Studying a deck

The word list

A deck opens as a word list: every card on one page, in deck order. It’s for reading through the words before you study, or looking one up.

• On a computer it’s a table with the term, its reading (such as pinyin), the meaning, and a Context column when any card has a note. Part of speech and hashtags sit next to the meaning.
• On a phone each card is a small stacked tile with the same details.
• The filter box narrows the list as you type, and the count reads “4 of 25 terms”. It uses the same matching as Search, so it ignores case, accents, tone marks and the ʻokina: ai finds ài.
• A card with its own source gets a Source disclosure that opens to show it.
• A hashtag opens search filtered to that tag.

The Play button, “Swipe through 25 cards”, starts a round. Its address is the deck’s address plus /study, such as /chinese/hsk-1/deck-01/study. Under it, Add to favorites and Add to mix keep the deck for Play. Once you’ve cleared the deck, a stamp under its description shows your best score.

The study screen

Study mode fills the screen with one card. The site header and footer step aside, and the page doesn’t scroll, so a sideways drag is always a swipe.

The bar along the top has three things:

• ✕ goes back to the word list. Esc does the same.
• The deck’s title and progress, such as “HSK 1 · Deck 1 · 3 / 25”.
• The gear opens Study settings.

The card shows the prompt side first. Its top corner names the category (such as HSK 1), or the round number from round 2 on.

Flip

Tap or click the card, press Space, or use Flip to turn it over. Flipping is optional: you can grade a card without looking at the answer.

When the prompt is the front, the answer side shows the reading (such as pinyin) in large type and the meaning below it. When the prompt is the meaning, the answer side shows the term with its other spelling and reading. Either way, the answer side also shows the part of speech, the note, hashtags and the source when the card has them.

Swipe or use the buttons

Grade each card by where you send it:

• Dragging. The card follows your finger or mouse and tilts a little. A “Got it” or “Still learning” label fades in as you drag. Let go past about a third of the card’s width and the card flies off that way; let go sooner and it snaps back.
• The next card waits underneath and settles into place as the top card moves away. Under the round’s last card there’s only a soft shadow.
• Buttons and keys send the card off with the same motion as a swipe. A press while a card is still leaving is ignored.
• With a mouse, the cursor is an open hand over the card and a closed one while you drag, and the card tilts slightly toward the pointer.

A bar under the card fills as you go, with running counts of Still learning and Got it on either side. Three or more Got its in a row bring up a combo between them, such as “3 in a row” (see Combos).

Rewind

Rewind takes back your last grade, and the card flies back in from the side it left by. The small badge on the button shows how many rewinds are left in this round. Each round allows 3 by default; you can change that in the settings.

Rewinding from the first card of a round steps back to the summary of the round before, and that earlier round pays for it. When no rewind is possible, the button is dimmed but stays focusable, and its label tells a screen reader why: nothing to rewind yet, or none left in that round.

Rounds and the summary

A round goes through every card in its pile once. Then a summary card shows:

• the round number and “Round done”, or “Deck cleared” when nothing was missed. A clear in round 1 is a Perfect deck, and every clear fans out the first few cards of round 1.
• how many you got and how many you’re still learning
• what happens next, such as “3 cards go into round 2”, “All 25 on the first try”, or “Cleared in 3 rounds. 22 of 25 on the first try.”
• after a clear, a line when it set a record, such as “First clear of this deck” or “New best on this deck: 23 of 25”
• “Rewinds used” for the round, when rewinds are on

From the summary:

• Review the 3 you’re still learning deals a new round of only the cards you missed. Rounds continue until every card has been cleared.
• Start over deals the whole deck again from round 1.
• Play again (after a clear) does the same, and Back to the word list leaves.
• Rewind steps back into the round you just finished.

Rounds live only in the page’s memory. Leaving the study screen or reloading it starts fresh. What is saved is your best score for the deck, once you clear it. See Combos, clears and best scores.

Study settings

The gear opens a sheet: a bottom sheet on phones, a centered panel on larger screens. Each choice is kept on this device (see Privacy and storage).

• Answer language. Only for a subject with more than one, such as ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. See Learning through another language.
• Prompt side. Which side you see first, with buttons named after each side: “汉字 first” or “English first” for Chinese. The default is the front. Changing it turns the current card back to its prompt.
• Order. Shuffle is on by default and deals a new order every round. With it off, cards go in deck order.
• Rewinds per round. 0, 1, 3, 5 or Unlimited, with 3 as the default. Every round starts with the full number. 0 removes the Rewind button.
• Keyboard shortcuts. The list from the table above, plus a reminder of the touch gestures.
• Deck. Restart deck asks “Start over from the first card?” before it deals round 1 again. In a hand from Play it’s Hand and Restart hand.

Changing the order mid-round

Turning Shuffle on or off would reorder cards you’ve already graded. So when you’ve graded at least one card in the current round, the Shuffle button turns into a question first: “Shuffling restarts this round from the first card”, with Shuffle (or Unshuffle) and Cancel. Confirming restarts the current round in the new order; earlier rounds are kept.

At the very start of a round there’s nothing to lose, so the change applies right away. On a summary, the change applies to the next round.

Keyboard shortcuts

The study shortcuts work anywhere on the study screen, except:

• while the settings sheet or search is open, since those have the keys
• while typing in a text field
• when Ctrl, ⌘ or Alt is held, or a key is held down and repeating
• Space and Enter on a focused button or link press that button, as usual

Search has its own shortcuts on every page, including the study screen. See Search.

Accessibility

• Screen readers hear each card as it comes up, such as “Round 1. Card 3 of 25. Prompt. 爱”, then the answer when it’s flipped, and each grade, rewind and setting change. The settings sheet repeats these announcements while it’s open, because the page behind a modal dialog is hidden from assistive tech.
• Language tags. Terms, readings and meanings carry their language, such as zh-Hans for characters and zh-Latn-pinyin for pinyin, so a screen reader can pronounce each one in its own language.
• Buttons are labeled for their action and list their keyboard shortcut. Focus moves to the summary’s main button when a round ends, and back to the gear when the settings sheet closes.
• Touch targets are at least 44 pixels, and the study screen keeps clear of a phone’s notch and home indicator.
• Reduced motion. With your system’s reduce-motion setting on, the card doesn’t tilt, a graded card fades out in place instead of flying off, and cards don’t animate in.
• Reduced transparency. With that setting on, the glass surfaces become solid.