Flashcards and reviews

Why cards come back when they do #

Reviews use FSRS-6, a modern spaced-repetition scheduler. After each answer it estimates how long you will remember the item and schedules the next review just before you would forget. Answer well and the gap grows quickly; struggle and it shortens.

The four ratings #

• Again — you did not recall it. The card returns soon.
• Hard — you recalled it, but slowly. This still counts as a success; the interval grows more slowly than Good.
• Good — you recalled it normally.
• Easy — instant recall. The interval jumps further ahead.

Hard is not a failure button. Use it when you got there but it took effort.

Recognition and recall #

Each word tracks two separate states: recognizing it when you see it, and producing it from the meaning. They are scheduled independently, because the two skills genuinely diverge. A word is due when either side is due.

Lessons and reviews share one schedule #

Getting a word wrong in a lesson affects its flashcard schedule, and the reverse holds too. There is one memory model per word, not two.