WaniKani Reviews and details

Social recommendations and mentions

• Zero Experience JET

  Wanikani.com is a mnemonic website that helps you learn kanji. Wildly popular, although past level 3 you need to pay for a subscription. Source: 11 months ago

• To start learning Japanese

  WaniKani is very helpful for learning Kanji, and I've been doing the Genki grammar textbooks. Also (and you don't need a grammar textbook if you're using this guide), Tae Kim's online grammar guide can help. Source: 12 months ago

• They so nice. (Kzk152)

  I started with Wanikani for a bit, but dropped it in favor of a different form of SRS (Such as Anki and jpdb.io, which are both free!). Source: about 1 year ago

• How Duolingo reignited user growth

  For learning Kanji, I wholeheartedly recommend WaniKani (https://wanikani.com). Not saying that you should stop Duolingo if it works for you, but you'll likely get much more out of 30 minutes spent on WaniKani than 30 minutes spent on Duolingo. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago

• alternatives to Duolingo

  - kaniwani.com (free version of wanikani.com that doesn't constrain you as much and allows you to add your own words, etc.). Source: over 1 year ago

• Anki SRS Algorithm

  Wanikani [1], an SRS for learning Japanese kanji and vocabulary, kinda works like that, though on a simpler level than what I think you envision. Basically their system involves first learning to recognize common parts of kanji (radicals), then learning to recognize kanji made up of those radicals, and finally learning vocabulary that uses those kanji. Later items in the graph are unlocked by getting the previous... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago

• Does anyone have any interesting image associations they use to remember certain Kanji? For example I remember milk (牛乳) as looking kind of like a farmer milking a cow.

  I would suggest wanikani. Their whole deal is learning kanji and radicals through cute mnemonics and wordplay. Source: over 1 year ago

• Best place to start?

  Next kanji, I suggest checking out WaniKani and trying out the first 3 levels which are free, see if it's for you. That being said, you can learn kanji without it but WK provides really good structure for you and eliminates the hassle. If you learn a different way, then you definitely can, but you will have to make a structure plan for yourself. Personally, I use Wanikani. Source: over 1 year ago

• JLPT and Genki Textbooks

  As far as what I think will actually teach you Japanese, I think following the structure of SRS-based tools like WaniKani, KameSame, and bunpro is a great starting point, but you will need a lot of supplemental material. Source: over 1 year ago

• how to not feel hopeless starting out

  Things improved for me immeasurably when I put Genki aside and turned to Wanikani (wanikani.com). I am still at low level there (just started Level 7 of 60), but I am finding its approach really effective for me. I am finally learning the vocabulary that I struggled hard to get down just from Genki. I think it is the app nature of Wanikani, but mostly because of the audio to learn the readings as well as the... Source: over 1 year ago

• people and different sources saying telling me the do's and don'ts of learning Japanese, For example not using Textbooks because they are "unnatural" and other sources saying textbooks are fine.

  Have you tried something like Anki with http://guidetojapanese.org/learn/complete/ or https://pomax.github.io/nrGrammar/ ? You can also read some articles like https://www.learn-japanese-adventure.com/learn-japanese-online.html or maybe youtube videos? Also SRS isn't only about Anki, there are also sites like memrise.com or wanikani.com . The latter isn't free after several levels, but if you like such approach,... Source: almost 2 years ago

• How does kanji work and what are some good websites to study it?

  If by "study it", you mean learning Kanji & vocab, then I've found WaniKani extremely helpful. They teach you radicals, kanji, and vocab, and also give you context sentences (which will be overwhelming Hiragana, until you know more vocab). The things you learn in each unit all build on each other, ie the kanji are built with/from the radicals, and the vocab words are built with the kanji. Source: almost 2 years ago

• My Progress After 1.5 Years of Immersion Learning (and 7 years of on and off textbook study)

  Renshuu.org (I find this to be excellent and very flexible) Wanikani.com (Very good for Kanji, but overwhelmed me after a few months time wise) Bunpro.jp (Good for a 'reference' of ordered grammar learning and testing, but light on structured learning material) Fromzero.com (I found this to be quite an engaging experience, but it feels less 'serious') I have actually just booked a tutor recommended by a... Source: almost 2 years ago

• Found out that Duolingo is detrimental and feeling down

  I'd hit wanikani.com after you figure out your hiragana. It's a two or three year journey, but worth it. Source: almost 2 years ago

• The Epic of Frustration

  Another Genki+Anki-like option is http://wanikani.com. Source: about 2 years ago

• What's a goal that you currently have?

  Clear my 270 reviews I have on wanikani.com, so far I'm down to 198. Source: about 2 years ago

• Shortcut to fluency: Treat all words with similar meanings as the same, for the time being.

  This is a thing that frustrates me with wanikani.com. I generally know what the kanji means, but didn't _quite_ get the nuanced translation it wanted. Resist, rebel, counter, confront. Injure, hurt, damage, spoil. Source: about 2 years ago

• Gift ideas for a complete begginer

  At least mention Wanikani to her if she's not familiar. It's free up to the third level. Not an ad, I'm just a super fan. Source: about 2 years ago

• I feel frustrated and discouraged

  I would recommend using Wanikani (http://wanikani.com) to learn them as it’s really good and it separates the kanji pronunciation learning into two parts. Pink for pronunciation which is used (more often than not) as part of a bigger word and purple for actual words with meaning. Source: about 2 years ago

• What is your current target language and which resources do you like using the most for it?

  Wanikani - I don't use this anymore, for various reasons, but it is fantastic for kanji and vocabulary. Essentially an SRS. Source: about 2 years ago

• Where do I even start learning kanji???

  I've had pretty good success with wanikani.com. Source: over 2 years ago