write the kana and kanji.
I have an android Smartphone with a stylus. Before WaniKani, I thought the stylus was a gimmick and I seldom used it. Thanks to WK, I now use my stylus for all of my lessons; it gets hours of use every day, now.
I think I only needed to install the Japanese language pack and enable the Japanese keyboard. With this, I have Japanese speech and writing recognition. Any (most) input form fields will accept Japanese kana/kanji written or spoken. It’s very cool.
I still have a pencil and paper at hand, where I write down the daily lessons. That also helps, especially when I want to flick back for a flashcard style of review.
While that addressed reading and writing, I also want to develop listening skills. To help with listening, I use Mazii. I copy-n-paste from WK to Mazii so I can play the audio of the practice sentences, and dig much deeper into the lesson. Mazii also provides for some basic speaking practice. Finally, I couple that with ChatGPT for a language school experience in my pocket.
Just a warning: Google Input Tools is effectively a keylogger if you plan to write anything other than kana. It hits Google’s servers to get kanji candidate lists based on what you type. On the page, they deceptively state “the developer has disclosed that it will not collect or use your data”.
I know this doesn’t really apply to studying, but I thought I’d give fair warning to anyone who plans on using google input tools for actual writing. For privacy’s sake, it’s better to use an IME with a local dictionary.
That’s really cool, sounds like a really nice and even easier/portable approach than my own!
I really like the fact that I don’t need to separately write in paper my answers, I do it directly on the app and I get to practice the SRS alongside writing.
And thanks for the headsup on the privacy side, it’s okay if they get my strokes, I am just using it for wanikani so it’s alright
