So I just got the game (the original DS one) earlier today and practiced for a few hours. The one thing that is confusing me a bit now is the completion percentage - when I check it manually ingame, it lists my current level at 26% completion, but when I exit the game and log in again, the splashscreen at the beginning shows a progress of 1% for the same level? Is this a bug of some sort, or am I missing something?

/E: NVM, I just noticed that the startup splashscreen shows the percentage of mykanken entries /facepalm
Well, they certainly could have put the title in a more obvious spot :/

Yeah, for some reason it shows the percentage of cards you've marked for later review. I have no idea how that's a useful metric in the first place, and I'm flummoxed as to why they would think it's important enough to show you that every time you go into your profile.

I've decided to start studying for Kanken after trying out a Level 5 app and doing terribly.

I'm not sure if I'd get on well with a DS stylus, so I was hoping to use Anki if possible, but there aren't any decks specifically for Kanken among Anki's shared ones.

I just did a count of the Core 10k words based on Kanken level and came up with this:

{10=>393, 9=>1029, 8=>1340, 7=>1272, 6=>1164, 5=>824, 4=>1021, 3=>590, 2.5=>390, 2=>176}

It looks like a decent amount of content up to level 4 if I order the deck. Would this be a bad idea for any reason?

jimeux Wrote:I've decided to start studying for Kanken after trying out a Level 5 app and doing terribly.

I'm not sure if I'd get on well with a DS stylus, so I was hoping to use Anki if possible, but there aren't any decks specifically for Kanken among Anki's shared ones.

I just did a count of the Core 10k words based on Kanken level and came up with this:

{10=>393, 9=>1029, 8=>1340, 7=>1272, 6=>1164, 5=>824, 4=>1021, 3=>590, 2.5=>390, 2=>176}

It looks like a decent amount of content up to level 4 if I order the deck. Would this be a bad idea for any reason?

The only decks I know of are those made by people by extracting the data from the DS game. But no-one is willing to share those decks, I guess due to copyright concerns, etc.. There is the basis of a script posted to start ripping the questions out of the data but it needs a lot more work to be usable. I haven't gotten around to fiddling with it. Core 10k is a good deck if you need to start out to learn words. I don't know what your current level is so I can't comment. I went through Core 10k and added another 13,000 words so far. I'm going to use the kanken game to practice recognizing the words from the reading and for writing practice.

By the way, what's a "Level 5 app?"

And also, the 3ds kanken game just went on sale on the Nintendo e-shop. I just picked it up myself. I'll post some impressions after I use it a bit. I like the higher resolution screens on first look.

PotbellyPig Wrote:The only decks I know of are those made by people by extracting the data from the DS game. But no-one is willing to share those decks, I guess due to copyright concerns, etc.. There is the basis of a script posted to start ripping the questions out of the data but it needs a lot more work to be usable. I haven't gotten around to fiddling with it. Core 10k is a good deck if you need to start out to learn words. I don't know what your current level is so I can't comment. I went through Core 10k and added another 13,000 words so far. I'm going to use the kanken game to practice recognizing the words from the reading and for writing practice.

By the way, what's a "Level 5 app?"

And also, the 3ds kanken game just went on sale on the Nintendo e-shop. I just picked it up myself. I'll post some impressions after I use it a bit. I like the higher resolution screens on first look.

My level's relatively high. I did RTK years ago and I passed N1 a couple of years ago. I've only used it a little for shadowing, but I probably know 99% of Core 10k words. I didn't study writing until recently though, and what I've been doing doesn't seem very effective.

The app was 漢検４級！ (not level 5 ). It's not that good, but it made me realise that Kanken questions are actually quite useful, and much more of a real test than the JLPT. I feel like I've been stagnating since passing N1.

I was planning to set up Core 10k in the 書き取り style of that app. So questions would be like this:「パソコンの機能をカクチョウしようと思う。」and the answer would be the word in handwriting font. There are tons of sentences in Anki shared decks and the Tanaka corpus, so I guess I can keep building from there. Maybe I'll make some kind of database of words in sentences ordered by Kanken level. Is there anything special about the 3DS app other than the question formats?

jimeux Wrote:

PotbellyPig Wrote:The only decks I know of are those made by people by extracting the data from the DS game. But no-one is willing to share those decks, I guess due to copyright concerns, etc.. There is the basis of a script posted to start ripping the questions out of the data but it needs a lot more work to be usable. I haven't gotten around to fiddling with it. Core 10k is a good deck if you need to start out to learn words. I don't know what your current level is so I can't comment. I went through Core 10k and added another 13,000 words so far. I'm going to use the kanken game to practice recognizing the words from the reading and for writing practice.

By the way, what's a "Level 5 app?"

And also, the 3ds kanken game just went on sale on the Nintendo e-shop. I just picked it up myself. I'll post some impressions after I use it a bit. I like the higher resolution screens on first look.

My level's relatively high. I did RTK years ago and I passed N1 a couple of years ago. I've only used it a little for shadowing, but I probably know 99% of Core 10k words. I didn't study writing until recently though, and what I've been doing doesn't seem very effective.

The app was 漢検４級！ (not level 5 ). It's not that good, but it made me realise that Kanken questions are actually quite useful, and much more of a real test than the JLPT. I feel like I've been stagnating since passing N1.

I was planning to set up Core 10k in the 書き取り style of that app. So questions would be like this:「パソコンの機能をカクチョウしようと思う。」and the answer would be the word in handwriting font. There are tons of sentences in Anki shared decks and the Tanaka corpus, so I guess I can keep building from there. Maybe I'll make some kind of database of words in sentences ordered by Kanken level. Is there anything special about the 3DS app other than the question formats?

The questions are it's strong point. They come from the kanken step books. Also you get quick feedback because your write in the app. Another alternative if you are willing to pay monthly is skritter. I used it to learn to write. You can simply set it to go through the RTK books and it uses a SRS algorithm to do so. You write in the app just like in the 3ds game. You can also use it to study whole words. It is available on the PC and there is an ios app and a beta android version.

I've gone through a few tests on the new 3ds kanken game. Are they supposed to repeat questions from a previous test even if you didn't get it wrong? I've noticed that on each test there are some repeated questions. I was under the impression that questions wouldn't repeat until the full question list was cycled through.

Also, I noticed that sometimes a question regarding the same word appears on two different parts of the test. I don't think that would happen on an actual kanken test but since I never took one, I don't know for sure.

Seems strange that they would repeat questions in the new game - I don't remember that happening in the DS3 game (only up to level 8 though). I've noticed that, on the DS3 game I've been playing, they might ask for the same word/reading in different tests, but the sentences are different. Or they have the same sentence but ask questions about different parts of that sentence in different tests. Is that what you mean?

And yes, I've seen the same latter issue - that the same word shows up in different parts of the same test. I think it's because the question bank might be randomized so occasionally the same word is tested a couple of times in the test.

rmpalpha Wrote:Seems strange that they would repeat questions in the new game - I don't remember that happening in the DS3 game (only up to level 8 though). I've noticed that, on the DS3 game I've been playing, they might ask for the same word/reading in different tests, but the sentences are different. Or they have the same sentence but ask questions about different parts of that sentence in different tests. Is that what you mean?

And yes, I've seen the same latter issue - that the same word shows up in different parts of the same test. I think it's because the question bank might be randomized so occasionally the same word is tested a couple of times in the test.

Hmmm... You might be right. Most of the time I just skim the sentence because the answer is obvious so it's possible that the sentence is different but the word/answer is the same. I have to play closer attention. I've started at level 5 to get a taste of it. I usually fail most of the kanji radical questions (at least the part where you need to know the name) because I never studied them but still pass the exams. I'm doing it for the practice of recognizing the words in their reading form and then writing them out. It seems okay so far. It's more interesting than just doing recognition in Anki. Just seems that I've seen some of the same words a few times already though the sentences they appear in may be different.

PotbellyPig Wrote:Hmmm... You might be right. Most of the time I just skim the sentence because the answer is obvious so it's possible that the sentence is different but the word/answer is the same. I have to play closer attention.

I'm pretty sure the questions are repeating; I noticed the same thing myself. I took a test, then when I did training afterwards, I saw same questions again. I also think they were in the same order, but I am much less certain about that.

I only did two tests because I had forgotten you could only level up once per day. However, between those two tests there were no repeat questions.

TiddleMonkey Wrote:

PotbellyPig Wrote:Hmmm... You might be right. Most of the time I just skim the sentence because the answer is obvious so it's possible that the sentence is different but the word/answer is the same. I have to play closer attention.

I'm pretty sure the questions are repeating; I noticed the same thing myself. I took a test, then when I did training afterwards, I saw same questions again. I also think they were in the same order, but I am much less certain about that.

I only did two tests because I had forgotten you could only level up once per day. However, between those two tests there were no repeat questions.

I'm mainly talking about repetition between tests. I'm not sure how training works. I saw that note about only being able to level up once a day when I read the introductory screens when you start playing, but I forgot what it actually means. Does it have do with points or something?

I must of misunderstood what putting items into "My Kanken" meant. I didn't realize that the questions in there keep getting repeated on the tests until you uncheck them. For some reason I thought it worked in the opposite manner. I think that's where most of the repetition was coming from. I just cleared out the section and I'll see how it goes on the next test I take.

Probably some of you will find this video interesting. They say this guy is the only person in USA that has beaten 漢字検定１級.

和の心を極すごい外国人

Hi!

I'm going to buy a Japanese New 3DS and perhaps I will buy Kouekizaidan Houjin Nihon Kanji Nouryoku Kentei Kyoukai : Kanji Training with it. I have some questions though...

1) Are the complex kanji (pre-1 and 1 levels) easier to read thanks to the resolution? On DS I had troubles reading some kanji.

2) Are there explanations for those kanji? IIRC in Kanken DS3 Deluxe only kanji up to level 2 had details (readings, stroke order, example sentences...) when you clicked on them.

3) It's not especially related to the game but since the jouyou list has been expanded in 2010, is the level 2 kanken different and does it take new jouyou kanji into consideration? If so, and since Kanken DS3 Deluxe was released before the new list, that would make that new version a must buy.

4) If someone played both games (DS and 3DS versions), can he tell the major differences between the two versions?


Thank you.

Kanken Wrote:Hi!

I'm going to buy a Japanese New 3DS and perhaps I will buy Kouekizaidan Houjin Nihon Kanji Nouryoku Kentei Kyoukai : Kanji Training with it. I have some questions though...

1) Are the complex kanji (pre-1 and 1 levels) easier to read thanks to the resolution? On DS I had troubles reading some kanji.

2) Are there explanations for those kanji? IIRC in Kanken DS3 Deluxe only kanji up to level 2 had details (readings, stroke order, example sentences...) when you clicked on them.

3) It's not especially related to the game but since the jouyou list has been expanded in 2010, is the level 2 kanken different and does it take new jouyou kanji into consideration? If so, and since Kanken DS3 Deluxe was released before the new list, that would make that new version a must buy.

4) If someone played both games (DS and 3DS versions), can he tell the major differences between the two versions?


Thank you.

I think the main benefit is that the text is clearer because the screen is higher resolution on the 3ds. However, when you look at real high stroke count characters they still get a little muddled because they have to be written in a fairly small space but I don't think you'll have a real hard time making them out. I would suggest getting at 3ds ll model with the larger screens (which is what I have). There are other nice touches like a sakura branch with flowers blooming to show your progress but that's superficial. I didn't look at the kanji details yet. As for the contents, at the company's website description it's the same as in those green problem compilation books. You may get an idea of what kanji it includes by looking at those books. By the way, you are aiming for the pre-1 and 1 levels? That's pretty amazing. From what I understand most natives stop at level 2.

By the way. for people taking the Kanken, is it a good idea to buy the red Kanken step books? From what I understand the 3ds game has the problems from the green books which is basically a compilation of questions. Is the vocabulary in the red books? I haven't looked at one in a while. So far I have been relying with the existing vocabulary knowledge which is at about 23k words. I know the jouyou kanji and maybe a few hundred others. I first did some 5 kyuu tests on the game and passed them. I am now starting 4 kyuu. I failed the first test but passed it the second time. It is definitely more challenging. The kanken tests makes you think more than just simple recognition. How far do you think I can get without some major additional studying? I think I'll exhaust the 4 kyuu problems in the game and then go to 3 kyuu. If the vocabulary is in the step books, I guess I'll pick them up if I get stuck. Please let me know.

Can you link the books you're talking about? I have no idea what you mean by red or green books.

erlog Wrote:Can you link the books you're talking about? I have no idea what you mean by red or green books.

Oh sorry. I was referring to the step books (red on the cover) and the corresponding 問題集 (green). From what I understood, they were the most popular books to uses for the test. I just looked back at some of your old posts and you stated you used the step books so I am assuming these are the same as I am referring to.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%BC%A2%E6%A4%...3%E7%B4%9A

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%BC%A2%E6%A4%...3%E7%B4%9A

I used the Step books and found them to be invaluable for the kanji/vocab lists, as well as practice items and example sentences. I found all the official Kanken books to be good for studying.

patriconia Wrote:I used the Step books and found them to be invaluable for the kanji/vocab lists, as well as practice items and example sentences. I found all the official Kanken books to be good for studying.

Okay, I'll check out the step books then. Did you buy any others? I see that the corresponding book at each level with the problems is loaded into the 3ds game (that's where the questions come from.) There's the 4 character kanji compound book which also seems to be loaded into the game. But I can see where one would want to print edition of it just to be able to scan through it.

PotbellyPig Wrote:

patriconia Wrote:I used the Step books and found them to be invaluable for the kanji/vocab lists, as well as practice items and example sentences. I found all the official Kanken books to be good for studying.

Okay, I'll check out the step books then. Did you buy any others? I see that the corresponding book at each level with the problems is loaded into the 3ds game (that's where the questions come from.) There's the 4 character kanji compound book which also seems to be loaded into the game. But I can see where one would want to print edition of it just to be able to scan through it.

I don't have a 3DS, so I never played the 3DS game. The Step books actually were the core of my studying. What I would do is make a vocab list out of all the words from lists in the Step book. Then, I would build that into an Anki deck. When I would finish reviewing a full step of the vocab, I would practice writing each vocab word and then complete that section of the Step book. When I completed the Step book, I would review using the blue 分野別問題集 (also an official kanken book), while taking practice tests from the green 過去問題集 book to benchmark my progress. I also had an iOS app called 漢検プチドリル5000 that I would use for practice, but most of my study was based around those three official kanken books.

patriconia Wrote:

PotbellyPig Wrote:

patriconia Wrote:I used the Step books and found them to be invaluable for the kanji/vocab lists, as well as practice items and example sentences. I found all the official Kanken books to be good for studying.

Okay, I'll check out the step books then. Did you buy any others? I see that the corresponding book at each level with the problems is loaded into the 3ds game (that's where the questions come from.) There's the 4 character kanji compound book which also seems to be loaded into the game. But I can see where one would want to print edition of it just to be able to scan through it.

I don't have a 3DS, so I never played the 3DS game. The Step books actually were the core of my studying. What I would do is make a vocab list out of all the words from lists in the Step book. Then, I would build that into an Anki deck. When I would finish reviewing a full step of the vocab, I would practice writing each vocab word and then complete that section of the Step book. When I completed the Step book, I would review using the blue 分野別問題集 (also an official kanken book), while taking practice tests from the green 過去問題集 book to benchmark my progress. I also had an iOS app called 漢検プチドリル5000 that I would use for practice, but most of my study was based around those three official kanken books.

Thanks for the detailed info on the books. I have been just taking tests in the 3ds game, which are the equivalent of the ones in the green 過去問題集 book. When I see a word I don't know, I record it and add it to anki later. The last few practice tests I have been taking are 4 kyuu and I have passed them. The main trouble I am having are with he 4 kanji compounds and the kakitori. I've read about 30 light novels and have a good number of 4 kanji compounds in my deck but not to this extent. Also since I've been doing anki by recognition, seeing the reading and going backwards takes some effort. I'm going to exhaust the 4 kyuu practice tests and go on to 3 kyuu. I think I'll buy the step books for 3 kyuu and pre-2 kyuu in advance since I bet it'll start getting really harder and I'll need them.

PotbellyPig Wrote:

erlog Wrote:Can you link the books you're talking about? I have no idea what you mean by red or green books.

Oh sorry. I was referring to the step books (red on the cover) and the corresponding 問題集 (green). From what I understood, they were the most popular books to uses for the test. I just looked back at some of your old posts and you stated you used the step books so I am assuming these are the same as I am referring to.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%BC%A2%E6%A4%...3%E7%B4%9A

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%BC%A2%E6%A4%...3%E7%B4%9A

Yeah, those are the kind of books I used. I was just confused because those books are yellow, but you said they were red.

erlog Wrote:

PotbellyPig Wrote:

erlog Wrote:Can you link the books you're talking about? I have no idea what you mean by red or green books.

Oh sorry. I was referring to the step books (red on the cover) and the corresponding 問題集 (green). From what I understood, they were the most popular books to uses for the test. I just looked back at some of your old posts and you stated you used the step books so I am assuming these are the same as I am referring to.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%BC%A2%E6%A4%...3%E7%B4%9A

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%BC%A2%E6%A4%...3%E7%B4%9A

Yeah, those are the kind of books I used. I was just confused because those books are yellow, but you said they were red.

The text is either green or red...

Looks like I found my limit without studying with the practice exams in the 3ds game. After passing 4 kyuu many times in a row, I proceeded to take a 3 kyuu test. It is harder but I would probably pass if it weren't for the 4 kanji compounds. At the 3 kyuu level it asks to write two of the characters in each compound and I just don't know enough of them. I took the test two times and I'm failing by 7 or 8 points each time. Do the step books for each level contain a list of the 4 kanji compounds? I'm assuming the books have them but I just want to make sure. In the meantime I guess I'll just practice the kakitori section which I am also a bit weak in.