Picture Stories vs WaniKani vs Anki for Kanji

Short answer: WaniKani is a paid, guided course that teaches radicals, then kanji, then vocabulary. Anki is a free, flexible flashcard tool where you choose or build the content. Picture-story apps like Kanji Guide teach meaning and shape through stories first. The best one is the one you will open every day.

We make Kanji Guide, so we have a stake in this. We will describe the other two as accurately as we can, say where they are stronger, and say where Kanji Guide falls short.

The three approaches

WaniKani

WaniKani is a web service from Tofugu. It has 60 levels and teaches in a set order: its own “radicals” (building blocks), then kanji, then vocabulary using those kanji. Each item has a mnemonic, for the meaning and for the reading. Reviews follow a spaced schedule, and you type your answers, English for meanings and hiragana for readings.

What it does well: a clear path, readings and vocabulary taught together with the kanji, and typed recall. The pace and order are set for you, which many people find a relief.

What to know: it is a paid service. Check the WaniKani site for the current price and free levels. The order is fixed, so if you want a particular kanji now, you may have to wait.

Anki

Anki is a free, open-source flashcard program that schedules reviews with spaced repetition. It is a tool, not a course. You pick a kanji deck from the community, or make your own cards, with whatever is on them: meaning, reading, story, picture, sentence.

What it does well: flexibility and price. The desktop program is free, AnkiDroid on Android is free, and the iPhone app is a paid download. You can tune everything, and it works for any subject.

What to know: the quality of your learning depends on the deck and your setup. A beginner can spend the first week choosing decks and settings. There is no built-in path, so you decide the order.

Picture stories (Kanji Guide)

Kanji Guide teaches 2131 kanji from N5 to N1. Each kanji has a short story that breaks it into parts, a picture for some, an animated stroke order, readings with example words, and a spaced review. It follows the idea of Remembering the Kanji: meaning and shape first, using stories.

What it does well: it explains why a kanji looks the way it does, which helps with similar shapes. It is free in the browser, and there is an iPhone app.

What to know: pictures exist for N5 and for 77 of the 169 N4 kanji, so far. Readings are shown with example words and are not taught through mnemonics. It is a kanji tool, not a full Japanese course. There is no handwriting input.

Side by side

	WaniKani	Anki	Kanji Guide
Type	Guided course	Flashcard tool	Guided kanji course
Starting point	Radicals, then kanji	Whatever your deck contains	Meaning and shape through stories
Mnemonics	Yes, for meaning and reading	Only if the deck has them	Stories for every kanji
Readings	Taught with kanji	Depends on the deck	Shown with example words
Vocabulary	Part of the course	Depends on the deck	Example words only
Cost	Subscription	Free software, paid iPhone app	Free in the browser
Where	Web	Desktop, Android, iPhone	Browser, iPhone app

Check each site for current details. Prices and features change.

Which kind of learner fits which

You like structure and want one thing to follow. WaniKani or Kanji Guide. WaniKani covers vocabulary too, Kanji Guide is faster to start and free in the browser.

You like to tinker and want control. Anki. You will get exactly what you set up. It pairs well with other tools, for example you can put Kanji Guide stories on cards if you want them.

You struggle to remember shapes. A story-based approach, either WaniKani’s or ours, is likely to help. Take a look at how kanji mnemonics work.

You are on Android. Anki works through AnkiDroid. Kanji Guide runs in Chrome. See a kanji app for Android.

You want vocabulary at the same time. WaniKani or Anki with a vocabulary deck. Kanji Guide shows example words but does not drill vocabulary.

Questions to ask before paying for anything

• What can I use before I pay, and is it enough to judge the method?
• Can I use it on every device I own?
• If I stop paying, what do I keep?
• Can I get my progress out if I leave?

Those four questions will save you more money than any comparison table.

Can you combine them?

Yes, and many learners do. A common mix is a guided course for learning new kanji, and Anki for sentences or personal vocabulary. It costs more time, so only do it if you have the time.

What does not work well is switching every two weeks. Each approach needs a month before you can judge it.

An example of the difference

Take 休 (rest). In a story-first approach, you meet it as a scene:

A tired person (亻) leans back against a tree (木) with eyes closed to rest.

In WaniKani, you would learn the parts first, in its own words, then the kanji with its own mnemonic, then words such as 休む. In a plain Anki deck, you might see 休 on one side and “rest, kyuu, yasu.mu” on the other. All three can work. The difference is how much help you get with the shape and how much structure is given to you.

How to choose in ten minutes

1. Try the free parts of each. Kanji Guide’s N5 list and study app are free in the browser.
2. Learn ten kanji with each approach over a few days.
3. Check which one you went back to without being asked.

That last step matters most. The best method is the one you keep doing.

Try the story approach

Open the app and learn your first five. For the thinking behind it, read the picture-story method.