Over the past few years, I’ve mentioned countless times that we really need an SRS system to make studying Japanese grammar more convenient. Something like WaniKani but for grammar instead of Kanji. I was always eagerly awaiting EtoEto the revamped version of Textfugu which wasn’t bad in its days but just lacks content above the very beginner stages. EtoEto still isn’t publicly released (there is a beta though) but we got something else from the WK community: Meet Bunpro the first SRS program for Japanese grammar and a welcome addition for every Japanese study routine.
It’s free sorts grammar points after the JLPT level and the SRS system works like a charm. It’s not free anymore but with 5$/month or 50$/year it’s well worth the money.
The best thing for me though: You can study wherever you are and just need your phone or tablet. I know this was possible before with the countless sites focused on Japanese grammar but Bunpro tells you exactly what to study (mighty SRS) and gives you the convenience to have everything in one place.
The biggest obstacle to overcome when studying: Not really knowing what to do next. Apart from staying motivated, this is the reason why so many people (including me) lose track of their study goals. And that’s the reason why WaniKani and iKnow work so well. You always know exactly what to do next to get one step closer to your goal.
The system
As I already mentioned Bunpro is teaching you every grammar point you need in order to pass JLPTN5 to N1 or rather that’s the ultimate idea. Right now you have access to nearly everything excluding N1. I don’t really know how many grammar points are exactly included in each JLPT section but be reassured that you will be quite busy for a while with the content already provided.
More are added on regular basis as well as constant improvements to the overall look and feel of the site. Each JLPT level is sorted into 10 packs which contain various amounts of grammar points.
Each item presents you the essence and constructions on how to use it together with a couple of example sentences. The last entry called “reading” gives you a couple of links to third-party sites (usually Tae Kim, Maggie Sensei, etc.) which also cover that grammar point you’re learning. If you check the boxes after each link the item will be moved to your study queue and the magic of SRS begins.
Everything is in one place grammar-wise. The gist of the content, external links and you can even take your own notes (which I do pretty often as of late).
And that’s why Brunpro is awesome
I’m using Bunpro for a couple of weeks now and it’s just great to cram in a little grammar study here and there. The SRS system intervals are a little too tight for my taste. You really have to answer an item right a couple of times until you won’t see it for 2/4 days. Maybe it’s more practical this way for grammar but otherwise, I would prefer the more stretched-out SRS intervals you’re used to by WaniKani. If I’m correct a feature to adjust the times to your own liking is already in the making.
There are weeks when I would never have the calm to just sit down and study a little grammar with a textbook. But Bunpro is different. You can just pick it up go through your study queue and be done with it. Wherever you are. You don’t have to memorize where you left off or read walls of text. Just go through your study queue and whenever you feel like it, you can add some more grammar points to study.
Bunpro just released an open Beta of their iOS App for iPhone and iPad and I’m taking part in it. Things are looking promising and I like the layout so far. What I don’t really like is how the virtual keyboard is overshadowing the input area on the screen. I guess this gets a visual revamp in the final version though.
On a textbook note: I just received とびら (Tobira), a textbook for intermediate students, in the mail. It’s sort of the logical continuation from Genki but I read that it’s a pretty big step up in difficulty. I just had a little glimpse inside and the whole structure already looks a lot like Genki (which is great because it’s an awesome textbook). But more about Tobira with another post when I had the time properly work with it.
Let me know your thoughts about Bunpro. Are you already using it or did you just start?
You can already feel the whole Christmas vibe and I have prepared accordingly. Tobira is on the way (wanted to pick this one up for ages) and I can’t wait to dive right into it these holidays. It’s been a while since I last used a textbook. My Dentistry studies currently take most of my time and the weekends are crammed with studying for tests or working in the lab.
I always try to squeeze some more Japanese into my life. Watched Terrace House (which is awesome and highly recommended btw), still searching for a nice Japanese blog about video games and probably just downloading THAT Senran Kagura game for the Switch. You know, to try out the tech.
If you have any recommendations for Twitter/Instagram accounts to follow, podcasts to listen to, or Blogs to read. Please share them! I’m always more than grateful.
I liked the website and the structure. But, the voice in the examples don’t look like native Japanese. Am I wrong ?
When I used it there was no audio at all so I don‘t really know. If you‘re a WaniKani subscriber as well, you can find a thread by the guys who made Bunpro.
Nice! I’m currently using Duolingo (finished the tree, just leveling everything up), plus WaniKani (level 12), JapanesePod101 (Beginner series) and JOI (Beginner 2), but bunpro is definetely in my list to check out (between this, KanjiBox and iKnow).
Check out iKnow. When you can manage it together with WaniKani it‘s a great combination. But a time consuming one.
This looks awesome! I’m going to try it out. I’ve been losing motivation with WaniKani for months now but I still use it, I think that even if I don’t get enough of my reviews done it’s better than studying nothing at all. Hope Bunpro works out like this for me too.
Let me know what you think about Bunpro. It works a lot like WankiKani and was definitely heavily inspired by it. I think its awesome that you at least try to do a few reviews each day. There were countless times when I didn’t even manage to do that. A little each day really goes a long way :)