is this an inside joke or something…
also EW who makes KETCHUP flavored ice cream ![]()
who’s that?
I can’t really say there’s any cons, it’s not going to hurt you, you only stand to gain. Except for the money you spent for the subscription I guess, that’s the one thing that goes down. The complaints you see are just because some people don’t like the newest update, but you’re new and don’t even know what was changed. So just figure out if what WaniKani has now is working for you, and if you like it, then that’s your answer.
Half of the complaints are pretty unreasonable and overexaggerated in my opinion though.
I still recommend the site whole-heartedly if that means anything.
well i’ll still keep the complaints in mind
thanks for the feedback!
That’s pretty uncharitable, most of the criticism in this thread is fairly reasonable and nuanced I think.
yeah, that’s why i said i’d keep the complaints in mind ^^
Well, WK will certainly do that with no issue. ![]()
Whether it works for you or not really depends on what kind of learner you are. I’m the type of person where I need a structure early on, or I won’t be able to focus properly. WK gave me that. If I’m being completely honest with myself, probably around level 30-35 or so, I stopped really needing the program. I was doing enough reading on my own that I was learning a lot of things before I came across them in WK, and often enough that by the time it hit in WK, it was reviewing something I didn’t really need to do. I finished it out mostly because the habit of doing it daily was so ingrained, it ultimately didn’t take up too much of my time, and I’m a horrid completionist, often to my own detriment.
If you don’t need the structure that WK provides, and you want to learn more quickly, Anki decks will likely get you there faster, and you can tailor them to what you are actively trying to learn. (Lyrics from songs, etc., etc.), whereas WK doesn’t offer that same kind of flexibility. Ultimately, I still think WK does a great job of instilling kanji, and I definitely credit it for getting me off the ground, so to speak, in learning how to decipher the arcane scribbles that they felt like early on.
I’m not really going to get into the nitty-gritty of the complaints, because I haven’t been following it closely enough (why would I? It’s well past the point where I need to care about that), but ultimately, I would say continue with the free trial. If you like it and think it’s worth your money, then go ahead and invest in it. If you think that maybe you want more freedom in the order of what you want to learn, then use Anki (or similar) instead. ![]()
Regardless of if you decide to stick with the main program or not, I still think the forums themselves are a great resource, separate from the SRS program, and you don’t have to be engaged in the SRS to enjoy the benefits of the community. There are a lot of threads where you can ask grammar and culture questions in; you can join book clubs (linked to the Absolute Beginner Book Club) for reading practice. The community is the strongest part of WK (even if it’s occasionally prone to drama, overreactions, and infighting over updates
)
thank you very much! other than anki decks, what other programs would you recommend?
I’m probably the wrong person to ask that. With SRS, I pretty much just stuck with WK, and everything else, I picked up through reading, watching videos, and the like. ![]()
I hear good things about Satori Reader, which is all about trying to teach you how to read pretty quickly, using actual example texts, and I’m fairly certain they have their own SRS that you can add words to from those texts. It is aimed at a higher level than “just starting out” though.
BunPro is popular for grammar, and I think they’ve also added vocabulary (to mixed reception, by my understanding, but it’s there.
)
After WK, though, I pretty much decided I didn’t want to do more SRS. I had my fill of it; it got me to where I could learn from exposure. I’m definitely not the quickest learner here, focusing on maximizing my efficiency or anything, though. This is a hobby for me, so I just take things at my pace. I’m at a point now where I can sit down and read most things I want to with only occasional look-ups, and the more I read, the better I get, and I’ll eventually reach a point where I can pick up anything I want. For me, that doesn’t have to be immediate, though, since now I’m just enjoying the journey.
Sorry for the ramble; that was a long-winded way of saying that others would be better poised to answer that question than me. ![]()
nah, it’s rambles where you get the most information
Someone who got banned a long time ago
i think i need more context
They are a con(vict)
sorry, i have trouble interpreting what people say sometimes, could you explain further? ^^
Actually I wasn’t talking about your complaints, rather the complaints of people regarding the new update. Some of those are kind of unreasonable.
You made some good feedback and criticism, but I don’t really consider it a con, since with how WaniKani is now, the cons you mentioned aren’t really hurting someone’s learning. It could be better, sure, but it’s not bad.
Seems to be @anon34910982, never heard of them myself. Looking at the comments quickly they just seem like a terminal weeb with ADHD, but that’s basically 50% of any Japanese language learning forum so I’m not sure what makes them special.
well okay! still not really understanding but that’s fine
Me neither but I highly doubt it’s worth understanding.
okie dokie.
He’s a guy that used to post or comment stuff that were not allowed by the forum rules, so he was banned like for a thousand years (really), he was funny though.
Kumi is making a joke that since that guy was banned, he’s a con
You asked what are the cons of WK
He’s a con
a con vict
Very local joke, sure. But we’re a weird and funny community
That may seem like a con, but soon you’ll realize it’s a pro
Welcome