What are vocabulary flashcards?
Vocabulary flashcards are a recall practice method: you see a word or a prompt, try to remember its meaning, then reveal the answer and rate how well you remembered. When combined with spaced repetition — reviewing words at intervals calculated to catch them just before they fade — flashcards become one of the most effective known vocabulary learning techniques.
The limitation is friction. Making flashcards manually is time-consuming, and most learners abandon Anki because maintaining the system takes more effort than the learning itself. Stemmy's Reviews solve this by automating card creation: every word you save from reading becomes a reviewable item, with the contextual example sentence already included.
How Stemmy Reviews work
- Save while reading. Highlight a word in Chrome and save it from the Ghost Card. The word, its meaning, the source sentence and the page link go into your Vocabulary Wallet — and join the review queue.
- Reviews are scheduled. Stemmy schedules each word with spaced repetition (FSRS), based on how well you recalled it before.
- Short sessions, not marathons. When words are due, a Review session begins. You see the word, try to recall it, reveal the answer, and choose: Again / Hard / Good / Easy. Sessions are short and cover only the words that are due. You can pause and resume at any time.
- Spaced repetition adjusts the schedule. Words you marked Easy come back after longer gaps; words you marked Again come back sooner. The schedule keeps adjusting to your answers.
Stemmy Reviews vs Anki: an honest comparison
Anki is the most widely used spaced repetition tool for language learners. It is powerful, customisable, and has a large library of community decks. It also asks you to make and organise your own cards, which some learners find hard to keep up alongside their reading.
| Stemmy Reviews | Anki | |
|---|---|---|
| Card creation | Automatic (save while reading) | Manual (you create each card) |
| Context sentence | Included automatically | You write it yourself |
| Spaced repetition | ✓ | ✓ |
| Works inside the browser | ✓ (Chrome extension) | ✗ (separate app) |
| Community decks | ✗ | ✓ (large library) |
| Mobile apps | ✗ (Chrome extension) | ✓ (iOS and Android) |
| Price | Free to install; no paid plan today | Free on computers and Android; the iOS app is a paid purchase |
Anki details from apps.ankiweb.net, as of 11 October 2026.
When Stemmy Reviews are the better fit
Stemmy Reviews suit learners whose vocabulary comes from real reading — articles, books, professional documents, news — rather than predefined word lists or exam syllabuses. If you want to retain words from your actual reading without spending time creating and organising flashcards, Stemmy removes that entire overhead.
Stemmy may also suit you if you tried Anki and stopped because making cards took too long. With Stemmy, saving a word and reviewing it are both habits that happen inside the reading itself — in the browser, on the same pages you visit anyway.
When Anki is the better fit
Anki is better when you need highly customised card formats, access to shared decks for structured curricula (medical licensing exams, JLPT, IELTS vocabulary lists), or advanced features like image occlusion. If your vocabulary study is curriculum-driven rather than reading-driven, Anki is the more powerful tool.
Do vocabulary flashcards actually work?
Yes, when done with spaced repetition. The research behind the spacing effect — first documented by Hermann Ebbinghaus in the 1880s and consistently replicated since — shows that reviewing material at increasing intervals before it fades is far more efficient than massed practice (studying the same material repeatedly in one session).
The key variable is whether review actually happens. Anki works well for learners who keep the habit. Stemmy aims to lower the friction by turning the words you save while reading into review cards.
Frequently asked questions
What are vocabulary flashcards?
Vocabulary flashcards are a recall practice method: you see a word, try to remember its meaning, then reveal the answer and rate how well you remembered. Spaced repetition systems like Anki and Stemmy Reviews use your rating to decide when to show you that card again — sooner if you struggled, later if you knew it well.
How do Stemmy Reviews work?
When you save a word to your Vocabulary Wallet, it enters the review queue. Stemmy Reviews show you the word and ask you to recall its meaning. You choose Again, Hard, Good, or Easy. The algorithm schedules your next review based on your rating — words you know well appear less often; words you struggle with come back sooner. Sessions are short and can be paused at any time.
How is Stemmy different from Anki?
Anki requires you to manually create cards, organise decks, and maintain the system. Stemmy creates cards automatically from words you save while reading, with the contextual example sentence already included. For learners who want to review vocabulary from their own reading, Stemmy removes the card-making step.
Do vocabulary flashcards really work?
Spaced repetition — reviewing words at increasing intervals before they fade — is one of the most evidence-backed methods in vocabulary research. The key requirement is that review actually happens. Stemmy lowers the barrier by integrating review into the same tool you use for reading, rather than requiring a separate dedicated session in a separate app.
When is Anki better than Stemmy?
Anki is better when you need highly customised card formats, shared community decks (for medical or language exams), or are studying structured curricula with predefined vocabulary lists. Stemmy is better when your vocabulary comes from real reading rather than predefined lists, and when you want saving and review to happen without manual work.