I consistently fail about 4 out of 5 questions because there is nothing to remember the rules by. Some are somewhat memorable, like conjugations, but even those are sometimes grouped strangely, where I need to remember 5+ different sub-rules.
With vocabulary it is easy, there is reading and meaning and that’s it. But I can’t figure out what to remember with grammar. Do I just memorize phrases? Or the definitions? Or do I just keep doing reviews hoping it will stick after 100 failures?
With enough failure it sticks and you’ll see some patterns I guess … That’s how it’s kinda working for me '
Can you please provide a few example sentences, and describe what is hard about them? I hope I can help with that info
Take this for example:
This is the related lesson:
Which part of the lesson talks about “contrastive, particle”, and what should I focus on to recognize it from the hint? Every grammar point is vastly different and I don’t see any way to remember it. What do you focus on when learning grammar?
Maybe I am making a mistake by learning one rule per day and I should space it differently? But than I feel like I would get lazy and go too slowly. Or maybe I need to use different review format?
My goal is to understand enough grammar to read when I reach WaniKani level 20-30, currently 14. I am about half way through N5 grammar on Bunpro.
usually I’m trying to get from context what program wants from me.
With this one I just pairs attention to meaning of から which is basically linking word that connects 2 grammar points. So just remembered that this translates to “but” in many cases. So if I see that I need to use “but” to link 2 parts of the sentence I use this one.
So the core is the meaning of «から» and then after you get what it means you can focus on additional rules like “you need だ if preveuse word is noun or na-adjective”.
What exactly feels hard?
For me it’s hard to identify what program wants from me with just a context, because I know very little words, but if I use first level hint (just word) I can translate it by just extracting から as a possible translation 
PS: I was doing some stuff and then understood that I wrote about から instead of けど. It’s a bit late to correct so just adding note that I’m avare
One thing I heard about wanikani that it doesn’t teach you words that are completely made out of kana, and there are a lot of those words, so pay attention 🤌
I don’t know your speed, but 1 rule/day shouldn’t be too much.
I think the main question is “how do you feel about topics you’ve passed 2 weeks ago”. If answer is “good” you probably will remember topics that you learn now in a few weeks as well.
You should start immersing by reading easy stuff such as manga with furigana, short articles, etc. now. Seeing the grammatical patterns in the wild helps you remember it so much more than just going through the grammar points repeatedly. Also, it helps you intuitively pick what “sounds right”.
For now I switched to read & self-grade style of reviews so I have to translate the sentences. I’ll see if this helps. Especially since I realized my goal is to read, not to compose sentences.
So here’s how I’d go about trying to remember けど. Bunpro’s lesson starts by pointing out that けど is a conjunction particle. As a particle, it doesn’t have a meaning by itself, as normal nouns and adjectives do, but gives structure to a sentence by showing how various elements relate to each other. As a conjunction, it joins two separate statements together. So in your example
その赤いTシャツが好き。
I like that red T-shirt.
and
青いTシャツを買う。
I will buy the blue T-shirt.
are two separate statements joined by けど to get the full sentence
その赤いTシャツが好きだけど、青いTシャツを買う。
I like that red T-shirt, but I will buy the blue T-shirt.
Because 好き is a na-adjective, which are often treated similarly to nouns, だ must be placed between it and けど here.
けど has the nuance of implying a contrast between the statements that it links - I like the red T-shirt, so you might think I would purchase it, but in fact I will buy the blue. As the Bunpro lesson points out, it is a causal equivalent to けれども or even more formally が. There are other Japanese words that could translate as “but” in English - the Japanese hint for this grammar point includes one of them, しかし - so when you’re dealing with a fill-in-the-blank question like this where there are multiple potential options the grammar point hints will help you narrow it down to the desired expression.
You should follow the pattern of talking through each example sentence like this, so you clearly understand what function けど is playing in each one. Don’t treat each grammar point as isolated, but actively make and follow connections between points as well as being the expression and the rest of the sentence. Studying grammar is about creating a mental map of the way the language operates; just as roads connect towns on the map, you must establish a web of connections that show how all the different parts of the language work together.
I’d recommend availing yourself of the links to other online explanations of these grammar points that Bunpro includes in each grammar point. Seeing explanations from alternative angles might help you get a better grasp of what’s going on, and the more exposure you can get to different examples of the point in context, the better. If you’re not familiar with grammatical terms in English, it might be worth doing some study of English grammar. Even though the English and Japanese grammar systems are very different, knowing how grammar operates in a language you’re already familiar with will help you know how to approach grammar in a different language.
for your actual question
‘contrastive’ means ‘but’ and ‘partical’ is a part of speech. On the shorter side.
I use the hint underneeth “one of the most casual ways to express but”
I don’t remember grammar. I type in 3 different ‘buts’ then give up
ですが, でも、けれども, だけど
When learning new grammar I always write them into a physical notebook, including the structure, any important details of note, the level of formality/ if it’s only used in writing or speech.
Then I write out 3 example sentences. Often changing the sentence or making my own to make it more memorable.
This, along with using the cram feature really helps to cement grammar. Although be sure to remember some grammar just don’t click right away. I will be doing review after review and cram after cram and it takes a while. It do be like that.
In a notebook, I write down the grammar point, the meaning, and how to conjugate it. Then, I write an example sentence. Any time I make a mistake during reviews/can’t remember the sentence, I write that in my notebook too. Repetition is the key. Eventually your brain will start to see and remember the pattern.
Try and listen to the sentences too, to really get the grammar to stick.
Good luck!
I don’t really remember grammar until I see it in a real context I am interested in (not just a sentence in a lesson as useful as it might be).
I feel like I it does get memorised when I study it and read/drill exercice sentences, but it is just a first step and not solid enough for me to use it naturally.
Once it appears in the wild, it just clicks, always.
my advice, just more immersion and no overthinking lessons.
my advice, just more immersion and no overthinking lessons.
^This is great advice.
Try and watch a show and just listen for the grammar that you’ve studied - I find that pretty satisfying!
Like others in the thread, I also found writing the grammar points down to be more effective. The SRS is good at keeping the learning in your head once it gets there, but I definitely need to do something else to engage with the grammar before the SRS really helps. It sounds like that might also be the case for you.
Writing examples helps a lot too since it’s an active form of studying - you can’t really think you understand when you don’t. Even if your ultimate goal isn’t to write, it’ll still help you internalize the pattern.
That being said, you probably want some sort of checking if you’re making example sentences. A tutor or real person is best, but you might have some luck using bunpo-check.com, which is basically a free grammar checker with some explanations.
