Flashcards guide
How to use spaced repetition: flashcards that actually stick
Spaced repetition means reviewing each fact just before you would forget it. You test yourself on a card, rate how well you remembered it, and the card comes back later: in a day if it was hard, in weeks or months if it was easy. Because the gaps keep growing, a few minutes of review a day keeps hundreds of facts in memory. It works best with short, one-fact cards and a daily habit.
How spaced repetition works
Memory fades on a curve. In the 1880s the psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus showed that we forget much of something new within a day or two, but each time we successfully recall it, it fades more slowly. Spaced repetition uses that: instead of reviewing everything every day, you review each item at a growing interval.
Two ideas do the work:
- Active recall. Trying to remember the answer before you see it strengthens memory far more than rereading notes.
- Spacing. Reviews spread out over days and weeks beat the same number of reviews crammed into one evening.
Worked example
A new card, "el perro → the dog". You get it right today, so it comes back in a day or so. Right again: a few days later. Then about a week, then a few weeks, then months. Ten reviews can keep one fact for a year or more.
How to grade your answers
Most spaced repetition apps, including Anki and ours, use four buttons. Grade honestly: the schedule is only as good as your ratings.
| Button | When to use it | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Again | You forgot, or got it wrong | The card comes back this session and its interval starts over |
| Hard | Right, but with real effort | A slightly longer gap than last time |
| Good | Right after a moment's thought | The gap grows, roughly doubling or more |
| Easy | Instant | A much longer gap |
If you're unsure whether a half-right answer counts, press Again. Seeing a card one extra time costs a few seconds; learning it wrong costs much more.
How to write good flashcards
- One fact per card. "Capital of Peru → Lima" beats a card listing five capitals.
- Ask a question. The front should make you produce the answer, not just recognise it.
- Keep answers short. If the back needs a paragraph, split it into several cards.
- Make both directions for vocabulary. "perro → dog" and "dog → perro" are different skills.
- Understand first, memorise second. Cards are for facts you already understand. Learn the idea from a book or lesson, then make cards.
A daily routine
Spaced repetition only works if you show up. Reviews that pile up for a week become a wall of cards, so little and often wins.
- Review every day, even for five minutes. Do the due cards first.
- Add new cards slowly. Ten to twenty new cards a day is plenty for most people. Every new card brings reviews with it for weeks.
- Before an exam, start weeks ahead rather than days. Spacing needs time to work.
- Fix bad cards as you meet them. If a card keeps failing, it's usually too big or unclear.
Making a deck in Flashcards
Flashcards is a free spaced repetition app that runs in your browser. It uses a variant of the SM-2 scheduling method, like Anki, but keeps cards plain and simple.
- Make a deck and paste your cards into the Add cards box, one per line. Separate front and back with a tab, comma, semicolon or a dash (perro – dog). Two columns copied from a spreadsheet work as they are.
- Or import a CSV: the first column is the front, the second is the back. There is also a sample deck to try.
- Study: home shows how many cards are due today. Flip a card, then grade it. The time under each button shows when the card will come back.
- On a phone, swipe right for Good, left for Again and up for Easy. On a keyboard, Space shows the answer, the arrow keys grade it, and Z undoes the last answer.
Decks are saved in your browser only. Use Back up to save a file, and Restore to move decks to another device.
Common mistakes
- Cramming new cards. Adding 200 cards on Sunday means hundreds of reviews all week.
- Skipping days. Reviews pile up. Five minutes daily beats an hour on Saturday.
- Grading generously. Pressing Good on a guess teaches the app the wrong schedule.
- Long answers. A card you can't answer in a few seconds is really several cards.
- Only one direction. Recognising a word is easier than producing it. Make both.
- Memorising what you don't understand. Learn the idea first, then make cards for the details.
Questions
How many new flashcards should I learn a day?
Ten to twenty is a comfortable pace for most people. Each new card adds reviews for weeks, so a steady pace beats a big batch.
What is the SM-2 algorithm?
A scheduling method published in 1987 for SuperMemo. It sets each card's next review from how well you remembered it, so intervals grow for easy cards and reset for forgotten ones. Anki and many other apps use variants of it.
Is spaced repetition good for exams?
Yes, for facts, vocabulary, formulas and definitions. Start weeks before the exam so the spacing has time to work, and combine it with practice questions.
What happens if I miss a day?
Cards stay due and wait for you. You will have more to review the next day, so do the due cards before adding new ones.
Can I import cards from a spreadsheet?
Yes. Copy two columns and paste them into the Add cards box, or save as CSV and use Import CSV. The first column is the front and the second the back.
Is Flashcards free?
Yes. Flashcards is free with no account. Your decks are stored in your browser only, with backup and restore to a file.