- Step 1: Choose your index cards – Buy colored index cards (Amazon has plenty) or simply make your own by coloring the edges.
- Step 2: Assign colors to grammar complexity –
- 🔵 Blue = Very simple rules (1–2 patterns max)
- 🟢 Green = Stem forms (e.g., removing masu from tabemasu)
- 🟡 Yellow = Medium complexity (3 rules, e.g., noun + na-adjective + i-adjective)
- 🔴 Red = Complex rules (4+ rules, often mixing nouns, adjectives, and verbs)
- Step 3: Write one grammar point per card – Keep it clean and short: grammar form + 1–2 example sentences.
- Step 4: Review by color – Depending on your time and mood, you can decide whether to review blue cards for quick practice or red cards for a challenge.
Instructions for creating the card:
- Step 1: add the grammar
- Step 2: add the meaning
- Step 3: add the rule(s)
- Step 4: add one/two sentences in Japanese and then the translation in your mother tongue
What I love about this system is that it makes reviewing not only clearer but also more flexible. For example, if I’m on the bus and I don’t have much time, I can just grab a handful of blue cards and quickly review the easiest rules. On another day, if I feel like challenging myself, I’ll take the red cards instead. This way, I’m always in control of the level I want to study, without feeling lost in a mountain of grammar notes. The colors act as both a roadmap and a motivator, making it much easier to keep progressing consistently.