Spaced repetition: why it's the best way to remember Japanese

The forgetting curve

In the 19th century, Hermann Ebbinghaus showed that we lose much of what we learn in the following days, unless we see it again. Each successful recall makes the memory stronger and forgetting slower.

Hence the idea: instead of reviewing everything daily, review each item at growing intervals.

What a schedule looks like

Example for a word you get right each time (real intervals depend on your answers):

How KanaLearn schedules your reviews

KanaLearn uses FSRS, a modern algorithm that estimates, for each item, how likely you are to remember it, from your past answers and the time elapsed. It schedules the review when that probability drops below your target (90% by default, adjustable).

An item you know well comes back rarely; a hard one comes back often. You don't waste time on what you already know.

Good habits

• Review a little every day rather than a lot once a week: consistency matters more than duration.
• Do your due reviews before learning anything new.
• Answer honestly: saying “I knew it” when you hesitated throws the schedule off.
• Keep a pace of new items you can keep up with: 10 to 20 new items a day is plenty.

Practise

• My reviews
• All resources