Here in 2023, what’s the most pain free way to create decks out of words you encounter in the wild and review them with spaced repetition?

I pretty much only get better at Japanese if I’m doing some kind of spaced repetition. The problem is that my current method for adding cards requires too much overhead. ChatGPT and modern AI services kind of make this a bit easier, but I’m wondering if there isn’t anything new out there that really takes all of the thought out of it.

Currently I’ll read until I hit a word I can’t read, like 課題 (which is a word I know, but I just don’t recognize the kanji).

So first I’ll look it up in the [Dictionaries](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dictionaries/id1380563956) app (because it offers multiple dictionaries and I can write out the kanji with my finger) or if I’m feeling lazy I’ll take a photo of it and use Google translate.

Then I’ll find example sentences from [Weblio](https://ejje.weblio.jp/sentence/), [Sentence Search](https://sentencesearch.neocities.org/), or [Kanshudo](https://www.kanshudo.co), and failing that I’ll ask ChatGPT to make at least two sentences up.

Then I’ll open up Anki, [add a new card.](https://res.cloudinary.com/mca62511/image/upload/v1700124348/Screenshot_2023-11-16_at_17.43.32_qohaks.png) Copy paste into “Expression,” hit tab and the Japanese plugin will autofill the “Reading” portion. Fill in the English meaning, and then use Awesome TTS (or the file downloaded from Sentence Search) for the audio.

I have my cards setup such that the [front side](https://res.cloudinary.com/mca62511/image/upload/v1700124505/Screenshot_2023-11-16_at_17.46.42_u403bj.png) actually has the furigana on it, but it is all hidden until you hover over a word or click on a word. That way if I’m studying 課題 but I happen to need help with the other words, I can see the furigana without penalizing myself. The [back side](https://res.cloudinary.com/mca62511/image/upload/v1700124506/Screenshot_2023-11-16_at_17.47.02_vkau5m.png) is your pretty typical Anki card.

And all of that works out really well for me, when I keep up with it. The problem is that I eventually burn out and stop keeping up with it. Also, while it works well if I setup my computer first before opening a book, it works less well for just… encountering language out in the world. Right now I take notes and then fill in Anki later, but again that is reliant on my follow through.

I’ve been around the Japanese-language-learning block long enough to know that chasing perfection is a waste of time, but it has been a long while since I’ve participated in a community like this, so I’m wondering if there isn’t any kind of new hotness out there, or new method that streamlines all of this even further.

My Japanese level is N2 (passed the test) and I have a pretty good speaking ability. A big part of my problem is that I just don’t know that much kanji.