Words of encouragement?

[cemcowa]

Is it normal to still be on Level 4 after a month? I’ve been using WaniKani for exactly a month, to the very day, and I’m still not complete with Level 4. The introductory email I received when I joined WaniKani gave me the expectation that I would be complete with Level 5 by this time.

I’ve been studying and reviewing religiously and I’m purely self-study with zero classroom support. But I’m becoming increasingly discouraged with my speed lately I know everyone moves at their own pace, but it’s hard not to be discouraged.

I also see many people claim they passed JLPT N5 after just a couple months. Whereas I’ve been studying Japanese religiously for about 2 months now (I already knew hiragana and katakana), and I feel like I’m nowhere close.

Anyways, I guess I’m just venting at this point. I hope I’m not alone in this though.

Anyone possibly have any additional study tips?

[Kazzeon]

I think 4 levels a month is usually the fastest you can go.
(I don’t know the specific time for each level)

Also, I studied for 5 years (although only one class a week) and passed the N4.
You shouldn’t really expect to pass the N5 after a few months, but I’m sure it’s possible.

I’m not good with self-study, having a fixed goal is a good motivation, and you can easily get that in a classroom environment, but I don’t know about your situation.

Also, it’s pretty hard to gauge your progress in relation to the JLPT, imo.

Another thing is that when you say you’ve been studying for 2 months, it doesn’t give any idea to what you’re doing or how you’re progressing, so you could either be painstakingly going through a book in order to be an expert at a few things, or going through it quickly and then practicing a lot with some other means.

I’d say, even more when you’re self-studying, it’s easy to get stuck or not notice progress you’re making.

[MasterShortPants]

I just passed 2 months of WaniKani a couple days ago and I’m in the early days of level 8 so it sounds like your on the same pace as me. As long as you do your reviews the progress happens (even if you mess up a few here and there). You’ll be coming up soon on progressing your first radicals to Master. When that happened for me it was kind of like a second wind in the marathon. Like I was finally getting somewhere.

Have you read this post yet from jprspereira?

My Journey of 368 days (+ The Ultimate Guide for WK )

The Ultimate Guide to Wanikani Become the best version of your Wanikanian self. Heads-up: this Guide is really longgggggggg. You can read it all in one go, but there’s no need to if you don’t want. Think of it as the place to come to when in doubt/need of help. Thanks for checking this out <3 Table of contents

1. Why you should read this.

Dear awesome person, Welcome to this journey of learning 2027 kanji and 6303 words! Knowledge, together with a great feeling of achievement awa…

It’s pretty helpful and gives some tips on how to get the most out of WaniKani.

[nerdymartian]

I finished levels 1-3 in 30 days and level 4 in another 12 days, without interruption. You’re moving right along, in my opinion.

[Lattemeowcchiato]

If I remember correctly even if you would do all your reviews the second they come up, it would still take close to a week for one level. So 4 level per month seems like a fast pace actually, I’ve seen some users here go at 1 level per month, take breaks etc. It’s not a race against other people, the only one you’re competing with is yourself. You didn’t subscribe to get that level 60 next to your username, but to actually learn to read kanji right? Then there’s no need to stress about the speed you’re leveling up at.

What else are you using to study? Maybe a textbook or an online course would help you prepare for N5 better than pure selfstudying. There are also many threads on the forum dedicated to providing resources for studying (for JLPT and in general)

[Belthazar]

I think 4 levels a month is usually the fastest you can go.
(I don’t know the specific time for each level)

It’s six days, twenty hours for most levels, but levels 1 and 2 are a bit faster (don’t recall precisely how much faster). So yeah, at max speed, you could be at level 5 within a month. That said, going at max speed basically requires you to get up at 3am to do reviews at least once during that month, so it’s not really sustainable.

[Leebo]

Levels 1 and 2 can be done in one week alone, so it’s possible to complete 5 levels in your first month. But it would still be fairly quick.

[cantoryakov]

what’s up my level 4 compadre

[durtle]

If you keep up the pace you’ll be at level 48 in a year. Not bad at all

[jneapan]

Going too fast isn’t a good thing necessarily. I had moments when I was going so fast, if I took even a day off from reviews, I’d have hundreds waiting for me the next day. It made me quit WaniKani a few times and that messed with my progression time even more. Just go at your own pace and and don’t worry about the speed. As long as you’re constantly making progress, no matter how slow, you’ll reach your destination.

[UInt2048]

You can do it!

[anon10003474]

Hey, it just takes time. I just reached level nine and I’ve been on WaniKani for close to five months. Level 8 ended up taking me like, two months to complete because of life events and job switching stuff. It felt a little crappy to see how long it was taking me, but as soon as I made my reviews a habit I was able to get out of my rut. It happens sometimes, don’t be hard on yourself!

Plus, level 4 in a month is actually pretty stellar, you’re going faster than a lot of people.
but remember, faster doesn’t necessarily mean better. It’s about comprehension and keeping ahold of that information. Everyone is going to learn at a different pace.

[dunlewy]

Level 9 took me forever. Don’t try to rush. Just go steady and at your own pace. You don’t want to burn out later.