WaniKani Review: The Japanese Kanji Learning App

If you’re learning Japanese, you’ve likely heard about WaniKani – the popular web-based tool that promises to help you learn 2,000 joyo kanji and 6,000 vocabulary words in just over a year. But is WaniKani actually worth the hype? In this in-depth WaniKani review, we’ll break down everything you need to know about this kanji learning platform.

What is WaniKani?

WaniKani is a website dedicated to teaching Japanese kanji and vocabulary through an innovative mnemonics and spaced repetition system (SRS) approach. It gamifies the process by splitting the content across 60 levels that you progress through linearly.

At its core are the Lessons and Reviews sections. In Lessons, you start by learning radicals (the building blocks of kanji) accompanied by memorable mnemonic stories to aid memorization. You then move on to the kanji built from those radicals, followed by vocabulary words utilizing those kanji.

The Reviews follow the SRS methodology, quizzing you on items at increasing intervals tailored to your individual recall success. As you demonstrate your ability to recognize a kanji or vocab word across these timed intervals, it becomes “burned” or solidified into your long-term memory.

How WaniKani Teaches Kanji

The 2,000+ joyo kanji characters WaniKani covers are ordered across its 60 levels based on frequency of use, with around 30-35 kanji unlocked per level progression. To level up, you must “burn” (achieve mastery of) a set percentage of the kanji from lessons.

This metered, gamified approach is one of WaniKani’s biggest strengths. Instead of overwhelming you with thousands of kanji at once, it breaks the load into bite-sized, attainable chunks. The levels provide a sense of continual accomplishment as you visually clear each stage.

For each kanji, WaniKani provides its core meanings, readings (on’yomi and kun’yomi), and component radicals. But its most innovative feature is the mnemonic storytelling method used as memory aids.

For example, for the kanji 休 (rest/holiday), the mnemonic is: “A tree rests after the festivities die down, while a person gets horizontal under it.” The rambling, silly scenarios stick in your mind to recall the kanji meanings and readings with surprising effectiveness.

Additionally, WaniKani reinforces mastery through its SRS reviews and example vocabulary showcasing the kanji in context. The spacing and timing of these reviews are optimized for committed long-term retention.

WaniKani’s Supplemental Features

While Lessons and Reviews are the core sections, WaniKani has some other helpful features:

Vacation Mode – This allows you to pause SRS reviews for a set period if you’ll be away or unable to study. That way your review queue won’t become unmanageable while you’re gone.

Extra Study – A more recent addition letting you practice items from recent lessons or ones you’ve struggled with, though separate from the main SRS queue.

Review Forecast – Shows your estimated review workload for the upcoming week so you can plan your study sessions accordingly.

There are also active user community forums, reading clubs, shared mnemonic resources, and more created by WaniKani’s passionate learners.

Perhaps the most brilliant aspect is that WaniKani has opened up its API, allowing code-savvy users to create scripts and mods that extend functionality in creative ways. For example, scripts can show you similar-looking kanji side-by-side to reduce confusion or reveal mnemonic shortcuts for readings based on component radicals.

Pros of Using WaniKani

1. Memorization Made Easy and Engaging WaniKani’s zany mnemonics, combined with the optimized SRS system, make memorizing kanji exponentially easier and more fun than traditional rote methods.
2. Inexpensive and Vast Content For $9/month or a one-time $299 lifetime fee, you get an incredible depth of content – 2,136 kanji and nearly 6,000 vocabulary items.
3. Ideal for Beginners By starting from the radicals and most frequent kanji, WaniKani provides an perfect on-ramp for complete kanji beginners.
4. Large Study Community
   An active online community of fellow WaniKani users create supplemental resources, share mnemonics, participate in reading clubs, and troubleshoot.
5. Clean User Experience The UI is straightforward and uncluttered, keeping your focus squarely on studying with no gimmicks or distractions.
6. API for User Mods/Scripts WaniKani’s open API allows clever users to build all kinds of helpful scripts, mods, and plugins that extend functionality.
7. Vacation Mode for Uninterrupted Study The Vacation Mode feature prevents missed reviews from piling up if you need to take a break from studying.

Cons of WaniKani

1. Limited Free Access You can only access the first 3 levels (roughly 100 kanji/radicals) for free before needing a paid subscription.
2. Rigid Level Progression You cannot skip ahead to later levels if you have existing kanji knowledge – a frustration for intermediate/advanced learners.
3. Reading-Only Focus WaniKani only covers reading/recognition. It doesn’t instruct on writing kanji or teach grammar/conversation skills.
4. Lacks Frequency-Listing for Vocab While the kanji order is systematic, the vocabulary selection can seem random or obscure at times since it prioritizes kanji reinforcement over frequency of word usage.
5. Dated Interface While clean, WaniKani’s interface looks quite dated and can initially feel overwhelming until you get accustomed to it.

Is WaniKani Worth It?

For complete beginners looking to build a strong foundation in kanji and vocabulary reading/recognition, WaniKani is absolutely worth the investment. Its engaging, mnemonic-based, SRS system makes the daunting task of kanji acquisition surprisingly achievable and even fun.

For intermediate/advanced learners farther along the kanji path, WaniKani is less compelling due to its rigid leveling structure. It would involve tediously relearning already-known kanji before advancing to new content. These learners may prefer a supplementary tool like Anki with customizable decks.

Regardless of level, WaniKani does have limitations in only covering the reading aspect. You’ll need additional grammar resources, writing practice, listening exercises, etc. to attain full Japanese proficiency. However, as a purpose-built kanji trainer, WaniKani provides an affordable, methodical, battle-tested system few other products can match.

In summary, if you’re a motivated beginner willing to devote consistent daily study sessions, WaniKani is very likely to exponentially boost your kanji-reading abilities in a relatively short time. Just be sure to complement it with a rounded approach for complete mastery.

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