Editing Openai/6932fed8-c6a8-8000-8477-1049d95cb85e (section)

==== 5. Concrete recommendations ====

===== 5.1. Handling leeches (what to do with those nightmare cards) =====

I’d treat a card as a leech if either:
* ≥ 8 lapses, or
* ≥ 40 reviews with again rate ≥ 40% and final interval still ≤ ~7 days.

You currently have ~40–50 such cards.

For those:
# Suspend from the main flow. Don’t keep hammering them in normal reviews. Tag them as leech and bury/suspend.
# Rebuild the card with more cues. For example: - Add a short Japanese sentence showing a clear context. - Add a very short meaning or keyword (even just in English or your native language). - Add a little hint about the kanji (“解 = to untie / explain”, “警 = warn”, etc.).
# Break big confusion sets apart. For things like: - 性格 vs 正確 vs 正解 - 解放 vs 解決 vs 回復 Make a mini note outside Anki where you: - write each word, an example, and a distinct explanation, - maybe create one comparison card like: > Front: 「‘solve a problem’ = ？」 > Back: 解決する > and one like: > Front: 「‘free prisoners’ = ？」 > Back: 解放する
# Re-introduce them slowly, not all at once. Once you’ve rebuilt, drip them back in at 1–2 per day max, and only when you have mental bandwidth.
# If a leech still won’t die, accept “passive only”. Maybe you treat some words as: - okay to understand in reading (you’ll get them from context), - but not worth mastering as active recall right now. For those, it’s totally fine to keep them only in immersion/reading and drop the card.

===== 5.2. Adjusting pacing and load =====
# New cards/day - The last two weeks you’re averaging ~9–10 new cards/day → this is a good range for your level. - I’d set a hard cap around 10–15 new cards/day for this kind of abstract, kanji-heavy vocab. - Definitely avoid spikes like 50–100 new in one day again.
# Daily reviews - You’re doing ~240–300 reviews/day, with peaks around 400. - If you feel mentally fine, 250–300 is okay. - On days you’re tired or busy, it’s better to reduce new cards to 0 than to skip reviews. FSRS will keep your intervals reasonable.
# Time-of-day strategy - Put your hardest reviews (mature & leeches, kanji-heavy) in a session around late morning or early afternoon (10:00–14:00). - Use late afternoon/evening sessions mostly for: - easier reviews, - “cleanup” work, - or even just reading / listening practice instead of Anki.
# Stricter Good/Again rule - Decide on a personal rule, for example: - If it takes >10 seconds, or - If you feel you “just guessed”, - or if you mentally needed to go through multiple wrong candidates first → press Again. - This will raise your short-term again rate a bit, but it will reduce long-term leeches and frustration.

===== 5.3. Specific strategies for kanji and confusing compounds =====
# Add a minimal semantic anchor to kanji-only cards. - Without bloating the card, add: - a 1–3 word gloss, or - a short phrase like “responsibility; duty” for 責任. - Even a keyword is enough to give your brain another hook.
# Use “kanji families” outside of Anki. Take your frequent leech kanji like 解, 通, 正, 確, 直, 意, etc. and: - Make a small page per kanji: - kanji, - basic meaning, - 3–4 common words you’re actually studying. - Group your problem words on those pages so your brain sees patterns instead of isolated noise.
# Targeted practice for near-synonym sets. For clusters: - 性格 / 正確 / 正解 - 解放 / 解決 / 回復 - 通う / 通る do a 5–10 minute comparison drill: - Write each word by hand. - Say the reading out loud. - Say a short example sentence (even a simple one). - Explicitly say the contrast: - “正確 = correct (no mistakes); 正解 = the right answer on a test; 性格 = personality.” You can optionally make one extra card per set that directly asks you to distinguish them (e.g. a cloze sentence where only one fits).
# Limit pure “kanji → reading” drills for the worst offenders. For leechy compounds, it might be better to flip the direction: - Back = kanji (with sentence), Front = meaning or audio or reading. - That way you test understanding & recognition rather than strict production of the reading, reducing interference pressure. You don’t have to change the whole deck; just do this for a subset of chronic leeches.
# Writing practice for a small subset of kanji. For the most problematic kanji (e.g. 解, 憶 if you have it, etc.): - Pick 5–10 kanji max. - Write them by hand from memory in a notebook a few times while saying the reading & a word they appear in. - This isn’t to become a calligrapher; it’s to deepen the orthographic and motor memory, which stabilizes recognition and reduces confusion.

===== 5.4. Working with FSRS specifically =====

Given your stats:
* Review again rate ~19% → okay but could be smoother.
* Learn again rate ~47% → new material is too hard or too dense.

I’d suggest:
# Reduce “new” difficulty rather than tweaking FSRS first. - Fewer new cards/day (which you already started doing). - Better encoding (add meaning/sentence on leech-prone vocab).
# If you can edit FSRS settings: - Make sure the target retention isn’t set ridiculously high (≥95%) for this deck. A target around 90% for vocab is usually a sweet spot: fewer lapses, less stress.
# Monitor again rate by deck after these changes. - If, after adding context + lowering new cards, your review again rate stays around 15–20% and you feel okay, you’re in a good zone. - If it’s >25% and you’re annoyed, back off further on new cards or rebuild more leeches.