Figuring out BunPro

Grettings!

I’m figuring out how to use BunPro. I can tell the whole flow is to study a grammar point, and then it gets added to the reviews list, like in WaniKani. But, just to be sure, is this enough? Should I be reading all of the provided links? Do they get tracked?

Thing is, I’m already somewhat advanced in my japanese learning, so there are quite a few points I’d like to skip in order to get to what I need to learn. Is there a way to do this quickly?
I’ve already found an option to do so on a singular grammar point, but to do so on each and every one of them is going to be a handful.

I’m already done with Genki I, I’m halfway through Genki II, and I know a buttload of random N4 points. I would love to literally just cross off a checklist the ones I’m confident in, and just study separately the new points or the ones I want to reinforce.

Also, any BunPro newcomer general advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!

6 Likes

Welcome! :smiley: Glad you could join us :slight_smile:

Ideally you should probably read the links, since the information provided by Bunpro is quite surface level. Using the links is self tracked, last I checked.

You can learn grammar points in whatever order you want. You don’t have to do N5 before N4, for example. I don’t know of a way to mass add grammar to your reviews or mass mark as known though, but you can request those as features if they’re not ones already :slight_smile:

My advice: don’t bite off more than you can chew. Start gradually, get used to the system, then slowly add more when you’re ready. Else you’ll be like me, burn out, and have 200 reviews to do :'D

Best of luck with your studies!

5 Likes

As somebody who made it to 60 in WaniKani and 42 here… some general SRS advice:

  • Adding a bunch of lessons at once means having a bunch of reviews surface at once
  • Doing a bunch of reviews at once also means having a bunch of reviews (re)surface at once

Solution: Ideally, do multiple small batches throughout each and every day. Maybe some in the morning, some during a lunch break, some when you get home, some before bed. You’ll be far more motivated to knock out reviews on a regular basis when you never have to do (or never let yourself do) more than ~20 at a time.

Check out this userscript thread: List of Scripts

I’d highly recommend the Planner (so that you know when to expect reviews), the Timer to keep you mindful of time spent (helps keep me on task), and the Copy script in case you ever want to copy the JP sentences (because simply using Ctrl + C picks up the furigana).

Do you have any interest in actually speaking or typing Japanese? If so, I strongly recommend adding even “known” grammar points to your reviews, purely for the sake of training yourself to recall the grammar during production (rather than merely during recognition, i.e. listening/reading). I find the biggest struggle with production is knowing exactly which particles belong where, with which parts of speech and what nuances… But that’s exactly what 文プロ helps you hammer out :wink:

I’ve been adding 2-8 new lessons each day, and have been averaging ~100 reviews daily. The system works best when you avoid adding grammar points that share identical vocab / identical meanings simultaneously. I’m working through N2 right now, currently discovering that there are apparently 15 different ways to say “from X point of view…,” and it’s hard to know what’s being asked for by the hint alone.
わけ and かぎる are similar examples. They’ve each got half-a-dozen uses, but knowing what they mean and which particles belong where will be a breeze as long as you add them to the mix a few days apart from each other.

When adding new grammar, I always choose the easiest grammar still available. The result? The grammar I added today probably looked waaay over-my-head 30 days ago, but today it’s merely the tiniest step forward I can take.

Use the stats page to your advantage, too! Make it look nice, and keep it that way— here’s what mine looks like:

Okaaay, I just really wanted to show off the 100k badge with the 2nd pic :rofl:

11 Likes

I think reading though the links is important.
From what I can tell bunpro doesn’t really teach you grammar, just reviews it with SRS.
So your suppose to study the info on the provided site links.

4 Likes

@Frosty-chan @Kai @conan @Daru
I agree with others.

I would like to add that if you don’t have much time you can skip links and use them only if you don’t understand something.
Since usually, people will forget explanations that are too long, the best method is actually to encounter some nuance and then read an explanation of it.

4 Likes

Thank you guys for your advice! I’ve been religiously using Bunpro, and like you guys said, there’s a lot of nitty gritty points on the grammar points I thought I already had covered, so I’m glad I gave it another read.

Since my trial ends tomorrow and had some surplus in my budget, I went ahead and bought a yearly subscription. Bunpro has come pretty far!

8 Likes

Thank you very much :+1: :bowing_man:

3 Likes

Haha, look at this ding dong misspelling Bunpro.

2 Likes

But the important thing, have you figured how to use Bunpro?

If not, you might want to have some chat with the person in charge of UI/UX

4 Likes