Mnemosyne flashcard sets and plecodict

[huaqiao06]

I've just started using mnemosyne to improve my character memorisation.

Right now i'm creating flashcards based on the vocab lists in my school textbooks but that's very time consuming, so I'm looking at the flashcard sets avilable online

http://shengci.wojas.nl/mnemosyne

I'd like to ask:

- is there a comprehensive set, e.g. with the most common3000-6000 characters? (basically a mini-dictionary)

- can you extract cards from a set in mnemosyne and make a new deck with them (e.g. if I wanted to make lists of the words that I'm currently studying in class?)

- how have these online sets been compiled (e.g. are they based on widely available textbooks? obviously the HSK ones are based on the test contents)

I'm also considering getting plecodict 2.0.

Given it has a flashcard system, I'm wondering whether plecodict users find they still need to use a computer-based flashcard program like mnemosyne?

Also if anyone has an opinion on what platform (PDA or smartphone) is best for running plecodict 2.0, I'd love to hear it.

thanks in advance

[renzhe]

I can only speak for the HSK portion (which is based on widely available vocabulary, also available from this site), but Konrad's set also includes vocabulary from different textbooks, including the very popular Integrated Chinese. You can also find vocabulary from another popular textbook, NPCR, over at http://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/flashcards.php, but I don't know if you can export them and save them.

The most reasonable thing you can do if you're not using one of those, IMHO, is to input the words from each new lessons yourself. Then you'll remember them better, and also learn words that you've already covered. There is little point in memorising words from a textbook you're not using yourself. In that case, I'd just go with the HSK vocabulary, which is quite relevant, and update it with the odd words you run into that are missing from it.

If you have trouble inputting the words, you can use an online dictionary to input pinyin and then cut/paste the characters and definitions into your flashcard program.

[huaqiao06]

thanks, that's what I'm doing now, if I find the online definition inadequate then I type in the one from my paper dictionary.

Wondering what mnemosyne card grade (1-5) to use if you can remember the sound and tone of the character but not the meaning?

[renzhe]

Don't take the numbers/grades too strictly. You'll develop a feeling for what works best for you, and the software should adapt to that. As long as you reward good memory and punish forgetting, it should be fine.

Personally, if I roughly know the pronunciation and roughly know the meaning, I might give it a 2, or sometimes even 3 if I'm very close. It ensures you'll get it a bit more often, and you've already refreshed the memory. 4 is for the stuff I know easily, and 5 is for the stuff that's way too easy.

But you'll figure it out, just use it for a while and see how it reacts and what works best for you.

[ABCinChina]

It all depends on your preference what you grade the cards. For me, if I get the sound and tone right but not the meaning, then the card gets grade 1. This is because the card is getting familiar and you need to see it less than grade 0 cards in order for a better spacing effect. (Grade 0 cards are limited by the "how many cards to hold in your hand" setting while Grade 1 cards aren't. Thus, Grade 1 hards pop up with less frequency than Grade 0)

[huaqiao06]

so mnemosyne has no 'dictionary' function that lets you input the word you want, retrieve the relevant card from an imported list and then add the card to a customised list?

I assume plecodict lets you do this.

can anyone suggest another program for PC that has this function?

[Wufnu]

Re: Yellowbridge, I use their flash cards (I subscribed) for Integrated Chinese and they're the best. I can study in different modes, play the memory game, etc. It's nice. You can also print them but I have no reason to.

[renzhe]

Speaking of textbooks and mnemosyne, I've just noticed that somebody has uploaded the flashcard sets for the Practical Chinese Reader and New Practical Chinese Reader to the Mnemosyne webpage one of these days.

Could be interested to people using those textbooks.