Good flashcards are simple, fast, and focused on recall. For Japanese, prioritize audio, example‑driven cards, and kanji support. Here’s what to look for, how to design cards, and a routine that scales.
Must‑have features
- Spaced repetition with adjustable intervals and bury/suspend controls
- Audio on both sides for pronunciation
- Easy example sentences on card backs
- Kanji fields with stroke order or component references
- Tags and filters for targeted sessions (JLPT level, topic, phonetic series)
Card design that works
- Keep the front minimal (Japanese → meaning or meaning → Japanese).
- Put short examples and audio on the back.
- One fact per card; split multi‑fact items.
- For kanji, include one high‑value compound and component cues.
Starter deck templates
- Front: Japanese → Back: meaning + short example + audio.
- Front: meaning → Back: Japanese (optionally note pitch accent).
- Front: kanji → Back: reading + 1 example word; include stroke order ref.
- Front: phrase (collocation) → Back: paraphrase + audio.
Daily routine
- Reviews first (≤ 20–30m). Protect this cap.
- Add 15–30 new items/day from real input.
- Tag leeches; rebuild with better examples.
Pitfalls
- Packing grammar essays onto cards; keep them short.
- Only studying lists; mine items from what you read/hear.
- Ignoring kanji components; look‑alikes will slow you down.
Metrics
- Daily review time and accuracy trend.
- New items vs leeches per week.
- Unknown words per 1,000 in your reading.
How Kanji Koi fits
- Phrase‑friendly SRS with fast user experience.
- Component/phonetic breakdowns and stroke‑order animations for kanji.
- Offline support for commute‑length sessions.
Use Kanji Koi to attach component notes to kanji cards and add collocations you actually encounter. This keeps decks lean and high‑value, and your recognition improves where it matters: in real reading.
If kanji are part of your deck, tools that show stroke order and related components make forms stick and reduce confusion between look‑alikes.