🃏Flashcards

About this flashcard maker

Build a deck by typing a front and a back for each card, then study: click to flip, mark each card known or not, and anything you miss returns to the end of the run until you get it. Space flips, the arrow keys answer, and shuffle keeps you honest about whether you know the card or just its position.

Decks are saved on this device, so the vocabulary list you build tonight is still here for tomorrow's bus ride. No account, no app, nothing uploaded.

Why flashcards work: the testing effect

A century of memory research keeps landing on the same result: trying to retrieve a fact strengthens it far more than re-reading it. That's the testing effect, and flashcards are its purest form — the front of the card forces an attempt before the back gives the answer. Highlighting and re-reading feel productive precisely because they're easy; retrieval feels harder because it's the part that works.

The second ingredient is spacing. Cards you know need to show up less often, and cards you miss more — which is why this deck sends every missed card around again before the run ends. Reviewing a deck on separate days multiplies the effect: each successful recall after a gap buys a much longer gap.

Making cards that actually teach

• One fact per card. A card with three answers is three cards — split it, or you'll always half-know it.
• Ask in both directions. Word→meaning and meaning→word are different memories; make both cards for anything that matters.
• Write your own cards. Phrasing the question is half the learning — borrowed decks quiz you on someone else's understanding.
• Shuffle every run. Cards in a fixed order teach the order, not the material.

Frequently asked questions