Why do you level up before you've done the vocabulary?

Why do you level up when you’ve learned the kanji from a level but before you’ve even learned some (all?) of the vocabulary associated with that same kanji? Doesn’t make any sense to me.

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Because it would probably take some people an excruciatingly long time to level up then. It would already extend every level by 3 and a half days by default, anyway. Even at the fastest pace.

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So what? You still have to do the vocabulary before you go on to the next level. I don’t see how it would change total speed.

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No you don’t, even without the reorder script. You can just set to shuffle and only finish the kanji or radical lessons.

I’ve done this on computers that I couldn’t install scripts on before.

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As Leebo said, between built in WaniKani settings and userscripts, you don’t actually have to do all the vocabulary first.

I haven’t tried to change the settings because to me it makes sense to do all the vocabulary for a level before moving on. It just seems to me like the levelling up is in the wrong place.

I wasn’t suggesting that you change the setting. I was simply refuting your assertion that leveling up based on vocab instead of kanji wouldn’t change the speed.

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Also, you can finish all previous vocab plus radicals to maintain max speed without reorder or scripts, while requiring the vocab would make you stop in a lesson-less state.

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To cram for a JLPT test.

(Obviously, it’s possible to learn vocabulary outside of the WaniKani SRS system, so that’s another reason.)

I would assume it’s because, ultimately, WK is for learning kanji, not vocabulary. The vocab is supplemental, and helps illustrate how the kanji are used, but it’s not the primary focus.

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How about just doing all lessons and reviews as soon as they appear and not caring about levels at all?

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2/10 would not recommend

Imagine people going full speed. It takes a day and a half to do their kanji, but 3 and a half days to guru the kanji and unlock the vocab for it. This leaves a two day period where people usually do part of the past levels vocab. If there werent this two day period, they would be sitting there doing nothing for two more days.

Same at the end of the level. You would have a small period where you have finished all the vocab and have no more lessons but need to wait for them to get guru and lose a couple days.

So yeah, all around there would be days where you cant do lessons. No bueno

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Why not you recommend us?

Doing all your lessons at once? If I’m not mistaken, there is plenty of research that shows that the brain has a harder time remembering information as the quantity of things to remember increases, as you would imagine. Therefore rather than learning 60 things every third day, you would have an easier time learning 20 items per day. When you get to the final levels, you can get like 120 lessons at once. You learn the same quantity either way, but your reviews will likely have higher accuracy and be more consistently spaced.

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But if you don’t, your speed will be trash.
I’m not one of those crazies who wake up at night to keep their perfect speed, but I take about 9 days a level.
If you take a few days just to learn the kanji’s, even this speed is unachievable.

I personally do 5-10 lessons, 10-15 min break, keep going til done. I feel like this spacing has decent retention, and also takes like 1-1/5 hours per level.

I was doing just 20 lessons per day, and still achieved < 7days on the slow levels. The point is, you can’t level up before the second wave kanji are guru’d, so it doesn’t matter if you take your sweet time on the first wave kanji. The only thing that matters is that all radicals should be done as early as possible. (That’s where reorder comes in handy)

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If you dont do all your lessons at once your speed will be trash? Who told you that?

Many people space them out, maintain 7 day levels, and dont wake up at night…Myself included…

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Please explain how you do this to skip lessons. I do not use scripts and twice have accidentally leveled up before even half my vocab was presented to me. WK gives me next level radicals before the last level vocab is finished. It would be great to be able to delay starting the radicals on the new level.

Set your lesson order to shuffle. Answer all radicals (or whatever you want to skip) that appear incorrectly.