Anki Guide

Anki's original scheduling algorithm was SM-2 (SuperMemo 2), developed in the 1980s. It's reliable and widely proven. However, modern research has produced a successor: FSRS (Free Spaced Repetition Scheduler), which builds an individual memory model for each card rather than applying a universal formula.

FSRS typically reduces total review time while maintaining the same — or better — retention rate. It's now built into Anki and is the recommended algorithm for new users. We enable it in Section 3.

Flashcards force you to actively retrieve a piece of information from memory before seeing the answer. This is called the testing effect (or retrieval practice effect), and it produces considerably stronger, more durable memories than passively re-reading notes or highlighting text.

Crucially, even a failed attempt to recall something — where you guess wrong before flipping the card — improves later retention more than never testing yourself at all. The mental effort of trying to retrieve, even unsuccessfully, is what drives the memory consolidation.

This is why learners who use Anki consistently see results that feel disproportionate to the time invested.

FSRS is Anki's modern scheduling algorithm. It outperforms SM-2 by building an individual memory model for each card, adapting to your personal memory patterns over time rather than applying a one-size-fits-all formula.

To access these settings, click the gear icon (⚙) beside your deck and choose Options:

Scroll down past Daily Limits and New Cards to reach the FSRS section:

1. Scroll to the FSRS section within Options
2. Toggle FSRS on
3. Set Desired retention to 0.90 — this means Anki aims for you to correctly recall 90% of cards when they come due
4. Click Save
5. After 300+ reviews: return here and click Optimise Current Preset to personalise the model to you

The top portion of Options controls how many new cards Anki introduces each day and how many reviews it schedules.

Key settings explained:

• New cards/day: Start conservatively — 10–15 per day is a sustainable pace for most learners. Every new card you introduce now creates future review obligations. It's easy to add more later; recovering from a backlog is demoralising.
• Maximum reviews/day: Set this to 9999 (effectively unlimited) and let FSRS decide the actual workload. Artificially capping reviews causes cards to pile up and undermines the whole scheduling system.
• Learning steps: The default 1m 10m is sensible — a brand-new card reappears after 1 minute, then 10 minutes, before graduating to day-length intervals. Leave this as-is when starting out.

A note type (also called a note model) is a reusable template that defines three things:

• Which fields each note has (e.g. Word, Translation, Audio, Example Sentence, Notes)
• Which card templates are generated from those fields (e.g. Word → Translation, Translation → Word)
• The HTML and CSS that controls how those cards look

Change anything in the note type — a field name, a card template, the CSS — and every note using that type updates automatically across your entire collection.

Anki's built-in Basic note type has only two fields: Front and Back. That works for simple trivia, but for language learning you want more structure.

A custom note type lets you:

• Store structured data for each vocabulary item — word, translation, audio, example sentence, grammatical notes — in dedicated fields
• Generate multiple card directions from a single note entry (recognition, recall, listening)
• Use add-ons like HyperTTS to automatically fill the Audio field across your whole deck
• Style cards consistently with shared CSS — one design change updates every card in the note type
• Import AI-generated vocabulary lists cleanly, with each column mapping to the correct field

It takes about 5–10 minutes to set up once. Every card you ever add afterward benefits from that structure.

1. Open Tools → Manage Note Types
2. Click Add
3. Select Add: Basic as your starting point — you'll customise it fully in the next steps
4. Name it something clear: e.g. Language Vocab, German Vocab, Mandarin Words
5. Click OK

With your new note type selected in the Note Types manager, click Fields. You'll see the default Front and Back fields. Rename and add fields to match the structure you need:

Suggested field structure for a language learning note type:

Click Cards to open the card template editor. This is where you define what each side of a card looks like, using HTML for structure and CSS for appearance.

The three tabs serve distinct purposes:

Suggested card templates:

• Template 1 — Recognition: Word + Audio → Translation + Example Sentence + Notes
• Template 2 — Recall: Translation → Word + Audio
• Template 3 — Listening: Audio only → Word + Translation

Templates 1 & 2 are sufficient for most learners. Add Template 3 once you have audio in your deck — it's an effective way to build listening comprehension without any extra note-taking effort.

To add a second card template, click Options → Add Card Type in the template editor:

1. In Anki: Tools → Add-ons → Get Add-ons…
2. Enter code 1508862472
3. Click OK and wait for the download
4. Restart Anki — after restarting, you'll see HyperTTS entries in the Tools menu

HyperTTS connects to VocabAI for voice access. A free account is available with a generous monthly character allowance — sufficient for a typical language learner's workflow.

1. Go to vocab.ai/signup and create a free account
2. Verify your email, then log in at app.vocab.ai
3. Copy your API key from the dashboard

1. In Anki: Tools → HyperTTS: Services Configuration
2. Find VocabAI in the services list
3. Paste your API key into the field provided
4. Click Verify — you should see your account status and remaining character balance confirmed

1. Open the Browse window and select all notes in your deck (Ctrl+A / Cmd+A)
2. With notes selected, go to HyperTTS → Add Audio (Note Types)
3. Set Source field to Word — the field containing your target-language text
4. Set Target field to Audio
5. Choose a voice — select a native-speaker voice for your target language. Browse by language and listen to samples.
6. Click Preview Sound on a sample card to verify the quality sounds natural
7. Click Apply to Notes — HyperTTS processes all selected notes and fills the Audio field for each one

Front Template:

{{Word}}
{{Audio}}

Back Template:

{{FrontSide}}
<hr id=answer>
<div class="translation">{{Translation}}</div>
<div class="example">{{Example Sentence}}</div>
<div class="notes">{{Notes}}</div>

Styling (CSS):

.card {
  font-family: sans-serif;
  font-size: 22px;
  text-align: center;
  color: #fff;
  background: #1a1a1a;
  padding: 1.5em;
}

.translation { color: #7eb8f7; margin-top: 0.5em; }
.example     { color: #aaa; font-style: italic; margin-top: 0.5em; font-size: 0.82em; }
.notes       { color: #666; font-size: 0.72em; margin-top: 0.5em; }

• Use a large font for the tested word: 22px or higher. You're testing recognition and recall, not reading small print. The target word should be immediately legible.
• Establish a colour hierarchy: Bright/white for the word being tested; a mid-tone colour for the translation; dimmer still for example sentences and notes. This lets you scan a card in half a second.
• Use conditional fields to avoid blank space. Wrap optional fields in {{#FieldName}}…{{/FieldName}} — the block only renders if the field contains content.
• Dark backgrounds are easier on the eyes during long review sessions. The example CSS above uses near-black — adjust to your preference.
• Keep it simple. A clean, fast-to-read card is more effective than a visually complex one. Every second spent parsing the layout is a second not spent on the actual memory work.

1. Write a prompt specifying your exact fields and output format (see examples below)
2. Copy the AI's output into a plain .txt file
3. In Anki: click Import File on the main screen (or File → Import)
4. Set the field separator to Tab
5. Match each column to the correct field in your note type
6. Set the import behaviour to Add notes for new cards, or Update notes where first field matches to avoid duplicates
7. Click Import — cards appear in your deck instantly

Paste this template directly into any AI tool and adapt the language and topic:

Generate 20 German vocabulary flashcard entries for household items.
Output as tab-separated values with no header row.
Columns in this exact order:
  1. German word or phrase
  2. English translation
  3. Example sentence in German (natural, contemporary usage)
  4. Grammar notes (grammatical gender for nouns; irregular forms if relevant)

Rules:
- No markdown formatting, no asterisks, no backticks
- No header row
- Tab-separated only — no commas, no pipes
- One entry per line

• Always specify no header row and the exact separator. Tabs are the most reliable choice for Anki imports — commas cause problems with sentences that contain commas.
• Explicitly ban markdown formatting — asterisks, backticks, and bullet points break the import silently and are hard to spot until you're reviewing.
• Generate in batches of 20–30 rather than 100+ at once. Quality is more consistent in smaller batches, and you can review each batch before importing the next.
• Ask for high-frequency vocabulary within your topic, not exhaustive lists. The 20 most common kitchen words are more useful than 100 obscure ones.
• Request natural, contemporary example sentences rather than textbook-style ones. Modern AI generally does this well if you specify it explicitly.
• Spot-check before running HyperTTS. AI is highly reliable but not perfect. Five minutes of checking now prevents audio being generated for cards you'll need to delete later.

All three tools generate high-quality language flashcards. Use whichever you already have access to — the prompt template above works with any of them.