Skip to content

Learning a new natural language can be a daunting proposition at the best of times, with repetition and immersion generally considered to be the best ways to build up not only vocabulary but also that innate sense for grammar and cultural details that sneak into every spoken language. Flash cards are one way to help with vocabulary and sentence building, such as [Peter Hraska]’s Enkiplate project that uses the Inkplate 4Tempera being an interesting alternative to lugging a stack of cards with you.

Although the software also works in the browser, using the Inkplate or similar device means that you can keep it with you while it keeps track of your progress in learning the shown cards, with a starting pace of 12 cards per day to learn. It also shows you calendar items for that day and the weather using an online weather service.

Starting from basic kana, i.e. the two phonetic writing systems, the difficulty is slowly ramped up to cover kanji and then sentences.…