I subscribe to TV Japan, and that really keeps me interested. It is exciting and reinforcing to hear words I know and to be able to read the Japanese writing that is plentiful on that station. I think it is a great way to prevent burnout and keep motivated. I would think that manga, novels, and internet articles would work, as well.
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I remember there being a level around 20ish in which the words meant very similar and abstract things, and it was super painful to get through. I think it might have been 21? Not sure, though. Generally, these are the worst levels, as it’s much harder to learn something I can’t quite picture.
@zvandervort immersion is never bad, but do note that it takes several levels to get to a point where you won’t be looking up every other kanji, so don’t be let down if that happens.
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60, I’ve been on this damned level for like 480 days now.
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While they are good to keep you interested and motivated I don’t think they can prevent burnouts honestly. Coz burnouts come from taking too much at a time and feeling overwhelmed.
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I listen to SBS 日本語 and it helps a bunch. Also, being able to follow Initial D with no subtitles is wild, and the story is like two levels deeper.
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- The leeches from that level annoy the hell outta me.
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Absolutely. I’m still trying to get my reviews below 100 so I can start my big pile of vocabulary lessons (which has been there since February).
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For me that makes things even worse 
I love reading books, but when I turn them into a study tool they aren’t all that relaxing anymore.
I read things in Japanese, it’s good motivation, but unless I can just sit down and relax it’s still work.
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When the level is very tough, try relying on speed reading, particularly the vocabulary. What would take, oh, so many hours, can be done in minutes. I remember that Woody Allen took a speed reading course and smugly told friends that he had read War and Peace in 40 minutes. A buddy, looking up from his monthly book club selection, interestedly asked Woody what it was about.
“Russia.”
Go looking. You can always find a lower gear. Some gears are “launch” gears. Some are “road” gears. Keep them in order.
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I’ve just reached level 10 one day ago and until now i have some kanji on every level i am not particularly fond of. also i get like a little depression every 14 - 18 days, when i really can’t get through reviews so i just make a break the whole day, do nothing for wanikani and then i feel refreshed the next day.
i am lucky because i have a job where i can do wanikani reviews exactly every hour and do my own reviews in between. so sometimes i just do everything at work (even learning the new level lessons) and than i can relax at home if i don’t feel like doing more.
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definitely agree there… back to finding your own material and studying obscure things that aren’t organized in any particular order and break every grammatical rule you learned in the past.
cold hard flash cards?
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Yeah it might a bit to get to the point where significant immersion is possible. Maybe intermediate level.
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Level 1.
It took 294 days for me since I abandoned this site before deciding to get serious and purchase the lifetime subscription 
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Level 12. It’s my longest level, partly because Easter holidays happened in the middle of it, and partly because WK thought it was a good idea to give me “warm”, “hot”, “sunshine”, and “hot water” in quick succession. I mean, I know the mnemonics and radicals are supposed to help, but I tend to be stubborn and push through lessons because doing reviews takes so long, which isn’t good. I’ll sort them out eventually though.
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“Worst” in Dutch is sausage so this thread’s title in Dutch is “Sausage level so far?”
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I’ll take two with a side of eggs and a tall glass of the pulpiest orange juice you can find.
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I am at Level 9 as well and looks like it may take a while because I somehow find the kanji at this level quite boring!
Level 4! After finishing level 3, I took some days off just to decide whether I wanted to go premium. So I lost the rythm and I had a huge wreck there. Now I-m powering through levels and I can easily remember new kanji with their ON readings. I always stumble with my first round of reviews with new vocab, but then it-s a breeze.
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- You created this thread on my birthday. Nice
- I googled “Wanikani hardest level” because I just reached 21 and DAMN things got rough. And behold, you were talking about 21.
Fantastic.
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I just finished 21 and in relived that a lot of people said that 20/21 were three worst. I really struggled and thought that my brain was just getting slower… Got to hear that might not necessarily be the case 
Also: 14, the grudge level… kept me for waaaaay too long…
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