[hintymad]

For language learning, I wish there was an audio-first flashcard app that changes up the example sentences every time. Right now, I'm using Anki to learn Japanese vocabulary from N5 to N3[1]. I know the words and the example sentences well enough to read N3-level text, provided I know the grammar. But when it comes to listening, I struggle to understand even N4-level spoken Japanese. Anki just doesn't offer enough variety for me to truly internalize what the sound means in different contexts. Plus, seeing the text before hearing the audio tricks my brain. I think I'm learning the sound, but it's an illusion because I already know the meaning from seeing the word first.

[1] I feel like Anki offers diminishing returns once you get past N3. Advanced words usually have subtle nuances that you can only really pick up through rich context, like in a full paragraph or a TV scene. Native-speaking kids can understand complex words in context because they have a deep grasp of a smaller, simpler vocabulary. That’s why I’m focusing on mastering high-frequency, simple words first to build a learning flywheel. I'm hoping this will eventually let me pick up new words naturally through reading and listening, just like a native kid does.

[timr]

> Right now, I'm using Anki to learn Japanese vocabulary from N5 to N3[1]. I know the words and the example sentences well enough to read N3-level text, provided I know the grammar. But when it comes to listening, I struggle to understand even N4-level spoken Japanese.

You need to listen to people, ideally in actual conversations (I am conversational in Japanese, somewhere around N2).

Spaced repetition won’t help you here. The fundamental problem is that you can’t hear the words, which is not a matter of memorization. The only thing that will fix it is exposure to lots and lots of native input.

Fortunately, it is easy to find native listening input today! If you’re a beginner and not in a classroom setting, you should be spending at least half your time listening to native material. The best option is a native tutor and/or friend(s), but failing that, get thee to Youtube and Netflix or even Instagram. There are tons of good teachers on those platforms, posting content for free. Nihongo no mori, Takoyaki_senseiyade, nihongo_camp, and miyu_to_nihongo are just a few I follow on instagram who tend to post serious learning content, mainly in Japanese.

Also, spaced repetition is more valuable at the higher levels, not less. You do need to spend more time reading and listening to native input, but the volume of things to learn grows exponentially, so efficiency is essential. At N5/N4, I could have used paper flashcards and been fine.

[hintymad]

Yeah, large volume of comprehensible input is the key. It's just that the frequency of words is of Zipfian distribution, so I thought maybe flash cards could give me more frequent exposure of the important words in less time.

[timr]

It's maybe more interesting if you understand the input, but it's really not that important at the very beginning. Hearing the language being spoken will train your ears to hear the sounds and the words, even if you only understand a fraction of the content. Later on, it's probably more important that you actually understand the majority of what you're hearing, but even at a high level, it can be valuable to zone out on a stream of incomprehensible audio content. I like to do this with news podcasts while cooking.

I got from zero to low N3 via a year of immersion, and I still remember the moment when I started to "hear words" in real-world conversation for the first time. It was very much a 0->1 transition, and happened almost entirely without my active participation.

Don't sweat it too much, is my point. Just listen to stuff.

[frostlynx]

IMHO Anki (the software) has very little value now with coding agents. The spaced repetition algorithm is quite simple and just 100 lines of python (or even less). Every coding agent can write that for you in minutes. The value of Anki comes from (1) its flexibility, and (2) the pre-made decks, but building an app that’s tailored to you is better, and you can find a lot of word lists online if that’s what you need.

If you have a Claude (or similar) subscription, you can build yourself a language learning app that’s better for you than most products out there, in a small number of days. TTS, dictionary lookup, you name it, the AI will build it. Azure TTS has a generous free tier, so all you need is the AI subscription (one month is plenty) and a place to host your app. It’s a simple prompt to ask the model to modify cards so it plays the audio first before showing the text. Off the top of my head I don’t have a good idea for your specific issue of having audio for the same word in multiple contexts. Maybe for this you could use LLM-generated sentences.

About your footnotes, personally I think vocabulary becomes more important with progress, because you just won’t be exposed often enough to some rarer words (e.g. politics or economy), or learning words in groups can help you better understand them. And flashcards can help not forget them. But don’t learn words with flash cards, learn them in context.

[moxza]

Audio first is an interesting idea. As a fluent speaker who's always felt ashamed of his poor writing skills that's actually something that I would want as well.

As for building a learning flywheel. I had a working prototype pre-AI Python project in notebook format that set the foundation for how I thought Kanji learning (or any complex interrelated domain) should build on SRS.

My premise is we should learn by associating what you know with what you should know, based on frequency across the language, not some arbitrary deck… And you shouldn't have to waste effort self reporting, the app should give you similar options to guess from, then if you're wrong, you're wrong.

Do you think that would help you?

[nickitolas]

Have you looked at jpdb.io ? Iirc it has randomized example sentences

[hintymad]

Looks very useful. Thanks!