FAQ
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As you start following the 9 to 5 Japanese system, you will run into common questions and little pain points. This FAQ collects the most frequent ones, along with my tips and tricks to make the routine smoother.
Do I have to mine exactly ten words every morning?
No. Ten is a target, not a rule. Some mornings you will find a great batch quickly; other mornings you might only get six or seven good cards. Do not chase the number. A few clean, well-chosen cards every weekday beat a big, rushed batch.
What if I miss a day of reviews?
- Clear your Anki backlog the next morning.
- Do not let it pile up for multiple days.
- If life happens, reviews > new cards, always.
What if I miss a morning of mining?
No problem. Just do your reviews and mine the next day. Missing a batch here and there will not hurt you; skipping reviews for days will. Consistency over the long run matters far more than any single morning.
Can I still mine on the weekend if I want to?
You can, but you do not need to. Weekends are built in as rest so the routine stays sustainable. If you are enjoying a show and want to mine a few cards, go ahead. Just do not turn it into an obligation.
Can I watch raw anime during JP1K or Kana Bootcamp?
Yes, but do not stress about it. During those phases the focus is kana and then vocab. If you want to watch raw (or with subs) casually, go ahead. Just do not treat it as study yet.
What if raw immersion feels like noise?
That is normal at first. The trick is:
- Keep watching daily.
- Notice when words from Anki pop out.
- Let comprehension grow gradually. It is not supposed to be comfortable in the beginning. You are training your ear.
What about grammar?
Learn basic grammar once (Tae Kim, Cure Dolly, etc.). After that, grammar is acquired naturally through input. Vocabulary is the bottleneck, not grammar.
How do I handle leeches (words that never stick)?
Mortician auto-deletes them (3 lapses for reviewed cards, 5 for new, with no notifications). Do not stress. If the word is important, it will come back later in a new context.
Should I use mnemonics?
For kana, mnemonics can help. For vocab, context (sentences, audio, images) is enough. Do not waste time building elaborate stories.
Extra Tips & Tricks
- Mine before you review. Doing your ten cards right after mining them keeps the context fresh.
- Use hotkeys (
lto pause,hto repeat a line,mto append media) to make mining smoother. - One show per season. Consistency makes reinforcement stronger.
- Listen once a day. Do not loop episode audio endlessly; once or twice is plenty.
- Do not chase "Easy" / "Hard." Keep your grading binary.
- Remember the loop: mine + review each morning → immerse by day and night → rest on the weekend → repeat.
The system works because it is simple. Do not overcomplicate it. Stick to the loop, trust the process, and let the numbers add up.