Diary of a French cat (study log)

pain_perdu_jp · September 17, 2025, 7:12pm

17/09/2025
Currently playing: Hollow Knight - silksong

Some good and bad this week:

I’m getting better at learning vocab: the hiragana make sense, I can assimilate the sounds and transcribe them, and it’s easier to learn new vocab… still struggling though. But I’m able to memorize words faster and for (a bit) longer. Maybe also because I can guess some patterns now, like the color or the months. It’s quite rewarding, not gonna lie.
I’m spending too much time on Silksong, but damn, this game is really amazing. However, this is impacting my Japanese study, I’m not spending as much time as I would like (guess I’m also missing the dopamine: Japanese is super cool, but not as nervious as smashing evil bugs). I’ve got a few days of rest ahead where I’ll be stuck at home. I won’t be gaming for 8 hours straight, so I should have more time to focus on Japanese (Genki textbook, I’m coming for you)

Still having a great time so far with Japanese, loving the trip for now.

New words

黄色
茶色
青
赤
休み
探す
休む
人気
一気
一本気

Cool new song

pain_perdu_jp · September 19, 2025, 5:10pm

19/09/2025
Currently reading: L’usage du Japon, Emmanuel Ruben

I finally took some time to do some basic maths to estimate how long it would take to learn all the JLPT vocabulary. I used the word counts for each level from Kanpai-Japan.com.

Level	Kanpai	Bunpro
N5	800	1100
N4	1600	2200
N3	3000	4200
N2	6000	6198
N1	10000	9172

If I take today’s date, compute how many days are left until each JLPT sessions (taking 1st of June / December), this gives the following table:

		N5		N4		N3		N2		N1
	Day left	Kanpai	Bunpro	Kanpai	Bunpro	Kanpai	Bunpro	Kanpai	Bunpro	Kanpai	Bunpro
1/12/25	73	11.0	15.1	21.9	30.1	41.1	57.5	82.2	84.9	137.0	125.6
1/6/26	255	3.1	4.3	6.3	8.6	11.8	16.5	23.5	24.3	39.2	36.0
1/12/26	438	1.8	2.5	3.7	5.0	6.8	9.6	13.7	14.2	22.8	20.9
1/6/27	620	1.3	1.8	2.6	3.5	4.8	6.8	9.7	10.0	16.1	14.8
1/12/27	803	1.0	1.4	2.0	2.7	3.7	5.2	7.5	7.7	12.5	11.4
1/6/28	986	0.8	1.1	1.6	2.2	3.0	4.3	6.1	6.3	10.1	9.3
1/12/28	1169	0.7	0.9	1.4	1.9	2.6	3.6	5.1	5.3	8.6	7.8
1/6/29	1351	0.6	0.8	1.2	1.6	2.2	3.1	4.4	4.6	7.4	6.8
1/12/29	1534	0.5	0.7	1.0	1.4	2.0	2.7	3.9	4.0	6.5	6.0
1/6/30	1716	0.5	0.6	0.9	1.3	1.7	2.4	3.5	3.6	5.8	5.3
1/12/30	1899	0.4	0.6	0.8	1.2	1.6	2.2	3.2	3.3	5.3	4.8

This is assuming a 100% accuracy, and being able to retain everything immediatly, and this should come along kanji / grammar / listening study. However, I still feel it gives a good overview of the thing.

With the 80% accuracy rate

If I assume that I’m retaining only 80% of the new words (meaning every 10 cards reviewed, I forget 2 of them), I should multiply everything by 1.25 (x * 0.8 = 10 <=> x = 12.5)

		N5		N4		N3		N2		N1
	Day left	Kanpai	Bunpro	Kanpai	Bunpro	Kanpai	Bunpro	Kanpai	Bunpro	Kanpai	Bunpro
1/12/25	73	13.7	18.8	27.4	37.7	51.4	71.9	102.7	106.1	171.2	157.1
1/6/26	255	3.9	5.4	7.8	10.8	14.7	20.6	29.4	30.4	49.0	45.0
1/12/26	438	2.3	3.1	4.6	6.3	8.6	12.0	17.1	17.7	28.5	26.2
1/6/27	620	1.6	2.2	3.2	4.4	6.0	8.5	12.1	12.5	20.2	18.5
1/12/27	803	1.2	1.7	2.5	3.4	4.7	6.5	9.3	9.6	15.6	14.3
1/6/28	986	1.0	1.4	2.0	2.8	3.8	5.3	7.6	7.9	12.7	11.6
1/12/28	1169	0.9	1.2	1.7	2.4	3.2	4.5	6.4	6.6	10.7	9.8
1/6/29	1351	0.7	1.0	1.5	2.0	2.8	3.9	5.6	5.7	9.3	8.5
1/12/29	1534	0.7	0.9	1.3	1.8	2.4	3.4	4.9	5.1	8.1	7.5
1/6/30	1716	0.6	0.8	1.2	1.6	2.2	3.1	4.4	4.5	7.3	6.7
1/12/30	1899	0.5	0.7	1.1	1.4	2.0	2.8	3.9	4.1	6.6	6.0

I believe the first table is more accurate, as revision should become more intensive getting closer to the JLPT. Also, the 80% accuracy rate is quite flexible and should probably increase as we become more familiar with the language.

I should probably do the same for kanji, but WaniKani is here for that, no need to think, just do the daily lessons / reviews and basta.

Also today, thanks to this forum post, I discovered this website offering comprehensible input, graded by level. It’s a great way to get used to Japanese itself, and pick up some cool new words like 肩.

JCalandr · September 20, 2025, 9:42am

Welcome to Bunpro ! ^^

Are you using it in English or French? The French version just came out a couple of months ago, so maybe it’ll help you out (though you already seem pretty comfortable with English!).

pain_perdu_jp · September 20, 2025, 11:19pm

Hey, merci!

I gave the French version a try after seeing the forum post, and I really enjoyed it! That said, I prefer to stick with English for my studies, since I’m used to learning in it and use other resources that are only in English. Better to stick to one language rather than jumping back and forth

pain_perdu_jp · September 24, 2025, 8:12pm

19/09/2025
Currently reading: L’usage du Japon, Emmanuel Ruben

So, I made it through grammar N5

I’m really looking forward to confirming everything by moving it all to “seasoned,” and I have to say, I’m pretty proud of my progress. Bunpro continues to amaze me with how clearly it explains things, thanks for that!

Right now, my focus is on finishing the N5 vocabulary. I’ve been cruising at 10 cards a day and I’m almost halfway through the deck. The only challenge is that reviews are starting to pile up, so I’m not sure how long I can keep up this pace.

For now, though, it’s back to those reviews waiting for me!

homa · September 24, 2025, 9:13pm

Well done!

johantwoo · September 25, 2025, 2:02pm

Awesome! How long did that take you?

I’m currently doing just one grammar point and 5 vocab points per day. But I think I’m advancing quicker on grammar than I am on vocab (there’s almost 10x the vocab items to the number of grammar items). So maybe I’ll pause grammar for a while and just do vocab to “catch up”.

I’m also thinking a bit about pacing and if this is too slow. At this pace N5 will take a while. But my strategy for now is to go slowly and have the time to move items up to “seasoned” rather than having reviews pile up too much.

Gacee · September 25, 2025, 2:24pm

This is not necessarily the most helpful thing, but I have to tell myself this all the time. The best pace is the one that you can get up and do most days

Pace also doesn’t need to be fixed - it can ebb and flow as your review stacks seem heavier or lighter and as your life permits you to spend more time studying.

pain_perdu_jp · September 26, 2025, 4:41pm

I spent about 68 days total, though that includes some rest days. On the days I studied, I consistently did 3 new cards, so it was around 43 days of actively learning new material. I think it’s definitely worth going through the entire grammar deck. Even if you forget some points, the example sentences for each vocab item still provide exposure and help with comprehension.

While working on the grammar deck, I was also going through tae kim grammar guide, I think it’s worth it for a first exposition.

But I agree that the best approach is slow and steady, better to keep the number of items in beginner below 75 and 150 for adept, so you don’t burn out

pain_perdu_jp · September 26, 2025, 4:47pm

Totally agree! I’m on a good streak lately, so I can handle 10 new cards per day… for now. But I know that probably won’t last. From what I’ve read in another posts, it’s easy to end up with a huge review pile if you’re not careful, and I definitely want to avoid that.

Currently, I’d rather push the pace a bit more on WaniKani than on Bunpro, since WaniKani reviews tend to go faster. You don’t need to read as much context like you do with grammar points or some vocab in Bunpro. Because of that, I always start with WaniKani first, then move on to Bunpro.

pain_perdu_jp · September 27, 2025, 10:57am

27/09/2025
Currently reading: L’usage du Japon, Emmanuel Ruben

After (finally) finishing Silksong, back to our Japanese study. WaniKani is going well so far, still at level 5 with a good accuracy, going slow and steady.

However, I got stuck with a tough batch of new vocab on Bunpro yesterday:

* これから -> from now on, after this, in the future, in future, soon (The timeframe that extends from now into the future.)
* こちら -> A word that indicates the direction or movement toward the speaker.
* どんな -> An expression used to ask about the qualities or features of something unknown. (What kind of)
* こんど -> A way to refer to this present time, or something that will happen in the near future.
* あと→A word indicating the period of time extending onward from something's completion or passing.
* さいご→A word that emphasizes coming after or later than anything else. (End, later, …)

I can’t get my head around these words, since they don’t have a clear translation, and don’t conjure any clear images in my mind. It might take some time to assimilate them, but I wish I could throw some of them back in the deck so I don’t associate them. We’ll see how it goes!

Chimmsen · September 27, 2025, 11:32am

Those are all really common words, so I think it would help you greatly if you would be doing some form of immersion, even if it’s just anime with french/english subtitles. Try to pick max one of those words per day and try to find in during immersion. Chances are high, you’ll encounter the word multiple times and one of those occasions might just stick due to the added context. Sure, you won’t get the full depths of the meaning right away, but enough to get a better feeling for them

pain_perdu_jp · September 27, 2025, 4:54pm

Your answer has reminded me of www.immersionkit.com. It’s true that I should be able to find more context about each word there, and hopefully recognize it. I’ll focus on こちら today, thanks for the advice!

pain_perdu_jp · September 29, 2025, 9:29pm

29/09/2025
Currently watching: Alice in Borderland season 3

Japanese studies are still going well, although I’m getting a bit discouraged by all the way to go. It’s exciting to go along this path and learn new things every day, but I hope I’ll be able to talk one day, or be able to read. Should be feasible, but the amount of effort to put into that is tremendous. Maybe I should spend my time doing other stuff, like working on other projects or developing other skills? I’ve been learning Japanese for 3 months, and I’m already super proud of all the things I’ve learned. I hope I’ll be able to keep the machine running.

For the “hard words” in my previous post, I was able to overcome most of them. Not assimilated for now, but at least I can recognize them and pass most questions (except どうも, oof). I’m still cruising at 10 words per day, sometimes jumping to 15 (like today), and learning kanji via WaniKani. Still getting more and more used to the sounds, but I’m lacking in katakana reading… maybe I should re-focus on that.

Chimmsen · September 30, 2025, 10:41am

aren’t we all? what helped me the most so far were video games. Stuff like pokemon, were the names, the attacks, the items, the places and just random words are all written in katakana, will up your katakana reading game quite quickly.

Gacee · September 30, 2025, 4:46pm

Reading your log reminded me this season came out… I watched the first half of s3 episode 1 and was not exactly taken by it how is the season treating you so far?

pain_perdu_jp · September 30, 2025, 10:58pm

I agree with that, seems to be a good advice. But not sure I have the level to play video games or read light novels thought, I think it’s hard before N4 🥲

pain_perdu_jp · September 30, 2025, 11:00pm

It’s not bad! I would watch the first and second episode so you get the general plot of the season. Most characters are great, and the games are quite nice, but this season isn’t as good as the first two for sure. But still nice to watch!