Flashcards and spaced repetition

Why Flashcards + Spaced Repetition Work

• Active recall: forcing yourself to produce the chengyu strengthens memory more than rereading.
• Spacing effect: revisiting right before you forget locks long-term retention.
• Interleaving: mixing topics (wisdom, critique, emotions) improves transfer to real contexts.

Deck Structure (simple, scalable)

• Core deck: 200–300 high-frequency items (news, workplace, daily chat).
• Thematic subdecks: e.g., Problem-solving, Emotions, Praise/Critique, Story origins.
• Rare/Literary deck: Tang–Song and obscure idioms; lower review frequency.
• Tagging: add tags like grammar:predicate, tone:negative, register:formal to filter study sessions.

Card Types (make multiple angles)

1. Meaning → Chengyu (production)
   Front: “overdo and ruin it”
   Back: 画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú) — avoid piling on extras; mini-scene + 1 example.
2. Chengyu → Meaning (recognition)
   Front: 未雨绸缪 (wèi yǔ chóu móu)
   Back: prepare before it rains; quick scenario + synonym.
3. Cloze (context sentence)
   Front: 上线需要（＿＿＿＿），不要急于求成。
   Back: 循序渐进 (xún xù jiàn jìn).
4. Contrast pair
   Front: Adapt to change vs. rigid method?
   Back: 因地制宜 ↔ 刻舟求剑.
5. Picture cue (mnemonic)
   Front: doodle of a snake with sneakers
   Back: 画蛇添足 + one-line gloss.

Back-of-Card Recipe (keep it tight)

• Pinyin with tone marks + literal image (≤ 10 words).
• Plain English meaning (one line).
• One mini example (≤ 12 words) using natural placement.
• Register/tone note (e.g., “formal, mild critique”).

Example Cards (ready to copy)

• Front: “prepare early; contingency mindset”
  Back: 未雨绸缪 (wèi yǔ chóu móu) — prepare before rain. 例：汛期前未雨绸缪。 (formal, neutral)
• Front: 纸上谈兵 (zhǐ shàng tán bīng)
  Back: theory only; no practice. 例：别纸上谈兵，先做POC。 (critique)
• Front (cloze): 我们先（＿＿＿＿）做试点，再全面铺开。
  Back: 稳扎稳打 (wěn zhā wěn dǎ) — steady rollout.

Spaced Repetition Schedules (pick one and stick to it)

• New card “ramp” (typical): 0 min → 10 min → 1 day → 3 days → 7 days → 14 days → 30 days → 60 days.
• Busy-week variant (lighter start): 0 min → 20 min → 2 days → 5 days → 12 days → 25 days.
• Literary/rare deck (slower input): start at 1 day → 4 days → 10 days → 25 days → 60 days.

Daily Workflow (25–30 minutes total)

1. Old reviews first (≤ 15 min): follow due list; be strict on leeches (see below).
2. Add 5–10 new cards (≤ 10 min): only if yesterday’s reviews were ≤ 120.
3. One-minute read-aloud: speak 5 reviewed chengyu in your own sentences.

Grading Your Answer (be honest, go faster later)

• Again (failed): you hesitated > 5s or wrong → reset to short interval + read the mini-story aloud.
• Hard: slow recall or partial → advance one step but tag hard.
• Good: correct within 3s → normal next interval.
• Easy: instant + confident → jump 1–2 steps (but use sparingly to avoid over-stretching).

Handling “Leech” Cards (the ones you keep missing)

• Rewrite the back with a stronger mnemonic image.
• Add a contrast pair (e.g., 无可厚非 vs. 名副其实).
• Swap direction (recognition → production or vice versa).
• Suspend for 7 days if it wastes time; revisit with a new doodle.

Interleaving & Context Drills (beyond isolated cards)

• Theme bursts: after reviews, speak 3 sentences using one theme (e.g., problem-solving: 抽丝剥茧 / 统筹兼顾 / 循序渐进).
• Mini-dialogue review: convert 2–3 cards into a Q&A exchange.
• Weeklies: one 10-minute write-up using 6 reviewed chengyu (no copying from cards).

Tagging System (filter smart)

• register: formal / neutral / colloquial
• tone: praise / critique / warning
• grammar: predicate / adverbial / modifier
• origin: story / historical / poetry
  Use tags to create focused sessions before an exam, talk, or memo.

Quality Checklist (before adding a card)

• Is the plain meaning short and unambiguous?
• Do you have one image or micro-story on the back?
• Is there one natural sentence showing placement?
• Did you mark register/tone to avoid misuse?

Sample One-Week Plan (starter pace)

• Mon–Fri: 20–25 min/day (reviews first, +8 new/day).
• Sat: 15 min light reviews + 10-minute themed write-up.
• Sun: rest or 10-min catch-up; tidy tags and suspend leeches.

Common Pitfalls (and fixes)

• Too many new cards: cap at 5–10/day until reviews < 120.
• Walls of text on backs: keep to pinyin + meaning + one line + note.
• No context practice: add weekly mini-writing and 60-second read-alouds.
• Ambiguous idioms: add polarity notes (e.g., 无可厚非 = acceptable, not praise).

Takeaway: Build tight cards, review on a stretching schedule, and reinforce with short context drills. Spaced repetition makes chengyu retrieval automatic when you speak, read, or write.