Why is vocab the most complicated and most abundant in Wanikani

[alo]

If you haven’t started already, learning grammar really helps with the vocab. Some have recommended not starting grammar until level 10, but it does help to break down vocabulary and make it easier to remember.

For example, 大した is really 大 (big) plus the past tense of する (to do). So, “did a big thing” helps me to remember that this is an expression meaning “great”.

The other important point is that it’s very helpful to know when something is compound kanji (地理 - geography) or a compound word (大空 - heavens, basically the words for big and sky smooshed together). AFAIK, there’s no real pattern to when the kun or on readings are used other than going through the vocab.

[plantron_RickMatsuri]

I’d rather learn from WK with the reinforcing vocabs than Heisig where you don’t even learn the readings until the second book, much less vocabs.

[MacOneill]

if you know the radicals then reading the vocab becomes easy … and the point of learning kanjis is ti be able to read words , not only kanjis

[Gabrielmpf]

To me, the vocab lessons are always easier to do than the kanji ones. Remembering vocab is most of the times easier as well.

Maybe because when I see a new vocab, it’s based on previous unlocked kanji that I already know, so it’s easier to remember.

[jamielin]

Vocab is the most important yet difficult to remember because of inconsistent readings. You need to remember all readings for the kanji to be able to read the vocab. You won’t be able to read any sentence without vocab. Just let the SRS do the job, it will be easier over time.

What I don’t get is the importance of radical. It’s good for the first time to remember a kanji, but when the kanji is already remembered, I found that the radicals become useless. I’m having a hard time remembering radicals because it doesn’t really useful on real sentences.

[CrowJane]

That’s why it’s important to not let the vocab pile up (i.e. finish the vocab lessons before each level up)

How does one do this? Can I decide when I level up? I’m not letting anything pile up - I am simply doing what WK asks of me but I noticed (after I installed a script) that when I hit lvl 5, I still had lvl 3 vocab to learn. I don’t know how to stop this from happening except somehow making my memory “git gud”

[GrumpyPanda]

I think what MissMisc is talking about is that with a script like [Userscript] WaniKani Lesson Filter you can do the radical lessons of e.g. level 5 before having done all the vocab lessons of level 4.

That in itself is not a bad thing if you want to move faster, but if you’re still having open vocab lessons from level 4 while already being level 6 you’re not doing yourself any favors.

[CrowJane]

Cool. Thanks

[MissMisc]

Ah sorry if I confused you!

More specifically I meant it’s important to clear your lesson queue before each level up, otherwise things can really start to pile up (happened to me once, was not fun )

Pretty much what @GrumpyPanda said, it’s especially important to be careful if you’re using something like the reorder script to prioritize the current level’s radicals and kanji to maximize level ups, this will leave you with only vocab lessons left, and it can add up if you’re not making sure to clear your queues. Every level up you’ll unlock some of the previous level’s vocab along with the current, new level’s radical/kanji/vocab so that’s fine, but still having vocab from 2+ levels ago can kick you in the butt overtime and put you at a risk of burnout

TL;DR you should be burning the turtles, not letting the turtles burn you

Also, the 0/0 streak challenge thread is a fun way to keep yourself accountable for clearing your queues for each current level so check that out if you’re interested/haven’t already ^^

[Greenfire311]

Well, imagine trying to learn English or your native language, whatever that may be, and not learning the letters of the alphabet or how to read them when put together or with different sounds and rules. Kanji is important, as they are the building blocks of the language. But you can’t just use the reading for the Kanji in everyday language, as they are not actual words. The vocabulary are the words you are going to use everyday in spoken and written language. When you try to learn English or Spanish, they start with the easiest vocab words first and build on that. WaniKani teaches you those vocab words once you have learned the letters or Kanji. So, yes, it is a Kanji learning program, but there is more to Kanji than just the On’yomi readings that may or may not even be used in everyday conversations. So, in a nutshell, Kanji is complicated, yet essential!!!

[erie-canary]

Someone on the forums mentioned using the reorder script to hit a certain level learning kanji only and not the vocab so they could get reading asap and I was really scratching my head at that (I didn’t ask why).

I mean, read what, exactly? A book written using only single-kanji-vocab words?

本本本本本本。Sounds interesting!

[CrowJane]

So sorry, but I’m still a bit confused. I’m not using any scripts that modify lessons at all. The only lesson script I have is self-study

WARNING Lots of questions incoming

So, are you saying DO use lesson scripts or DON’T?

Being scriptless, lesson-wise, is it bad that WK was still giving me lvl3 vocab after I hit lvl5? And…

…Can I do anything about this vocab backlog without using scripts?

Umm, do you mind if you can explain any answers like I’m 5 (or 43 and very tired)?

I’m on the slow and steady path for a few reasons so 0/0 streak challenge isn’t for me. No more than 20 lessons per day, although I’m starting to wonder if I should say new radicals aren’t really lessons and make it no more than 20 kanji and/or vocab. Having 0 reviews is no problem at this very early stage - I do, like, 4-6 sessions a day of any and all reviews available

eta - It sounds like I’m in love with being scriptless for lessons - I’m not. I just thought that they all looked a bit dangerous as far as messing with the WK SRS goes

[GrumpyPanda]

So, are you saying DO use lesson scripts or DON’T?

If you’re going at 10 days/level or slower (15 lessons per day), you don’t reallly need lesson scripts.
If you’re planning on going faster than that, they can make things more convenient.

Being scriptless, lesson-wise, is it bad that WK was still giving me lvl3 vocab after I hit lvl5?

I think that could only happen if your lesson ordering in your settings is set to shuffled. Personally i like “Ascending level then subject”, but it has been argued that “Ascending level then shuffled” could increase retention because it makes things harder on your brain.
You can see what WaniKani advices in the screenshot below.

Can I do anything about this vocab backlog without using scripts?

Use either of the “ascending level” options and that shouldn’t happen

Edit:
Also, you level up with only 90% of the kanji on Guru.
So if you struggled with a kanji and didnt get it to guru for a while, the vocab for that kanji also won’t be unlocked until later.
I wouldn’t worry about this kind of backlog though.

[CrowJane]

I think that could only happen if your lesson ordering in your settings is set to shuffled. Personally i like “Ascending level then subject”, but it has been argued that “Ascending level then shuffled” could increase retention because it makes things harder on your brain.
You can see what WaniKani advices in the screenshot below.

Just double-checked it to make sure that I didn’t mess with it because I read the blurb about “we like this way best” from WaniKani. I haven’t but I did get lvl3 lessons a couple of days into lvl5 (to be born, to give birth, to live, one’s life, fresh)

Another clarification - I have no issue with all the vocab - I think it’s great to be learning so much. I would just really like to somehow stop the backlog issue when I level up because it is a lot to remember while my grammer is non-existent at the very early beginner stage

[CrowJane]

Thanks for taking the time to help me

[GrumpyPanda]

I haven’t but I did get lvl3 lessons a couple of days into lvl5 (to be born, to give birth, to live, one’s life, fresh)

Since these are all vocab items using the life kanji 生 I’d assume that you got that one wrong once or twice before it was guru’ed.
Since a vocab item is only unlocked once all the kanji in it have been guru’ed, they showed up when you were level 5.
You don’t need to worry about this kind of backlog though.

[CrowJane]

Once or twice… Lolz

せい and さい are killing me. West is my fave new kanji because both are correct

[Juichi]

This is one of the reasons I decided to do WK. I was studying for the JLPT and realized that I needed to not only study the single kanji, but the vocab they are used in. It also usually helps with remembering kanji too…Although when you get the ones that don’t use standards readings it can be frustrating, but necessary. Those are the ones that will trick you.

[Vorvayne]

I think there’s a point in Wanikani, too, where suddenly remembering vocab is very easy (for 90% of the vocab, at least) and learning new kanji becomes much more difficult. I’m not exactly sure where that tipping point is, but I know for sure early on I always struggled to remember new vocab but every new kanji was easy. Now I can breeze through 20 vocab lessons a day with (almost) no issue, but 5-10 kanji lessons are often a struggle, and take far longer for the meanings/readings to “stick”.

Blockquote

Hard agree. Oddly, I found a bunch of the vocab in early levels hard: some of it is very common words where the meaning has got distorted over time, or general concepts that are hard to pin down.

Once you get to around level 12 or 13, the vocab becomes much easier to remember, both because it’s more concrete and because your brain has got used to how kanji meanings make up words. So, for example, “war vehicle” is “tank” and “disease institution” is “hospital”.

I stalled a bunch of times around where you are because the kanji were getting harder but the vocab weren’t any easier and my retention suffered. Stick it out to level 13!