So every time I see the kanji 光 I keep constantly getting the meaning wrong because I keep typing sunshine instead of sunlight. I don’t know why this is exactly and mnemonics aren’t preventing me from making this mistake over and over. So…is it time for me to add sunshine to the synonyms? Because in English I regularly use sunshine and sunlight interchangeably.
Or…am I being impatient and should hold off because later there is in fact an entirely separate kanji for sunshine?
Also, this might just be me…I feel like I’m cheating by adding my own synonyms.
Me: types answer
Wanikani: lol, nope!
Me: I got it wrong?? clicks +synonym No…it is Wanikani who is wrong…
Strictly speaking the actually meaning in Japanese is ひかる (to shine) / てらす (to illuminate) / ひかり (light) so if you get the gist of that, then whatever works.
Personally, I think any time where this is the case it’s 100% fine to add a synonym. The SRS is more of a hook for your own memory than it is a full definition, and if the distinction is truly important, you’ll pick it up better elsewhere.
In my experience, Wanikani’s specific phrasing always fades after (or often even before) the item is burned, so as long as you retain the general concept, you’ve got what’s important (SRS-wise anyway).
also I don’t think there’s a difference between sunshine and sunlight
I think in a scientific sense, you’d be more inclined to use sunlight than sunshine, but that’s about it. For instance, the Wikipedia article for the Sun uses “sunlight” 23 times, but “sunshine” once, in the “religious aspects” section.
Yeah I would say sunshine is like… vaguely more outdoors-y and direct from the sun, while sunlight could be twinkling through the curtains or what have you.
So I can at least see why it’s not a synonym in Wanikani’s system itself, since that might conjure more implications of springtime and picnics and things than the kanji does itself, but in terms of recall I think it’s A-OK to add it as a synonym.
I think you’d also use it for specifically going outside though. Like, “Let’s have a picnic after work while there’s sunlight” implies that you might run out of daytime, but “Let’s have a picnic after work while there’s sunshine” implies that perhaps it’s been cloudy or rainy all day. I can think of several times when talking about the weather where sunshine would be preferred.
If that’s the feeling, it might better align with 晴 but I don’t see much reason to be that strict about it.
if you use the word interchangeably id say its not at all cheating to add your own synonym. I also sometimes add related synonyms for radicals since they dont technically have a specific meaning
