Stalled Japanese
A 1,480-day Anki streak ended, and the relief was the lesson
Posted by u/TheStellarJay1 in r/languagelearning on 2026-02-16 · read the original
Summarised here as captured on 2026-08-27. Posts can be edited or deleted after that.
Time48 months
Per day~1.5 h
Est. total hours~1800–2400
Started fromscratch
Prior related languageunknown
Level claimedadvanced enough that new vocabulary had diminishing returns
The hour range is arithmetic on the learner's own figures (~1.5 h × 48 months), not a measurement.
Level evidence: self assessed. The learner graded themselves. Treat the level as a claim, not a measurement.
In their words
it felt more and more like I was fighting with Anki rather than using it as a tool
as you enter the higher levels of any language, the vocab becomes a lot more specialized and infrequent
Excerpts only — the full post is the author's.
What they used, and what for
Grouped by the job each tool did for this learner.
SRS
- Anki
30–40 min daily, growing to 45
Their verdict: became a job rather than a tool
passive listening
- Sentence mining from film and TV not in our catalogue
~30 min daily
reading
- Yomitan not in our catalogue
Pop-up dictionary while mining
- Reading before bed not in our catalogue 20–30 min daily
What they say moved the needle
- dropping the SRS deck once it crowded out input
Their attribution, not a finding. People are not reliable narrators of which part of their own routine worked.
Approaches in play
- Spaced Repetition — Review each item just as you're about to forget it, so a fixed amount of study buys far more long-term retention.
- Sentence Mining — Pull sentences you almost understand out of things you're already watching or reading, and turn each into one flashcard.
- Extensive Reading — Read a large volume of books that are easy for you, for pleasure and without a dictionary, until reading becomes automatic.
What this account leaves open
- The level is described by feel; no JLPT or other test anchors it.
- How much of the four years' progress came from the SRS versus the daily input alongside it is not separable from the account.
Not a criticism of the author — a guide to how far the log can carry you.