Read The Kanji Blog

We have received a lot of questions asking how to control the repetition of certain kanji during a quiz.  Most people would like to lessen the repetition of kanji that they feel they have a good handle on.  So, how do you do this?

The answer is simple.  Under the PREFS link on the menu, you will see a Repetition Factor setting about half way down.  You can set this factor to any integer between 1 and 10 to control how ofter kanji are repeated during the quiz.

But how does this work?  What is the Repetition Factor?

As you progress through the quiz, Read The Kanji determines a strength rating for each kanji that is quizzed.  The Repetition Factor uses this strength rating to determine how often to repeat certain kanji.

For example, if you set the Repetition Factor to 1, then kanji that have a strength factor above 10% will be repeated less often than kanji below the 10% rating; if you set the factor to 6, then kanji with ratings above 60% will be quizzed less than kanji with rating less than 60%.  The strength rating of any partcular kanji is dependent on how often you correctly (or incorrectly) read it throughout the course of the quiz.  Every time you read a kanji correctly, the strength rating is increased; every time you incorrectly read one, it decreases.

So, if you want to breeze through kanji readings of a certain level, simply set the Repetition Factor to a low setting, like 1 or 2.  This will cause any kanji that you read correctly to be repeated far less frequently than any kanji that you have either read incorrectly or haven’t seen yet.  If you want a more intensive review session, then set the Repetition Factor to a high setting, like 8 or 9.  This will cause most of the readings you have already seen to continuously repeat, allowing you to master a select group of kanji before a new set of readings are displayed.