Am I doing myself a disservice by using the "translate" review setting?

Bunpro
#1

ETA: I just checked my review settings rn for vocab and it says translate IS the default, but I could have sworn it was review. As such, when I say “default” in this, I am talking about “fill in,” which I mistakenly thought was the default. In any case, when I started bunpro I had vocab set to “fill in”.

When I first used bunpro, I was quickly overwhelmed during vocab flashcards using the default settings. NGL, it was kind of infuriating and my retention for vocab was really bad. Ever since I changed to “translate” for my vocab reviews, it has been a lot easier to use the platform, but I can’t help but feel guilty that for words that tend to have many many meanings, I’m really only zeroing in on the main one or two. Plus, I’m not remembering how to write it, just how to recognise it.

To be honest, I still think the default setting for vocab is too hard for me, so I likely wouldn’t switch back, and I’m glad I can still dabble with the default setting by using the cram mode. But for the completionists out there, am I making a huge mistake by relying on translate? What do you think are the ideal settings for vocabulary review? Is there a sweet spot to be found or is it all compromise?

P.S. Huge kudos to Bunpro for being an amazing resource with amazing features

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#2

I think it depends on what you want out of Japanese. If all you want is to be able to understand input, then it isn’t an issue at all. If you would like to also produce output… in my opinion, the default Bunpro review method is ideal. But you can also get output practice elsewhere, this is just my preference.

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#3

I agree with @deceir

It largely depends on your goals. If reading for comprehension is the goal then you realistically never have to know how to pronounce or read out loud. However if you want to speak then I’ll say it’s necessary to get practice with output as well. The nice thing though is that you can change your review method at anytime and also cram the one you don’t do as often. In my studies I often flip flop between input and output when I feel one area is becoming weaker than the other. I feel like it keeps things fresh.

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#4

@deceir @drunkgome
Thank you for the replies!
At the moment I’m cramming for N2, but I think in the future it would make sense to play around with the default setting again.
Sometimes I worry too much about my study methods, so thank you for helping me out.
Have a great day :slight_smile:

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