Purpose of the post

If you have something that you want to learn slowly (which is how you should always aim to learn) that involves memorization in some capacity, Anki is a great tool. Examples that come to mind immediately are language learning, big standardized exams, and courses in school that have a lot of vocabulary to know.

Summary

  • Anki is a flashcard application for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS. It is free on every type of device except iOS.

    • note: If you do not want to pay for it on iOS, you can always use a browser to navigate to AnkiWeb on your iOS device to review your cards.

  • It uses a powerful spaced repetition system. You see cards you are unfamiliar with more often than cards you are familiar with.

  • You can make flashcards with all types of media. Images, sound, gifs, etc.

  • This post intends to be a straightforward introduction to Anki. I use it for learning Spanish, and I have found it to be an invaluable tool.

Getting Started

Installation

I am going to get started with the desktop application. Once set up on the desktop application, you can then sync your settings and use the mobile applications if you prefer.

Download and install the latest stable release from Anki’s homepage.

Create a Deck

Create a deck using the “create deck” button on the bottom. Imgur

Decks should be very broad. In the context of language learning, I have one deck for Spanish as opposed to having a deck for food in Spanish, verbs of action in Spanish, and so on.

I think that you should resist the temptation to download other people’s decks. It takes time to create your own deck, but in my experience having your own deck is more effective.

Add some cards

Time to add some cards. Anki comes with some built-in card types that you can use.

  • Basic Type: This is what you’d think of as a paper flashcard. It has an option to create just one card or two, depending on if you also want to see the reverse of the card. In the context of language learning, these are great for definitions (try to use pictures and gifs along with your native language, it helps!). As an example:

    • Click add.Add card

    • Add words/images/gifs. For opening a door, I have a gif of Cramer opening the door. I think it helps when you have a personal touch to your cards. Add words

    • Don’t forget to change the deck from Default to whatever deck you are creating! Change deck

  • Cloze Type: These are similar to “fill in the blank” cards. They are my go-to cards currently because they give context to the words you are learning. I also like them for conjugations.

    • Click type, then change to cloze. Open the card

    • In this example I’ll want to guess how to say “Abriste” in the sentence “Abriste la puerta”. Type all of “Abriste la puerta”. Type abriste la puerta

    • Highlight the part you want to get, and press […] for a cloze deletion. Insert cloze deletion

    • You’ll get the following: What you’ll see

    • Type two colons, then the english, then add the card. Add the English

    • This is what you’ll see when you review: When you review

    • When you show the answer: Answer when you review

Time to play

I always find that, once I have enough information to start something, the best way to learn is by doing. There are a lot of great videos out there on making and configuring Anki decks. Here are some of my recommendations:

  • Try to be regular on your reviews. I like to review in the morning while I have my coffee. Anki is an investment that pays great dividends.

  • It can be easy to add too many cards. A general trend is to be incredibly enthusiastic about projects towards the beginning, and, as a result, it is easy to create or perhaps download a hundred cards a day when you start. Aim for ten to thirty a day, depending on your time, then after a week, begin to evaluate what works for you.

  • At the bottom of Anki cards, you have an option to tag a card. You can use those tags to then filter your cards if you want to review something specific. For example, if you are taking a physics course and you had the diligence to tag based on topic, you can filter the cards you study based on that topic.

  • Anki supports LaTeX, the mathematics typesetting language! You can make flashcards for all your science and mathematics classes using it.$$

  • I think it is best to add cards slowly, but if you want to add a bunch of cards at the same time and not get overwhelmed, it may be helpful to go to options and change the “new cards/day” option.

    • Open options
    • Change the daily limits

  • For language learners:

    • For those of you unlucky enough to be learning languages that don’t sound like they are pronounced, check out Forvo. Once you make an account, you can search words to hear how they’re pronounced, download the mp3 of the pronunciation, then simply drag that file from your downloads to an Anki card. So helpful.

    • As much as you can, try to learn groups of words. You can make a flashcard with hacer (to make) and another with una pregunta (a question), but that won’t help you learn that in Spanish instead of asking a question, you “hacer una pregunta”.

Do a little bit every day, explore the features, and enjoy!