Ive been using Wanikani for about half a year now and it’s been super helpful, but its lack of flexibility makes it so frustrating. I’m paying for the service, it should be up to me to decide when I get something wrong and when I just happened to press the wrong key. Other flash card apps Ive used have a “I got this right” button. So should Wanikani, especially since I’m paying for it.
As much as this program has helped me over this year I don’t think Im gonna re-up just because of how limited I feel. If I’m paying for a service I shouldn’t have to waste time retyping a word an extra ten times cause I accidentally pressed the “i” key instead of the “o” key.
I also just learned they also limit some synonyms from being added. Specifically 挙げる can’t be typed as “to raise” even though it’s translated as that in one of the example sentences.
Needed to rant. Been getting pretty annoyed with the program lately.
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10 comments
When you get something wrong despite pressing the right button, all that happens is you get extra practice. But if they add an “I was right” button people might abuse it, which can really hurt their learning. I would stop focusing on wanikani as a game that you have to beat quickly and more as a really good way of learning. And if you care that much, just type carefully.
It’s totally fine to not be satisfied with how Wanikani works. They have a philosophy of “get it right or repeat” and I think it’s their choice whether they want to stick to it.
There is a [plugin](https://community.wanikani.com/t/userscript-double-check-version-2x/31456) for Wanikani that does just what you’re asking for.
If you’d prefer to stop supporting Wanikani there are [Anki decks](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/266084933) (although this one is a bit outdated) that copy Wanikani’s content.
However do mind what has been said before. What matters is how much you learn, not how quickly you go through learning content.
Good luck on your journey.
I don’t use this program, but you have a valid concern that applies to any learning app.
The whole point of any language learning app is to help the user learn quickly and efficiently. Punishing you for an irrelevant mistake or requiring you to “type carefully” or triple check your answer is patronizing and annoying.
Some users might abuse this, but so what? It’s not the job of the app developer to police that. That being said, if the developer wants to be stubborn, that’s their right and we have the right to find another program that is more efficient.
OP, use the browser version with plugins. They’re super good and fix what you’re complaining about
In my opinion, Wanikani is a good service on its own, but user plugins are where it can really become great. I think most people who are using it as a hardcore study tool have a good 5-10 userscripts installed—I know I wouldn’t be getting as much use out of it if I didn’t have them.
They’re pretty easy to set up, and there are some guides for you on the forum for it. Everything that you complained about it your post has a script that’ll ‘fix’ it. Just make sure you don’t get too trigger-happy with marking things as correct!
I use about 20 different wanikani userscripts. Base WaniKani is very strict and limited but the user support is incredible. Double Check is an essential one for sure, as long as you have self-control.
There are plenty of browser plugins in the forums to get it exactly how you want it though. I got sick of typing so I got a plugin that makes it work like Anki. If you still want to type the answer, there’s also a plugin that lets you manually mark something correct in case you had a typo.
There are also plenty of other plugins that add useful functionality, like one that shows similar looking kanji, pitch accent, usage graph, example sentences from anime with audio etc. There’s really no other site or tool near as good as WK imo, the lifetime subscription was more than worth it for me
I had no idea this was an issue. I use Tsurukame to interact with WaniKani on iOS and it has exactly this. Never occurred to me that it was an option from the app itself and not WaniKani.
There’s a app called tsurukame that lets you use wanikani exactly how you want to use it
OP, [this userscript](https://community.wanikani.com/t/userscript-double-check-version-2x/31456) will resolve the issues you mentioned. I can’t imagine using wanikani without it