Vocabulary Memory

One translation is easy to forget. Each hook (meaning, chunks, family, a personal sentence, an image, pronunciation) gives your memory another way back to the word. More ways in means you remember it more often.

Each word is scheduled at expanding intervals: 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 1 month. At each review, you try to say the word before you check. That effort is what makes it stick. When you load a large pack, the words are introduced a few each day rather than all at once, so the schedule stays gentle.

If you remember it, the interval grows. If you don't, you return to day one. No shame in that. Forgetting is part of the process.

Words are remembered in company. Make a decision and heavy rain are stored as units, not assembled word by word. Personal sentences add emotional and autobiographical context, which is some of the stickiest memory we have.

The single most powerful study habit in the research literature. Trying and failing to recall is more valuable than reading the answer ten times. The Review screen uses the personal sentence as your prompt, with the word blanked out. Try first, then reveal.

iPhone: open this page in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. Android: open it in Chrome, tap the menu, then Add to Home screen. Desktop: bookmark the page, or use your browser's install option if it appears.

If you move to another phone, computer or browser, export your library first. Import the backup on the new device and your words will be added there.