i started around december 17th or somewhere. its been about 2 months since i used wanikani. half way done with level 10 soon to be level 11. not that bad. assuming 11 levels every 2 months. not that bad i guess. what was ur experience? did u had a tough time in doing the reviews and thinking of what was the answer to the words and kanji?
3 Likes
I started around the same time as you! Slowly marching through level 6 at the moment. I slowed way down pretty early on, so the reviews wouldn’t get too overwhelming. This way I’m progressing slowly, but at least my accuracy is pretty high.
Bought the Genki 1 books recently, planning on getting started on those when spring break rolls around in a month or so.
I also recently bought Genki 1 so I could get a jumpstart at grammer early on. I feel like I know a lot of words and I try to use them during the day, but without grammer I feel pretty stilted, but still excited!
I started on the 28th December, so its been around 2 months for myself as well. So far so good - accuracy is 98.5%.
I think studying Genki at the same time has been helpful because I see a lot of the same words and kanji pop up.
Usually the first set of reviews are the hardest but I’ve found I get noticeably quicker with my answers each new apprentice level until I start hitting guru 2 and master, which is when I have to start thinking a little bit for some answers.
Keep in mind that you will not be able to keep up 11 levels every 2 months until you get into the fast levels of the 40s. The first couple of levels of Wanikani are fast, but it will be a while before you have anything like that again. It takes just barely under a week to go through one level at minimum, so at max you’re looking at 8-9 levels per 2 months.
Having a tough time is actually a good sign, because it means your brain is working hard to remember and make it all stick. I reset from level 14 just over 2 months ago so my current experience isn’t really relatable, but when I first started in 2019 I think I only made it through the first 3 levels in 2 months. I didn’t feel like I was making much progress but could tell the system was useful. That was the point I decided to take things seriously for a bit after that and I made pretty good progress before burning out.
Anywho, good luck! If you’re comfortable with your pace, then great! But if it starts getting overwhelming, you can always scale back the lessons you take. Just make sure to keep doing your reviews.
I’ve also been in WK for almost 2 months (I joined 25th December) but I’m taking it very slowly. Only on level 4, and still I haven’t touched any level 4 item because I’m finishing all level 3 vocab. Everyday I do all the reviews+5 lessons, so far it has been pretty much manageable and I feel comfortable at this pace.
1 Like
I struggled to learn for 20 years.
224 out of the last 224 days I have done my reviews. I keep my apprentice items at or around 100 and level up in 7-10 days normally.
My experience is it doesn’t seem to be getting harder. I have maybe 5-10 leeches per level in vocab that just don’t stick so I do bishbashbosh every other day or 4.
1 Like
I believe I started on December 18, 2020. I’m also finishing up level 10 (should level up tomorrow). I’m a longtime learner and kanji, or more accurately, kanji recall/reading speed, has always been my weakest point. Everything up through now has been review for me but I’m starting to get a couple kanji that are far less familiar each chapter as well as a handful of vocab items that I didn’t know yet.
Even though I’m barely just crossing that threshold to new kanji content for myself, I have noticed a SIGNIFICANT uptick in my reading speed and what I believe to also be greater accuracy in the recall of jukugo yomikata that I KNOW and the guessing of the yomikata for words I don’t know but whose kanji I’ve now studied through wanikani. So reading feels much more intuitive than before and that is leading to more enjoyment picking up my books, which of course makes me want to read more so it is happening more frequently, and further augmenting my skills. So I’m actually really impressed with the system and wish I’d done it years ago.
1 Like
Started May of last year, I struggled a bit in the first month or so. I adjusted my pace and now I’m not having any trouble as of now.
Same here! On level six now, having started in December. I try to keep reviews manageable, and am fine just sitting out lessons if I start to feel overwhelmed, and just sticking to reviews. Slow and steady is fine by me 
1 Like
it’s been seven weeks for me, so not quite two months, and so far it’s going well. i’ve settled into a bit of a cruising pattern with about 20 lessons a day, which i hope will continue to be sustainable in future (when enlightened and later burned items kick in). health will remain an issue, on bad days my accuracy drops considerably.
all in all WK is definitely the best ressource for learning kanji that i’ve found, and i plan to stick with it.
not directly related to WK, my listening understanding has increased significantly in recent weeks, which i’m glad about.
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed 365 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.