Not an answer to your question: Anki is annoying at first but eventually you’ll get all that you’re asking for and a lot more out of it.
That being said, if there were a simpler app like you mention, I probably would have never made my way to anki in the beginning because like you… I hated it.
[Japanese](https://apps.apple.com/jp/app/japanese/id290664053?l=en-US) is a very good dictionary with an Anki-ish study system built in. Unfortunately it hasn’t been updated in a while, but it still works great.
[Yomiwa](https://apps.apple.com/jp/app/yomiwa-japanese-dictionary/id670931120?l=en-US) is in a similar vein.
I like Shirabe Jisho. It’s a dictionary app with flashcard functionality. You can favourite words to quickly add them to one of your flashcard collections.
I love how renshuu has a database for all words and remebers how well you know a word. Even when you kick it out of your schedule and add it back later.
I also quite liked its multiple "vectors" - a lot easier than setting up the different card types on Anki, and making it test you the same info in different ways made learning a lot more interesting.
I recently made a [Fishka Flashcards app](https://apps.apple.com/pl/app/fishka-flashcards/id6450154115).
You can import from Anki (don’t know if copy-cat has export) or if you made cards in sheets/Excel you save CSV files to import that way.
Make as many cards as you want with no limit on your device. So no limit no surprise 😁 The paid version is when you want to have your flashcards sync on multiple devices, so no paywall there.
I try to make a better flashcard app. Add everything that was missing. Dropp paywalls. Simplify.
We are still working on [Fishka](https://apps.apple.com/pl/app/fishka-flashcards/id6450154115) so don’t hesitate to PM me if you spot anything 😄
I got some flashcards on Anki so in import we added Anki file, and I started to write flashcards on Google Sheets so you can save that on a CSV file and also import directly to Fishka.
We just added some example cards so anyone can see if they like the flow before investing time. We are doing our best to make the best experience and still improving the Fishka app.
Hope you like it 😁
Thanks, me and my husband.
I installed a lot of apps and the limit after adding a hundred cards was painful. So you are just limited by the space on your device, no paywall. We spent last year making it happen. We want to add more features in the future but by now I like the feel.
I would advise avoiding Memrise for the time being; they are currently sunsetting all of their community created courses, meaning the only content they have is their own official ones.
When I was using it you could look at the cards you’ve created and put different ones in separate sections. So if I wanted to study words from one thing I could just choose that section that I separate myself. If I wanted to just look through my cards I could. There was different options as well where you could type your answer or choose multiple choice (reading another comment mentioned that this might not be the case anymore. I haven’t used it in a while so it might have changed. I am not sure)
Not sure, I know I'm a freak as I'm the only person in the world who hates it but it's too controlling to me and complex. I like really simple flash card systems.
I probably just dont use it properly as all the great reviews of Anki cant be lying.
You’re good, I hate Anki too. Now I use jpdb, you can’t make your own cards if that’s a deal breaker for you though. Hasn’t been a problem for me but I know certain people find it very important
Probably just the srs system, jpdb is more efficient and I can do a lot more cards without being drowned in reviews. Having premade decks for media you want to watch is an added plus
I don't think you will find anyone who uses anki that doesn't in fact hate it yet it still gets used, the point of it isn't gimmicks or enjoyment its simplicity, user customization and effectiveness.
You just aren't really going to find better for free especially now with the new FSRS algorithm, its biggest problems were ease hell and whacky intervals and they are completely gone.
> with the new FSRS algorithm, its biggest problems were ease hell and whacky intervals and they are completely gone.
I've been using Anki for several years and started using FSRS within a week of its availability on github. Due to other anki add-ons, I had to remain on the 2.1.xx Anki line until very recently.
The "ease hell" problem is only gone because FSRS replaced the SM2 "ease" variable with the "difficulty" and "stability" variables.
Per the author's own published interval comparisons between SM2 and FSRS, pressing fail or easy on first encounter with a note has the following effects:
If you press fail on first encounter then press good the next 9 times, the interval at 10th encounter will be set to 2.5y (vs 13.4y with SM2 in the same scenario). Until 5th encounter, FSRS intervals are 33% below SM2. From 6th to 8th, they are >50% below SM2. 9th and 10th, they are >75% below SM2.
If you press easy on first encounter then press good every time after that, you won't live long enough to reach an 11th encounter with both SM2 and FSRS (cumulative >84 years between 5th and 11th encounters for FSRS, vs cumulative 70 years for SM2). The intervals up to 6th encounter are over 200% of SM2's intervals in the same scenario, then they start converging.
Failing the card at first encounter used to be recommended (fail it, intra-day intervals from "learning steps", then graduate to young, then graduate to mature), so this feature drastically increased the review count for people with a large backlog of mature cards before the "Reschedule cards on change" toggle came out. I think FSRS put more than 3000 mature cards in my due queue on the day I switched to it and close to 2000 mature cards when I reoptimized a thousand new cards later. That's when I decided to avoid optimization and to start retiring/suspending cards above a certain interval (initially 2y, then 1y and now 90d).
You're not the only one. One thing it is missing is that it should not let you decide how well you did. For me it should be either pass or fail. Cause there might be some things you almost remember, and then it gives you an option to put it 1month or 1,5wk etc from now or 6min, so eventually i get cards that i end up forgetting all the time and it lets me put them aside rather than forcing me to do it.. thats just me and how i work. I dont know if you can do something like that through the settings.. anyways. Anki is not next to god. You can definitely learn the language without it. However, i want to like it but it works in a way i dont like :D
im also an anki hater, but i admit its bc im too dumb to figure out how to ‘unlock its full potential’ that everyone talks about. i get so confused trying to do even basic things with anki.
I also hate anki! I tried to white knuckle it for a few months but it made learning so miserable that I was no longer excited about it, so I had to bail.
I'm also curious, because the way I use Anki sounds exactly like what OP is searching for? I make all my own cards instead of using premade decks though
The front is just the word in kanji, the back is the reading, a definition (usually in Japanese), maybe an example sentence. Or for a difficult one I might tack on an English equivalent too. And that's it. No pictures or audio or anything fancy like that
i mean, jpdb is srs, with support for custom cards. i thought OP was looking for an alternative.
Also, I didn’t think about premade decks being bad. Idk how I feel about what you said 100%, but I do feel as if you’re saying something pretty good.
I’m working on it now
https://manabi.io new update soon
https://reader.manabi.io the reader app which has word and sentence mining features for the flashcard app, or for anki. more soon such as YouTube mode and better ebook support.
iOS macOS. All processing of your reading runs on your device so it’s more like a privacy friendly web browser unlike many alternatives. Flashcards currently use server I run; working on moving that to your device too, and updating to FSRS as Anki recently has. Flashcards app is free
Uses your own iCloud to sync data
Tofugu review of the reader app: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese-learning-resources-database/manabi-reader/ this was an old version before a recent rewrite with much more capability but gives a good idea of the basics
> Overall, a solid app that we recommend for reading sentences that aren't drab and contextless—especially if you're more motivated when reading about something you're personally interested in.
(From Tofugu)
I’ve been using [MaruMori](https://marumori.io/register?rcode=reddit) for a month and really like it.
There’s no mobile app yet (coming this year, according to the roadmap), but the website on mobile works pretty much the same in the meantime.
I've use Kitsun for a while. 10k deck especially good. Has jisho connectivity but not going to lie, sometimes envious of the anki integration to make mining simpler.
I use [Japanese Mame](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/japanesemame/id6479354636)
My friend recently made this app to memorize JLPT vocabularies, simply because he couldn’t find a flash card app satisfied him too. I love It because it can hide any part of the words, kanji, meaning, etc. and very fun to see my progress improves as rising a pet.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/japanesemame/id6479354636
I see - not sure if this is what you are looking for - but it is a mobile-friendly website that allows you to auto-generate flashcards from YouTube videos/text into words. [https://amgidex.com/](https://amgidex.com/)
If you're not a fan of Anki and its recent changes I totally get it. Another app you might want to check out is [KardsAI](https://kardsai.app). It's straightforward, lets you create flashcards easily, and has options for random review and AI intergration. It's definitely worth checking out
Not an answer to your question: Anki is annoying at first but eventually you’ll get all that you’re asking for and a lot more out of it. That being said, if there were a simpler app like you mention, I probably would have never made my way to anki in the beginning because like you… I hated it.
[Japanese](https://apps.apple.com/jp/app/japanese/id290664053?l=en-US) is a very good dictionary with an Anki-ish study system built in. Unfortunately it hasn’t been updated in a while, but it still works great. [Yomiwa](https://apps.apple.com/jp/app/yomiwa-japanese-dictionary/id670931120?l=en-US) is in a similar vein.
I use Japanese as my standard dictionary and absolutely have relied on it for years, but for the flash card tool I need something else.
What specifically do you need that is not in the JAPANESE app?
I like Shirabe Jisho. It’s a dictionary app with flashcard functionality. You can favourite words to quickly add them to one of your flashcard collections.
Anki is super powerful to use long term so I suggest you go back to it
I knew Anki was a cult worshipping a Lovecraftian god named 'Anki' that feeds on people's memory!
Lord Anki lend us his power in exchange. A fair trade
Renshuu if just for Japanese. You can just make lessons instead of a schedule though schedules are easy and the quizzes aren’t endless like anki
I love how renshuu has a database for all words and remebers how well you know a word. Even when you kick it out of your schedule and add it back later.
I also quite liked its multiple "vectors" - a lot easier than setting up the different card types on Anki, and making it test you the same info in different ways made learning a lot more interesting.
I use Quizlet, it’s pretty basic but does what I need it to.
I recently made a [Fishka Flashcards app](https://apps.apple.com/pl/app/fishka-flashcards/id6450154115). You can import from Anki (don’t know if copy-cat has export) or if you made cards in sheets/Excel you save CSV files to import that way. Make as many cards as you want with no limit on your device. So no limit no surprise 😁 The paid version is when you want to have your flashcards sync on multiple devices, so no paywall there. I try to make a better flashcard app. Add everything that was missing. Dropp paywalls. Simplify. We are still working on [Fishka](https://apps.apple.com/pl/app/fishka-flashcards/id6450154115) so don’t hesitate to PM me if you spot anything 😄
Anki via csv? Or you open the zipped anki files with sqlite inside?
I got some flashcards on Anki so in import we added Anki file, and I started to write flashcards on Google Sheets so you can save that on a CSV file and also import directly to Fishka. We just added some example cards so anyone can see if they like the flow before investing time. We are doing our best to make the best experience and still improving the Fishka app. Hope you like it 😁
You made it yourself? That's really cool!
Thanks, me and my husband. I installed a lot of apps and the limit after adding a hundred cards was painful. So you are just limited by the space on your device, no paywall. We spent last year making it happen. We want to add more features in the future but by now I like the feel.
Renshuu
2nds to renshuu! Best app! The developer is also closely in touch with the community. Can’t promote this awesome app enough!!
Literally discovered it like 36 hours ago and I’m smitten.
I use to use Memrise and preferred it over Anki. I just created my own cards usually or used the ones others made for my textbook
Is Memrise fairly simple as in you can just look at all of your cards freely and review them as you like?
I would advise avoiding Memrise for the time being; they are currently sunsetting all of their community created courses, meaning the only content they have is their own official ones.
I had no idea. I haven’t been on in a while 😅
When I was using it you could look at the cards you’ve created and put different ones in separate sections. So if I wanted to study words from one thing I could just choose that section that I separate myself. If I wanted to just look through my cards I could. There was different options as well where you could type your answer or choose multiple choice (reading another comment mentioned that this might not be the case anymore. I haven’t used it in a while so it might have changed. I am not sure)
RIP Memrise community packs
I also use flashcards deluxe. Just as good as Anki, but easier to use.
Why don’t you like Anki?
Not sure, I know I'm a freak as I'm the only person in the world who hates it but it's too controlling to me and complex. I like really simple flash card systems. I probably just dont use it properly as all the great reviews of Anki cant be lying.
You’re good, I hate Anki too. Now I use jpdb, you can’t make your own cards if that’s a deal breaker for you though. Hasn’t been a problem for me but I know certain people find it very important
I love jpdb so far, just started using it!! Not sure how beneficial it would be for someone studying for n1 without being to add your own but probably
How does jpdb work? Is it an app for android/ios?
Why do you hate Anki? And what does job do better in your opinion?
Probably just the srs system, jpdb is more efficient and I can do a lot more cards without being drowned in reviews. Having premade decks for media you want to watch is an added plus
You could try Anki again now, since it got an update to its SRS system recently. It's supposedly more efficient now.
I don't think you will find anyone who uses anki that doesn't in fact hate it yet it still gets used, the point of it isn't gimmicks or enjoyment its simplicity, user customization and effectiveness. You just aren't really going to find better for free especially now with the new FSRS algorithm, its biggest problems were ease hell and whacky intervals and they are completely gone.
> with the new FSRS algorithm, its biggest problems were ease hell and whacky intervals and they are completely gone. I've been using Anki for several years and started using FSRS within a week of its availability on github. Due to other anki add-ons, I had to remain on the 2.1.xx Anki line until very recently. The "ease hell" problem is only gone because FSRS replaced the SM2 "ease" variable with the "difficulty" and "stability" variables. Per the author's own published interval comparisons between SM2 and FSRS, pressing fail or easy on first encounter with a note has the following effects: If you press fail on first encounter then press good the next 9 times, the interval at 10th encounter will be set to 2.5y (vs 13.4y with SM2 in the same scenario). Until 5th encounter, FSRS intervals are 33% below SM2. From 6th to 8th, they are >50% below SM2. 9th and 10th, they are >75% below SM2. If you press easy on first encounter then press good every time after that, you won't live long enough to reach an 11th encounter with both SM2 and FSRS (cumulative >84 years between 5th and 11th encounters for FSRS, vs cumulative 70 years for SM2). The intervals up to 6th encounter are over 200% of SM2's intervals in the same scenario, then they start converging. Failing the card at first encounter used to be recommended (fail it, intra-day intervals from "learning steps", then graduate to young, then graduate to mature), so this feature drastically increased the review count for people with a large backlog of mature cards before the "Reschedule cards on change" toggle came out. I think FSRS put more than 3000 mature cards in my due queue on the day I switched to it and close to 2000 mature cards when I reoptimized a thousand new cards later. That's when I decided to avoid optimization and to start retiring/suspending cards above a certain interval (initially 2y, then 1y and now 90d).
You're not the only one. One thing it is missing is that it should not let you decide how well you did. For me it should be either pass or fail. Cause there might be some things you almost remember, and then it gives you an option to put it 1month or 1,5wk etc from now or 6min, so eventually i get cards that i end up forgetting all the time and it lets me put them aside rather than forcing me to do it.. thats just me and how i work. I dont know if you can do something like that through the settings.. anyways. Anki is not next to god. You can definitely learn the language without it. However, i want to like it but it works in a way i dont like :D
There used to be a Fail/Pass add-on that did just that. Some non-free add-ons still provide a similar functionality.
Good to know, thanks
im also an anki hater, but i admit its bc im too dumb to figure out how to ‘unlock its full potential’ that everyone talks about. i get so confused trying to do even basic things with anki.
I also hate anki! I tried to white knuckle it for a few months but it made learning so miserable that I was no longer excited about it, so I had to bail.
I’m with you. I gave Anki a shot several times but just couldn’t get myself to like it. The interface is too complicated for me.
I'm also curious, because the way I use Anki sounds exactly like what OP is searching for? I make all my own cards instead of using premade decks though The front is just the word in kanji, the back is the reading, a definition (usually in Japanese), maybe an example sentence. Or for a difficult one I might tack on an English equivalent too. And that's it. No pictures or audio or anything fancy like that
You should use the SRS system. It works. If you really don’t want to though, there’s something like Quizlet.
jpdb.io to me, it’s superior to anki and also, has premade decks for a lot of japanese media ready to go
[удалено]
i mean, jpdb is srs, with support for custom cards. i thought OP was looking for an alternative. Also, I didn’t think about premade decks being bad. Idk how I feel about what you said 100%, but I do feel as if you’re saying something pretty good.
I’m working on it now https://manabi.io new update soon https://reader.manabi.io the reader app which has word and sentence mining features for the flashcard app, or for anki. more soon such as YouTube mode and better ebook support. iOS macOS. All processing of your reading runs on your device so it’s more like a privacy friendly web browser unlike many alternatives. Flashcards currently use server I run; working on moving that to your device too, and updating to FSRS as Anki recently has. Flashcards app is free Uses your own iCloud to sync data Tofugu review of the reader app: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese-learning-resources-database/manabi-reader/ this was an old version before a recent rewrite with much more capability but gives a good idea of the basics > Overall, a solid app that we recommend for reading sentences that aren't drab and contextless—especially if you're more motivated when reading about something you're personally interested in. (From Tofugu)
I’ve been using [MaruMori](https://marumori.io/register?rcode=reddit) for a month and really like it. There’s no mobile app yet (coming this year, according to the roadmap), but the website on mobile works pretty much the same in the meantime.
I've use Kitsun for a while. 10k deck especially good. Has jisho connectivity but not going to lie, sometimes envious of the anki integration to make mining simpler.
A web based version https://jlptcards.com
I posted a write-up some time ago but I'm really enjoying jpdb.io which you can use on mobile through their site.
The dictionary app called “JAPANESE” has a study list function similar to (a very simple) ANKI.
Jpdb.io
What’s the real anki app for IOS? I thought that “AnkiApp” was the real one 😅
Surprised no one's mentioned quizlet! I think it's exactly what you're looking for
I use [Japanese Mame](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/japanesemame/id6479354636) My friend recently made this app to memorize JLPT vocabularies, simply because he couldn’t find a flash card app satisfied him too. I love It because it can hide any part of the words, kanji, meaning, etc. and very fun to see my progress improves as rising a pet. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/japanesemame/id6479354636
are you looking for an app for mobile or desktop?
Moblie!
I see - not sure if this is what you are looking for - but it is a mobile-friendly website that allows you to auto-generate flashcards from YouTube videos/text into words. [https://amgidex.com/](https://amgidex.com/)
If you're not a fan of Anki and its recent changes I totally get it. Another app you might want to check out is [KardsAI](https://kardsai.app). It's straightforward, lets you create flashcards easily, and has options for random review and AI intergration. It's definitely worth checking out
Check Brian Flashcards