Learning Vocabulary by Frequency rather than JLPT level

Bunpro
#1

I’ve noticed recently that the JLPT decks for vocab contain a lot of rare and high level words even at N4 or N3 which aren’t particularly common. That’s obviously very useful for those studying for the exam but I was wondering if there are plans to create a separate track for vocab in the same way we have multiple tracks for grammar via textbooks etc.

Maybe there could be arbitrary Bunpro “levels” that order vocab by frequency in novels, dictionaries etc.

Also: I think an option to see an overview of a deck and very quickly tick a checkbox for each item to “mark as known” in bulk would be really helpful for those not starting from scratch

As always thanks for all the hard work the Bunpro team puts into developing these tools!

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#2

Another cool deck idea would be all the words you need to know to navigate the japanese version of the website

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#3

This would take a lot of work as many frequent words are not present in the current Bunpro lists. I guess they could re-order just the vocab they have now but that would mean waiting until they have finished adding sentences etc for all vocab, I would guess. I would also imagine that, similar to the grammar order, if you change the order then certain sentences will seem amazingly hard due despite being for common vocab just due to the original JLPT ordering.

I personally don’t see the attraction of doing vocab on Bunpro anyway so maybe I am just a whining naysayer in this regard lol

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#4

This has been asked before, and I think is a great idea (same with adding a function to mark multiple grammar points as completed). I really hope the team can eventually work on this at some point, but I know they have a lot going on already.

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#5

Personally, I’m enjoying it.

I started using the original default method, which was just entering the English meaning for a given vocab item. This was suitable for me at the time just to expand my ability to recognize Japanese words and have a sense of what they mean. It was very easy to do, not requiring much mental effort.

But then I switched over to the newer Cloze format, where a sentence is presented with a ‘blank’ (aka a ‘Cloze’) in the space where a vocab item is expected. This form of quizzing is quite a bit more challenging, since it requires not just recognition, but production as well (answering Japanese based on meaning).

With the new Cloze format, I find learning vocab on BunPro to be more rewarding, as you have the option of trying to answer with different degrees of hints/assistance:

  1. no hints (except the surrounding context sentence of the Cloze, which gives me practice with reading, not just vocab);
  2. a Japanese definition-hint (which gives me practice reading definitions such as one might find in a monolingual dictionary);
  3. an English def’n-hint (which helps me understand what the Japanese def’n intended to mean)
  4. The English translation/meaning, alone. This is like a standard production quiz, like what KaniWani provides for WaniKani vocabs.
  5. The English translation of the entire sentence (which allows me to check/understand my initial reading attempt of the original context Cloze sentence).

So, from my perspective, it has become much more than just a simple vocab learning tool.

Perhaps there are already other tools out there that also provide such customizable levels of context sentences (and hence reading practice as well as just vocab production/recognition), definitions, translations, etc. But I am really satisfied with what BunPro is now providing. And I find that it does indeed mesh quite well with the grammar side of the site, which I was initially very skeptical of. (And I also expect this integration to improve in the near future, as they’ve already mentioned plans/features along these lines).

Just my own experience with it. Hope it helps. :slight_smile:

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#6

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the advantages of what Bunpro has but genuinely personally it isn’t for me. It is a good tool for many people though so I’m not complaining.

If it isn’t clear why the vocab tool might not be for everyone I can just list some reasons off the top of my head:

  • Much more intensive review type than non-input/cloze vocab cards (the time would be better spent using the language, depending on your circumstances and goals - especially so when you have like 10k+ cards)
  • Vocab is ordered by JLPT levels which isn’t necessarily useful (as this thread is about)
  • If you already have a significant amount of vocab in another system then adding Bunpro on top seems like overkill
  • If you already know the majority of the words on Bunpro then it is not worth the time (sounds obvious but this is the main reason I don’t have any interest in it)
  • The “good” cloze sentence review type is only available for basic vocab currently
  • Mining is perhaps a better option for learning vocab in sentences (perhaps - I don’t use sentences for vocab at all)
  • Many common words are missing since it is a JLPT study list (not to mention all the other words in the language)
  • The whole thing is on rails and lacks any real ability to cutomise (this is a pro for some people though)
  • Many simple nouns don’t need sentences or Japanese definitions to be learnt
  • The spacing of the SRS itself is not great and whilst it is tolerable for grammar I think it probably wastes a lot of time for vocab

This isn’t meant to be a negative post but just want to show the perspective of someone who uses the site for grammar but really does not see the point in the vocab since perhaps it isn’t immediately obvious why someone might not like it. I do understand that it is a great system for some people though and has certain advantages if you want to learn in a specific way.

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