Does it make sense to use Bunpro only (Grammar + Vocab) before adding WaniKani later?

Bunpro
#1

Hey everyone,

I’m pretty new to Bunpro and looking for some advice. I’ve been studying Japanese on Busuu for quite a while, and I finally decided that I want to switch to Bunpro to focus more on grammar and vocabulary.
Right now, I’m a student and I don’t want to pay for two subscriptions at the same time (Bunpro + WaniKani).

  1. My plan is to get the lifetime subscription for Bunpro and work through the N5–N3 grammar and vocabulary over the next few years. I’d like to reach the N3 by 2030, although it’s not a big deal if it takes longer. Speaking is my main priority, but I still want a solid foundation in grammar and vocab. Later on, I’d add WaniKani for kanji.
    The idea is that I’d already know the vocabulary by then and would just need to associate it with the kanji later.

Does this approach make sense?

  1. I also wanted to ask whether Bunpro’s vocabulary decks are now complete enough to cover the JLPT N5, N4 and N3 levels (kanji aside).
    Has anyone here used Bunpro’s vocab as their main or only vocab resource for N5/N4/N3, and did it feel sufficient for the tests?

Thanks for every answer!
Also, apologies if a similar thread already exists.

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#2

I would say that actually doing both at the same time is working better (for me at least)
I’m pretty new on bunpro too but so far i noticed that wanikani makes you learn kanjis that you can see in bunpro when you train, so it’s really good if you wanna get used to the kanjis you learn in sentences (+ if you also wanna get lifetime on wanikani Somewhere in décembre they usually make a -100 discount)

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#3

Thanks for your answer! Yeah, I feel like WaniKani is way too expensive at $300 to be honest, but if there’s a discount at some point, I’ll definitely think about it!

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#4

I think it makes perfect sense. I’m doing Bunpro and Wanikani at the same time, and I can tell that Bunpro is making a bigger contribution to my vocab than Wanikani is. I’ve been doing the JLPT practice tests that Bunpro offers, and the Bunpro vocab decks have been instrumental in understanding the written and spoken texts. Lots of vocab that doesn’t come up on Wanikani.

Also consider that Wanikani does not teach in JLPT order, while Bunpro does give you the option to study in JLPT order, so it might suit your goals better.

Being able to read kanji does certainly help to make studying easier, but it’s certainly not a prerequisite. Besides, you could always try to do some kanji learning on the side via free or less expensive ways while you use Bunpro.

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#5

Thank you! That was exactly the answer is was looking for!
I will probably going to buy lifetime bunpro and add wanikani maybe at the end of next year.
Using maybe the first three free level from Wanikani for kanji should already cover up half of N5.

So thanks for your input :smile:

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#6

Yes, I think you can use Bunpro pretty aggressively as the only SRS app. Bunpro’s biggest strength is having example sentences written in context of the vocab/grammar point you are studying. This combines SRS with immersion which IMO will give a very rich understanding of the language.

However it’s biggest weakness is that those examples sentences will often use kanji/vocab outside of your level. This can be quite frustrating, and it will happen 1000’s of times along your journey. As you’ve noted, Bunpro doesn’t explicitly teach kanji individually.

On Kanji, you can turn on furigana by default and then turn-off furigana for each new word you’ve learned. Learning kanji in context of words helps a lot, and it will be helpful to explicitly learn each kanji’s individual meanings. Getting used to how on’yomi and kun’yomi work is also a good idea.

N3 in 5 years is a realistic goal.

Bunpro has a lot of customisation, and reviews can get out of hand if you learn too quickly. Fortunately Bunpro’s SRS at default levels is quite generous: it only goes down one level, and once you master an item it stays there.

The default mode in Bunpro is the fill-in mode. This takes time, but is useful for practicing output. The JLPT is mostly input and comprehension based. Because of the large amount of vocab, reading mode will probably be preferable. I exclusively used the reading mode for grammar and vocab, and hope to do a pass through the fill-in mode for grammar at some point.

On pacing if you learn one grammar point a day you’ll be golden. Since you’ve got a long term plan there’s no need to rush things. The harder part is keeping up with vocab/kanji. Even then, if you did 2-3 new vocab a day you’d complete all vocab up to N3 level on Bunpro in 5 years. You’ll also be able to learn vocab much faster as you progress. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

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#7

In short Bunpro is my favourite Japanese learning app by a significant margin because of its high quality example sentences. I’ve been learning for almost 8 years and have found Bunpro has helped my reading/comprehension significantly. If you can work through the kanji/vocab barriers you’ll have a great time.

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#8

You don’t necessarily need Wanikani.
Using Bunpro for grammar and vocabulary can already take you very far , it’s a pretty complete resource and can definitely support you all the way to N1.

When you learn new vocabulary, it can help to focus on the kanji form right away. Furigana is useful at the beginning, and over time you’ll naturally get used to reading words without needing to think about each individual kanji. Knowing every single reading of a kanji isn’t really necessary. Hence why wanikani is not required.

As for reaching N3, five years is a long timeline, it’s absolutely possible to get there faster depending on how you study and how consistent you are, maybe around two years or so.

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#9

Imo, if you are a student wanting to save some money, just don’t add WK to your study at all.

Wk has a bit of an interesting kanji order to it, and it doesn’t work for everyone. The system is also very rigid and unlike bunpro- on wk you can’t choose and learn whichever kanji you want, instead, you have to follow their predetermined order (which does not match the jlpt order).

If it is the wk-specific mnemonics that interest you, you could take a look at shared anki decks. You will find a free alternative that is essentially equivalent to wk, but free

Good luck studying!

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#10

Looking online N3 takes average of ~1000-1500 hours. Doing 2 hours of study a day does make it possible to do in 2 years, but for many people that can be extremely intensive if you’re studying as a hobby. But the most important thing is you don’t get burned out and have fun. Keeping up daily habits hard.

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#11

Fair. N3 is roughly 400 grammar points and about 4,000 words.
If you learn one new grammar point per day and about ten new words per day, you can reach that level in around two years.

I think it’s less about trying to guess how long it takes to get there, and more about figuring out what daily goals you should set to reach the level you’re aiming for.

1 grammar/ day 10 vocab/day is far from being a speedrunner pace, and most people are doing 3 grammar/ day, 20 words/ day. So I think this routine is doable for someone who wants to learn japanese as a hobby

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#12

In my opinion/experience, being able to see a kanji and recall a specific English keyword isn’t a particularly useful skill to have, so I’d skip WaniKani altogether if it were me. The one useful thing it does do is teach vocab, and there are much more efficient ways to study that.

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#13

Thanks for all your answers!
I guess I’ll stick with Bunpro for now, and if I ever feel like I’m lacking kanji knowledge, I can always consider adding WaniKani later.

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#14

I recomend trying https://japanese-like-a-breeze.com/ N5 is free, as a bunpro replacement and https://kanjidamage.com/ as a free wanikani
Also hold of a month before buying bunpro, it’s usally half off on Christmas
Bunpro’s vocab decks are complete enough.

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#15

I know that peoples opinion on this differs a bit depending on their goals but for me learning to write the kanji helps to memorize them a lot. So I’d suggest you try out one of the apps that lets you write them on your screen too (On Android: Kanji Study, on iOS Ringotan for example).
They are either free or much less expensive than WK so thats what I’ve been using to study for the N3.
I’ve been using Anki decks since I started learning years ago and having proper example sentences such as bunpro (or some Anki decks) makes it so much easier.

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#16

I think doing Bunpro is super good. I’m not a big fan of the default decks, but the 2 and 4k decks are pretty good. The grammar resources and the practice tests are awesome too. I’m only around early N4, but so far I haven’t really seen a need to study Kanji like on Wanikani and stuff, because from what I’ve seen, its just far more effective to just study vocab and seems like it just takes extra time just to have a better understanding of why words are made up of the Kanji they are. And for 10 dollars a month on top of what I pay for Bunpro and Migaku and stuff, I just dont think thats a great idea, at least for me :sweat_smile:

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