6 languages  ·  8,000–11,000 cards

The Only Flashcard Decks
Learners Will Ever Need

Frequency-ranked, mnemonic-powered Anki decks — built to take any learner from beginner to fluency, with no other deck required.

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Endorsed by Dr. Norbert Schmitt 1M sentences analyzed

What are the Anki Core Decks?

The Anki Core Decks are flashcard packages for learning languages, compatible with Anki — a free, cross-platform spaced-repetition app.

After purchase, the deck file is imported into Anki in seconds. No prior Anki knowledge is required: every deck includes step-by-step setup instructions.

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How it works
4 steps
1. Buy — Pick the language deck you want.
2. Download — Receive your .apkg file instantly.
3. Import — Open in Anki, a free app on all platforms.
4. Study — Review your 8,000–11,000 frequency-ranked cards.

Available languages

Select your language to explore the deck and watch a full walkthrough.

Spanish deck preview

Anki Core Spanish

8,000–11,000 frequency-ranked flashcards.

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Each flashcard includes
5 layers
Target word — native-speaker audio included
Example sentence — A1→C1 level, with audio
Explanation — how the word is used in context
Mnemonic — keyword technique for +20% retention
Word-part analysis — structure or etymology

ALL the vocabulary you'll EVER need

The Anki Core Deck is the only deck a learner will ever need to reach fluency. With 8,000 to 11,000 frequency-ranked flashcards, every card is built to maximise retention.

Each flashcard packs five layers of information — the target word with audio, a graded example sentence, a context explanation, a keyword mnemonic, and a word-part analysis or etymology.

Together, these layers make every review session count — so learners reach fluency without wasted repetitions.

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Stop wasting time

The Anki Core Decks focus on the 8,000 to 11,000 most common words in the target language, so every study session is spent on vocabulary that truly matters.

Here is why frequency matters:

Optimal use of time: The Anki Core Decks ensure learners focus on the words encountered most often in real-life situations — not obscure vocabulary.

Enhanced understanding: By mastering these common words, learners understand conversations and texts with ease, even without knowing every single word.

Solid learning foundation: High-frequency words form a strong base. Once learned, expanding vocabulary becomes considerably easier, paving the way for advanced language skills.

Comprehension by vocabulary size (estimates)
Top 100 words50% of all text
Top 1,000 words74% coverage
Top 5,000 words90% of conversation
Top 10,000 words97% coverage
97% coverage
Reached by mastering 8,000–11,000 most frequent words.
Coverage depth
8,000 to 11,000 words
Core words and useful word families are both included.
Each form appears with context, examples, audio, and explanations.
Coverage is tuned for real-world comprehension, not just dictionary breadth.

Thorough vocabulary coverage

Many decks exclude word variations — for instance, omitting "creative" because "create" is already present. The Anki Core Decks take a different approach.

Here is why word variations are included:

1. Comprehensive understanding of words: Including word-family variations helps learners grasp the full scope of a word’s meaning and usage, deepening comprehension across different contexts and forms.

2. Improved morphological awareness: Exposure to word families develops the ability to decode new words, infer meanings, and recognize grammatical relationships — a skill that accelerates further learning.

3. Increased retention: Learning words in families creates mental associations. Seeing how words are related makes them easier to remember and recall.

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1 million sentences analyzed

How is the true frequency of a word determined? By counting how many times it appears in real language.

To build the Anki Core Decks, 1 million carefully selected sentences were analyzed. All sentences were sourced from Leipzig University in Germany.

The result of this analysis is a comprehensive ranked list of the 8,000 to 10,000 most-used words in each language.

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Corpus processing
1,000,000 sentences
Sentence frequencies converted into ranked vocabulary targets.
Built from Leipzig University sentence collections.
Mnemonic example · Spanish
caballo noun · horse
1 — Acoustic link
"caballo" sounds like "cabin"
2 — Imagery link
Picture a horse standing inside a log cabin
Example sentence
El caballo está en el prado.
The horse is in the meadow.
70+ studies confirm: keyword technique improves recall by 20–25%.

Improve retention by 20 to 25%

Mnemonics are underused — yet 70+ studies confirm their power.

Professor Paul Nation, one of the world’s leading vocabulary researchers, has confirmed that the keyword technique alone improves retention by 20 to 25%.

The technique works in two steps: find a familiar word that sounds like the target word (acoustic link), then picture a vivid scene connecting the two meanings (imagery link).

Every flashcard in the Anki Core Decks includes a ready-made keyword mnemonic — so learners never have to create one themselves.

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What learners are saying

Testimonials from Anki Core Decks users.

I’ve been using the Spanish Ankicore deck for a couple of months now, and I’m absolutely thrilled with it. The deck is thoughtfully organized and packed with high-quality content that makes learning both efficient and enjoyable. It has truly transformed how I retain vocabulary and progress in my studies.

I was so impressed with the Spanish deck that I decided to pick up the French and Italian decks as well—and they did not disappoint! The consistency and attention to detail across the different language decks are remarkable.

What really stands out, though, is the exceptional support from Loïs. He’s the heart and soul behind Ankicore, and his dedication shines through in both the quality of the decks and the incredible customer support. It’s rare to find someone so responsive and committed to helping learners succeed.

If you’re serious about learning a language, Ankicore decks are a game changer. I can’t recommend them enough—they’ve become an essential part of my language-learning journey.

Les H.

I recently purchased AnkiCore Spanish. I am a corporate trainer, and I teach classes in Spanish. I love your flashcards and appreciate how much work you put into them. Best cards I have seen. If I had the money I would buy the French deck too.

Michael G.

Howdy Loïs,

I just wanted to take a moment to send you a note of thanks. After watching your video with Paul Nation, I decided to check out your work. While looking for your website, I stumbled upon your Anki Card Decks and, within five minutes, had purchased the French Anki package.

As a fellow software engineer, I really appreciate the effort and expertise it must have taken to create this. But more than that, as someone learning a second language for the first time, I’m incredibly grateful for the resource you've provided. It's fantastic.

I’ve been using a Google sheet and a Python script to generate audio files and flashcards for Anki. After downloading your package, though, I doubt I'll be using my own tools again!

Thanks again for all your hard work.

Tyler R.

I purchased your Spanish anki deck and it is really great although still in the early stages of using it (changing a few of the mnemonics but that is all). I think it is difficult to state how much time it takes to create a good deck especially considering you are putting sound on there and things to help memorisation. Personally I have experience in creating a 14'000 French deck and recently a similar one to your core decks for mandarin but only a thousand words which was hard work. Created mnemonics, pictures and a spoken example sentence. Would say in the free Anki store the decks tend to be less high quality in my opinion, I am talking in a general sense as there are some good ones. Mnemonics help enormously in the memorisation process.

Stephen D.

About the developer

Language learning without the guesswork

Loïs Talagrand has spent years researching language learning methods, reaching high levels in multiple languages, including English. On his YouTube channel, he shares these insights and interviews prominent figures in the language learning world.

Lois Talagrand