How can I support my WaniKani learning?

So I finally made level 5! I know it’s a really small achievement compared to many here, but I never thought how happy i’d be to level up!

The pace of the lessons is great, and I feel that i’m actually learning the Knaji and vocabulary at a really good rate. I do however have a few questions I want to know if anyone can help me with:

  1. Does anyone have any tips or tricks to practice my kanji/vocabulary outside of the lessons/reviews?
  2. How does everyone learn to differentiate between the Kun’yomi and On’yomi readings? This so far is the bane of my existence as I can never remember which is which!
  3. How can I learn grammar and sentence structure?
  4. Finally - does anyone have any sites/channels/ apps which make you practice your speaking and/or listening skills?

Thanks so much!



Join the book clubs here on these forums. :slightly_smiling_face:

Generally, you don’t. You just learn that, say, 川口 is read as かわぐち while 人口 is じんこう, and you don’t care which one is on’yomi and which is kun’yomi. After a while, you just start to get a feel for which reading goes where - you’ll even be able to intuit the readings of words you’ve never seen before.

Tae Kim is one place to start.

Shadowing is an option.


I can’t really help with item two as I’m still working on those readings myself, but this should help you with items three and four.

The Ultimate Additional Japanese Resources List!

As for item one, there’s a script you can find below that, once installed, will allow you to review what you’ve learned. I’ve noticed that there’s a difference of opinion on how helpful reviewing is to the SRS method of learning, but I’ve installed the script myself and have found it beneficial so far. Your mileage may vary.

[Userscript] Self-Study Quiz

I’ll update this post if I find anything else that’s useful!


This is awesome, thanks!

What book clubs would you recommend as a complete beginner? I did take a look at one or two, but they seem quite daunting/ a step too far right now!

Thanks for the other advice, I’ll take a look into Tae Kim and Shadowing now :slight_smile:

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Thanks so much. Just took a look at the Ultimate Additional Japanese resources list… I think it has pretty much ever answer to any question I could ask for so far haha.

I’ll also install the script later and take a look, sounds interesting!

Thanks for the help!


1.Try reading the short stories in tangoristo, and as others mentioned, the bookclubs. I think absolute beginner is the one for beginning learners

  1. Kunyomi reading are often used when the word is standalone(or with hiragana attached) and onyomi is used when the word is a compound word i.e two words merged together. typically there are exceptions to this as sometimes the kunyomi is used for compound words. like others said you do get a feel for it.

  2. Lingodeer - it makes the experience less monotonous and a bit fun. However I do have genki, and I listen to Curedolly from KawaJapa to supplement. Japanesepod101 is a good resource as well.

  3. I’m not certain about speaking but for listening, you can try to listen to JLPT test preparations. Tangoristo has audio of all the articles that you can listen to as well.

As a side, If you are into anime, I find Shirokuma Cafe to be good for beginners. if you watch it on animelon with japanese subtitles you can practice your listening and reading as well.

There is a link of all the resources both free and paid on the forum .


Probably the Absolute Beginner Book Club. Yeah, they’re daunting, but if it wasn’t a challenge, you wouldn’t be learning anything. :slightly_smiling_face:


I would reccommend doing bunpro alongside WK. but dont worry too much. get to lvl 10 in WK then start studying tae kiim and join a reading group.

maybe try out anki and create your own decks with WK vocab… alternatively use Kaniwani although its generally suggested to set this to burn items only an i doubt at lvl 4 you have many burned?

good luck


This exactly explains how I learn on wanikani, I also keep mixing up the kun’yomi and on’yomi but I just started getting a feel after practicing so much!

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  1. There’s no need to, really. The reviews are the practice. I’d say any kanji exposure you get from grammar study is probably enough for now.
  2. With enough exposure it just happens. Kun vs On isn’t something I’ve ever had to focus on specifically, and the common readings will fall into place pretty quickly without much effort.
  3. Give Lingodeer a try. It’s an app that, in my opinion, is perfect for learning fundamental N5-N4 level grammar. You’ll need other sources for more advanced grammar, but LD is a great place to start if language apps are the kind of thing you’re into.
  4. No advice here, sadly… My main goal is to be able to read Japanese, so I’m neglecting speaking and listening, at least for now. :wink:
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Thank you everyone for your suggestions! :blush:

Some great Ideas that i’ll start looking through now! Next stop, level 60 :ok_hand:
