Updated as of 12/31/2025

Deck Part 1 of 6

— Please download the latest version to have the best possible experience —

A mnemonic-powered Japanese vocabulary deck designed to make vocab words STICK

If you’ve ever felt that typical vocab decks are dry, forgettable, or confusing, this deck was built to fix that. Every card is handcrafted with:

Vivid mnemonics

Almost every word is paired with a powerful mnemonic to make it stick in your long term memory.

HD image for every mnemonic

Vivid, carefully crafted images create an unforgettable visual for every mnemonic you read.

Color-coded reinforcement

Colors highlight important things you should memorize to streamline your learning.

Type to answer

Typing to answer maximizes memory recall. On by default but can be configured off. See Notes section below.

High frequency words with native audio

Learn the most high use words in Japanese with clear native audio. Ordered from highest frequency to lowest.

No more nasal "g" sounds

Practically every vocab deck in existence incorporates the 1980s NHK accent that makes Japanese "g sounds" sound nasal. Modern Japanese simply does not pronounce words this way anymore. I went out of my way to find real native sources and even some anime sources to better represent the modern pronunciation.

Clear explanations

Clear explanations of grammar, context, nuance, tone, and usage written in plain English. Words that have similar definitions have simple explanations to differentiate between the two.

Clean, intuitive kanji breakdowns

Kanji is broken down to explain how components combine to form the meaning.

Pitch accent graphs

Learn the correct pitch from day one.

Example sentences with native audio

Every sentence reinforces real usage of the word without overwhelming.

Conjugation lists

Many words include conjugation examples.

Corrected Japanese font

Kanji displays correctly regardless of the platform used. Credit to @JouzuJuls on YouTube for finding this issue.

Built for long-term retention with FSRS

Using this deck, I personally maintain 92–95% retention across thousands of mature cards. You can do this too!

Optimized for Desktop AND Mobile

I've carefully adjusted this deck to work great on any platform. Set zoom (magnification) to your preference for best results.

Notes

🔹 This is Part 1 (1-1,000) in a larger 6 part series I am building.

🔹 Head to https://ankiweb.net/shared/by-author/1289095512 to get the next deck (2K) in this series.

🔹 If you do not like the type to answer function, go to Settings for the deck, choose card template, and change “{{type:Meaning}}” to “{{Meaning}}” in the card front. Done!

🔹 You can set furigana to no longer require a click to be visible on the front side by going to card template (or cards) > front side > and change "{{hint:Transliteration}}" to "{{Transliteration}}". I recommend leaving this off (default) so you're forced to look at the kanji.

I hope this deck makes learning Japanese faster, more intuitive, and more fun like it did for me.

Happy studying!

Content Note

Some mnemonics include strong language, adult humor, or absurd situations.
Nothing in this deck is meant to offend or target any individual or group.
All content exists purely for educational purposes. This deck is a WIP and you may encounter some small typos. Please contact me with any feedback you may have.

Link to the rest of my decks:

https://ankiweb.net/shared/by-author/1289095512

Support My Work ☕

I have poured countless hours into this project and will continue to do so out of the sole desire to make Japanese more accessible for everyone. These mnemonic decks will stay FREE forever.

If you want to show your support, you can buy me a coffee here. It's totally optional but sincerely appreciated.
https://ko-fi.com/kanjiguy