Anki App
IPad AnkiMobile is a mobile companion to Anki, a powerful, intelligent flashcard program that is free, multi-platform, and open-source. Sales of this app support the development of both the computer and mobile version, which is why the app is priced as a computer application. AnkiMobile offers some features not found in other flashcard apps. Nov 05, 2020 First launched in 2006 Anki at it’s heart is a straightforward flash card app that uses spaced repetition technology to make memorising and learning more effective. Initially primarily made as a learning resource for language students, Anki has since become widely used by students of all areas, especially medical students. About Anki Anki is a program which makes remembering things easy. Because it's a lot more efficient than traditional study methods, you can either greatly decrease your time spent studying, or greatly increase the amount you learn. Anyone who needs to remember things in their daily life can benefit from Anki.
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As you may know, Anki is an open-source flashcard app that uses spaced repetition algorithms to help you prevent natural forgetting. Even if you’re not born with awesome recall skills, Anki can help you to intentionally commit information into long-term memory. But there’s a caveat. That is, Anki works by supplementing your study process. What makes Anki OVERDRIVE the world's most intelligent battle racing system? Tech so advanced, it feels like the future. Each Supercar is a self-aware robot, driven.
Anki Review (for 2021)
Welcome to another app review blog! Today, our LTL Taiwan School Director, Alex shares with us his Anki Review.
As an avid language learner of many years, I have gone through many different methods of learning languages. I have also used many different software, apps and tools through many of my languages.
It is a guilty pleasure of mine in fact that whenever I tried out a new tool, to get the most objective results, I also started a new language using that tool.
This in turn resulted in me studying many different languages using many different tools.
Among the tools I’ve used, I’ve used Anki Flashcards the longest. The current statistics of my account show that I’ve been using it for 1132 days of out of a total of 1488 days since I first started using it. So about 4 years now, as of December 2020.
As such, I believe I have reached a good understanding of the app and its methods to be able to give a relatively objective and comprehensive review of it.
Chapter #1 – What is Anki?
Chapter #2 –How does Anki work?
Chapter #3 –Who is Anki for?
Chapter #4 – Anki Customisation
Chapter #5 –My Method
Chapter #6 –Full Review
Anki vs Quizlet (for 2021) Which is Better? Plus a Bonus Recommendation
When trying to learn Chinese vocabulary, flash cards are one of the best methods, so let’s put two of the most popular flash card apps to the test: Anki vs Quizlet.
What is Anki?
Anki was originally created as an online flashcard website by developer Damien Elmes back in 2006.
Originally, the app was not even an app, but rather just a website where people could sign up for an account, enter their own flashcards in their own decks, and review them.
Since then, Anki has grown to have a huge following, with apps both for the iOS and Android devices (called Ankidroid). They’re even having clones of it made by other developers!
The app as it stands is completely free both on the computer and on Android devices, with a somewhat hefty cost on iOS devices, price at 25$ USD. This is the one that I have.
As the app works based on an account, all information can be synced between the various devices one has with relative ease.
How does Anki Work?
Anki is in all essence a Flashcards app with a Spaced Repetition System (SRS) incorporated in it.
As one begins using it, one would normally create a deck for information one would like to learn.
This means you can use the app not only for learning languages, but also any other topics you might be interested in.
Once you have created a Deck with questions and answers (or “Front” and “Back” as it would normally be called in Anki), the system will allow you to review the Cards in the Deck.
It will show you the question first, and once you tap again, show you the answer.
At the answer page, it gives you an option to let it know whether you got the answer right easily, with some difficulty or didn’t get it at all.
The above is the main crux of the SRS method, as based on the option you chose (Easy, Hard, Again). Anki will then place the same card to reappear later again based on a specific duration, for example, 3 days later, 1 day later or in 10 minutes, respectively based on your choice.
The more often you see the card and more often you get the correct answer, the farther away the next time the card reappears.
This allows you to strengthen your memory of the card by giving you bigger and bigger spaces in between repetitions, allowing your power of recall to become stronger.
Everyday you will have a certain amount of cards that are reviews of previous cards you’ve seen, and new cards that you haven’t seen before, but will start reappearing after their first appearance.
LingoDeer Review (2021) – One of the Most Complete Chinese Learning Apps
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Who is Anki for?
Anki is built for all learners who wish to learn and memorize information that they want to focus on.
This is mostly great for specifically learning languages, as a language requires accurate memory of pronunciation and the exact sound of the word.
It however also works for topics unrelated to languages, such as if you are preparing for an important exam and need to cram a lot of information in advance.
Or, as an even more exaggerated example, cramming information for a quiz, such as the famous example of Roger Craig, who in 2010, obtained a record for single-day winnings in the TV show Jeopardy by using Anki to memorize a huge number of facts in preparation.
Memrise Review (2020) – Learn Chinese Through Flashcards
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Anki Customisation
Aside from the normal way Anki is used, the real aspect where Anki shines is its ability to allow for customisation.
This means that any person can create the cards exactly as he/she wants them to appear.
For example, instead of showing the question and answer, you can change it to show the answer and then the question.
Or for example with a language like Chinese, you can customize Anki to show you the word in Hanzi characters only, and then show you the Pinyin as the answer.
Alternatively, if you are practicing reading Pinyin, you can have the cards appear as the Pinyin first and then as an audio file to listen to the exact pronunciation.
Based on this question and answer method and multiple fields you can separate by and show in one or the other side or both (for example, Chinese in Simplified Characters, Chinese in Traditional Characters, English, Chinese audio, English audio, Pinyin and even frequency of the word), the options for how you wish to make the flashcards your own is virtually limitless.
An even bigger gem in this whole process is that thanks to the big following Anki has online, people can share their cards with each other through the Ankiweb online database.
As such, everyone can enjoy lots of decks of loads of topics, languages and materials.
Aside from the shared decks, there are also many add-ons one can install into Anki to allow for special options and abilities.
Some of my favourite are the ability to auto-advance (question turns to answer and answer turns to the next card after a set amount of seconds), which I use to listen to the language and immerse myself in it.
Let’s not forget the Text-to-Speech (TTS) add-on! It gives an option to have different TTS sources, such as Google, OSX Speech, Microsoft and others read out your cards and save them as an audio file, which you can add to the deck.
Dong Chinese Review 💡 Your Next Vocabulary Tool
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Dong Chinese Review – Alphabet Course, Tone Trainer, Speech Recognition. Find out more about Dong Chinese and their vocabulary-based exercises.
My Method
As I am a big proponent of listening to and realising patterns from common phrases and sentences. I use Anki mainly as a tool for repetitions and review of sentences.
For many of my languages, I collect them from Shared Decks created by other users, with some of them coming from the Tatoeba Project sentence database (https://tatoeba.org/).
For other less common languages, such as Taiwanese and Shanghainese, I have my teachers translate the English sentences into Taiwanese/Shanghainese and record those for me, so that I can review them later on.
In my case, as I am more of a fan of repetition over recall, I have Anki show me the full information (Target Language, Source Language and Audio of Target Language) in both the Front and the Back of the card. I simply review it over and over.
The more the cards appear, the better the sentence patterns get stuck in my head.
This results in me internalizing many of the sentence patterns, with many of them appearing in my head even if I don’t try to recall or remember them.
Using this method, I make sure to do 30 minutes every day of Taiwanese, and 30 minutes of random languages 5 times per week.
My aim is to reach 100,000 repetitions in total per each language I’m focusing on. So, that the language actually becomes part of me and the pattern sticks in my brain.
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A Full Anki Review
Now for the review itself.
Anki is a great tool and extremely popular for learning and practicing. However, it is far from perfect, and has some glaring issues.
Some of these might be fixed in the future, while others are inherent in its system, for which the learner would have to find other resources.
I would like to discuss them below 👇
What is Anki Good at?
Anki is amazing for memory and improving recall. It is great for studying vocabulary, as well as answers to questions in quizzes and similar.
Thanks to its customisation, there is also a huge amount of material and resources already existing in all kinds of languages and topics that other users are studying.
I use the Shared Decks to find material for Hindi, Vietnamese, Indonesian and even Ukrainian, all of these being fairly well made.
Some of the more common languages have huge amounts of data, such as the German and Russian Sentence decks, taken from the aforementioned Tatoeba project, that have more than 50,000 sentences in one deck.
What is Anki Bad at?
Anki still lacks some usability features that users would have liked to have.
For example, as I mentioned, I prefer repetition over recall.
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As such, I would have preferred each card to appear with both the Front and the Back together, instead of double tapping each time to pass to the next card.
This is not something that can be changed using an Add-on, as the question and answer method is a key feature of Anki.
Likewise, one finds that Anki can not be used alone for languages, where you do not have a basis or can use another language as a crutch.
For Ukrainian, I can guess quite easily which words is which when comparing to the English sentences, as I speak Russian.
However, I cannot do the same for example with Hindi or Berber, where I do not know which word means which word when comparing sentences, as I do not have other languages that help me connect.
Anki does not currently have an option where I could click on one of the words and see a definition of just that word alone, similar to what Duolingo for example has, when it shows you a fixed phrase.
A third issue with Anki is its business model.
Having no charge for computer and Android devices, but charging an extremely high price for the iOS option creates an issue where people who do not have experience with Anki choose not to try it out because of such a high price. Which actually comes with a high risk (“What if I buy and download it, and find out that it’s not suitable for me?”).
25$ is a lot of money for an app, when people are used to most apps costing a max of 5$.
This hits the nail on the head even more, when you do choose to download the app (or even the computer version) and it appears empty.
A user with no experience with Anki might not know how to create their own decks or download Shared ones just yet, and is lost due to the lack of instruction.
Noted, Anki does have a user manual on their website. However, it is so detailed and drawn out that the opposite effect might happen, where new users will treat it the same way they treat the Terms and Conditions lists of software: “Ain’t no one got time for dat!”.
As a result, Anki has a very steep adoption curve, where the only people who would indeed download and use it would be people who are already sold on its idea and know the basics of its use through either instruction by friends or experience through the computer interface.
In our mobile age however, most iOS mobile users cannot be bothered to accept an incubation and learning period through their computers before they get to “graduate” to the mobile app.
Anki Review – Summary
In summary, Anki is amazing tool that can be used to extreme effect.
It is definitely one of the best apps out there for learning not just languages, but really anything.
However, its developers not being the best in terms of User Experience Design, it is quite hard to begin using it, as opposed to more friendly apps, such as Duolingo, Memrise and others.
Anki is a great tool, but only starts to shine when you know how to use it already.
Let us know what you think in the comment section!
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Anki Review – FAQ’s
Anki is an online flashcards website and app, allowing you to learn languages and many other topics.
It was originally created by developer Damien Elmes back in 2006.
At first you will need to create your own deck of flashcards.
Once you have created a Deck with questions and answers (or “Front” and “Back” as it would normally be called in Anki), the system will allow you to review the Cards in the Deck, showing you the question first, and once you tap again, showing you the answer.
Anki function with a Spaced Repetition System (SRS).
You can download Anki from their website, or in the Google Play Store and Apple Store.
Yes, you can study Chinese on Anki.
You can learn new vocabulary with user created decks such as HSK based decks, for example.
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Anki
I’ve been learning languages on and off for more years than I’d like to count. Different books and websites and ways to figure out languages come and go, but only one always remains: Anki (available for iPhone, Android, and desktop).
Anki cards are basically digital flashcards that you can use on both your computer and your mobile device, but they’re so, so much more than that.
If you think I love Anki because it saves paper, you’re… well you’re not wrong, but you’re not completely right, either. Honestly, Anki is a dream for language learners, because instead of forcing you to learn the same terms over and over and over and over again, it puts the easy stuff to the side and drills you on what you’re having a hard time with.
Here’s an overview of all the Anki features that I love and why they make Anki the perfect tool for language learners.
Anki App Web
How to Use Anki to Learn a Language
Anki only shows you words that you’re on the verge of forgetting. This little trick of knowing what terms to show you, and when, is known as Spaced Repetition. It’s only one of the features of Anki. Nonetheless, let me explain what Spaced Repetition is, and why you absolutely need it in your language learning life.
You Tell Anki Which Words You Find Easy, Medium or Difficult to Recall
The Anki language app works like this: you plug in your vocab, review your words for the day, then tell Anki how easy or difficult those words were to remember. You do this by selecting: easy, medium, or hard. Anki uses this information to plug these cards into its algorithm. It then waits longer and longer to show you the cards that were easier for you to remember, and shows you the most difficult ones (the ones you got wrong) right away, as if they were brand new.
As the days go by, you’ll see the timing between when you see these easier cards increases — from three days, to a week, to a couple of weeks, then a month, etc. When you remember a work correctly, Anki slowly creates more and more space between reminders for that word. This is how the Anki language app gets these cards into your long term memory, which is exactly what we’re going for. Instead of seeing the easy cards every day forever, which takes up more time than any of us have, we only see them just enough times to remember them, and at just the right time.
And that, my friends, is a major time saver. I mean, depending on how you approach your language learning, you could be learning hundreds of words, phrases, and grammatical concepts at a time! That’s a lot, and nobody has time to review every single thing over and over again. And even if that’s a thing that you do with normal flashcards, you shouldn’t just put away the easy cards forever, but, at the same time, we can’t be expected to know the optimal time for reviewing them.
So, instead, the Anki language app puts the easier stuff away for just enough time so that you can focus on what you should actually be focusing on: drilling the flashcards that your brain just doesn’t like. Then, every once in a while, it flashes an easy card at you so you don’t forget.
You Can Add Images and Audio to Anki Flashcards Too!
Although Anki’s Spaced Repetition algorithm is amazing, it’s not even the only thing it has to offer. See, these aren’t just your average “word on the front, definition on the back” flashcards. Nope, the Anki language app has a lot more.
Are you a visual learner? Do you recognize people’s faces, but can’t remember their names? Well, Anki gives you the option to upload images directly onto your card. You can add images to either side of your cards, and they can be anything. If you can’t find a picture, Anki even connects to the camera on your phone, so you can take a picture of your desk directly in the app to learn that term.
Another wonderful option for us language learners is the ability to upload audio. The amount of time you spend learning your vocab and training your ear to hear it can be combined into one, just by uploading an audio file of the word. You definitely can’t do that with normal flashcards!
Anki Can Even Help with Spelling, Sentence Structures, and More
There’s yet another way that Anki blows regular flashcards out of the water: typing. You don’t have to just stick to basic recall. You have a couple more options than that. For example, typing your terms in instead of just seeing them. I personally love this, it’s the only way I learn vocab these days.
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This way, I’m not just learning to vaguely recognize the word, but I’m learning to spell it, which is important for learning to write in the language. I tell ya, it makes a world of difference to have to really understand the word and how to spell it, accents and all, as opposed to just going “yeah that word, not sure how to pronounce it or spell it, but yeah, it looks like that!”
Anki App Windows
Or, you can opt to use Anki’s “cloze” feature, which takes any part of a word, phrase, or sentence, and replaces it with an ellipsis, so you can use Anki to practice any number of things: spelling, conjugating verbs, completing a new phrase, etc.
That’s right: you can use Anki flashcards to learn to conjugate your verbs. Crazy, right? That’s much better than sitting there and copying down your “I/you/he/she/it/they/us” verb charts for all of eternity.
Anki Lets You “Borrow” Flashcard Decks from Other Language Learners
What if you love the opportunities that all these features have to offer, but you don’t want to go through the motions of making Anki cards yourself? Well, fortunately, Anki hosts shared decks. Shared decks are Anki decks created by other users made public, so anybody can access them and learn with them. And you can find a variety of topics, from languages to geography to random history facts.
If you go to the Anki shared decks, you can click through to the most popular subjects. Or, if you’re looking for something else, there’s a search bar on the upper righthand corner. Search for literally anything in the world and I can guarantee that you’ll find something. You’d be amazed by the kinds of things people are using Anki to learn.
If you’ve built up a really helpful Anki deck, you can share it, either with just a couple friends or the entire world. The Anki site is completely open to anybody to access or create any kind of cards imaginable, which is amazing. Plus, users take their Anki decks seriously, so you can find some really helpful, in-depth information.
You Can Use Anki for Language Learning on Your Laptop or Your Phone
Anki is available for both desktop and mobile, which makes it great for everybody, no matter what device you use. There are plenty of language learning services out there that only work on mobile (which, even though I’m more than comfortable using my phone, is still incredibly annoying to me), and others that don’t offer the same functionality on mobile.
Fortunately, Anki is almost exactly the same both on desktop and mobile, which I love. It’s simple enough that I’m totally okay just using the mobile app, but there’s really no difference between it and the desktop version – the desktop app is just bigger text on a bigger screen.
And I know what you’re thinking: “it must be complicated, though, to keep track of where you are in your flashcards between two different devices!” Well, it’s not. Both devices sync easily to the Anki database. Not only do you not lose your cards if something happens to a computer or phone, but you just need to check back in with the database when switching devices to make sure you’re all up to date.
What do you have to do to sync? Refresh your page (on mobile) or press a button (on desktop). And that’s it. Anki syncs deleted cards, new cards, edited cards, recently reviewed cards… everything. And because the program is so bare-bones, it’s quick. So even if you need a good refresh on your device, you won’t have to wait long before studying.
Anki Cards: Ugly, But Worth It
We live in this glorious age of technology where everything is beautiful. We get huge, 4k Ultra HD TVs, cute apps on our phones that make little noises, and fun memorization games. So I get it when you first take a look at Anki and you’re underwhelmed. We’re spoiled by pretty tech and Anki is definitely not pretty.
It’s, honestly, the ugliest language learning resource on the market. But it’s also the best. I use it every single day, I’m obsessed. Other websites try to do a similar thing, and they’re much more aesthetically pleasing, but they just don’t have the power that Anki has. Duolingo and Memrise, for example, are really pretty programs that attempt Spaced Repetition but don’t quite hit the mark. Nobody does flashcards better than Anki cards. Pretty is great, but it’s not everything.
So there you have it. In my opinion, the one language learning resource that every language learner needs. There is no better way to learn your vocab, practice conjugations, passively practice listening, or any number of other skills that you can improve with Anki’s options. I know, it’s ugly, but looks aren’t everything!
Want to try it for yourself? Anki is available for iPhone, Android, and desktop.