Memrise

[Melanie1989]

So does anyone have any experiences with Mermrise? Fabiothebest recommended it to me on another thread and i can't thank you enough! Since i started using it my Chinese has improved hugely! I have nothing but good things to say about it, genuinely, and i think no matter what level you are at, it's worth checking it out. 

 

It has HSK practice tests (all 6), reading tests etc etc. At the minute it's free but i think they are working on setting up a fee. Either way, it's worth it. 

 

 

**I am in no way affiliated/sponsored etc with memrise, i genuinely just love it

[grawrt]

I used Memrise a while back before they changed the system. I really liked it then but I just couldn't get used to it. I remember I tried to get used to it for about two weeks before I ultimately gave up with it. I just checked the system now to see if things have changed, and it seems that they have fixed the annoying glitches since then. I only spent about 15 minutes on the site but I think it's a very good site for learning Chinese that is free. If you like this site i'm sure you'll also like Chinese-course.com. It has a similar interface and sends daily emails containing new words, sentences, and words to review. They also have a paid version but its not necessary to buy.

But honestly speaking the charm of these free sites really wore off after I tried skritter. I felt like my knowledge of the characters compositions were better ingrained in my mind afterwards. Now I don't really use skritter as much as I did because there are some words I just want to know but don't really need to know how to write. I just found it easier as a whole to learn new words via pleco flashcards. But this is just me.

I think I'm noticing a trend of me dropping one system for another D:. But yeah, my overall analysis of memrise is that it's quite good but I really hate some of the definitions they put for some cards. I can't remember if you can edit the cards or not but on one of my flashcards was the character 吧 and its definition was bar. That really bugged me. Because it's not the first thing you think of with that character. Also it doesn't mean bar in isolation >__<

[mouse]

 

I think I'm noticing a trend of me dropping one system for another D:. But yeah, my overall analysis of memrise is that it's quite good but I really hate some of the definitions they put for some cards. I can't remember if you can edit the cards or not but on one of my flashcards was the character 吧 and its definition was bar. That really bugged me. Because it's not the first thing you think of with that character. Also it doesn't mean bar in isolation >__<

 

This was one of my major problems with memrise when I used it. You have to be an administrator of a collection to edit it, so if a particular collection had wrong characters or definitions, you were stuck with them. The other problem was (and still is as far as I can tell) absentee users, meaning if an author of a collection went AWOL, errors could remain for months or even years.

 

Memrise isn't bad, but I don't really think it's well suited to learning something as ambiguous as words. It's better for revising facts - like capital cities for example - things that have very fixed meanings.

[Melanie1989]

Huh. That's a shame. I was aware through looking at some of the forums (they're all in sections for each type of lessons) that some of the words weren't necessarily 100% right but thought they had all been fixed. Well, in that case, that's a pretty big downside!

 

I do think though that their system really helps remembering hanzi. I like that they start off giving you individual characters, then two or three character words, then builds up to sentences. I find that way you know more of the meaning of the individual characters and why they're chosen when they become a part of several character words. If that makes sense.

 

It is very interesting hearing about others experiences though, even if they're not so great. 

[fabiothebest]

Yes it's true that sometimes the definitions could be improved (sometimes the main meaning isn't shown as first) but they aren't wrong either though When I see a new character I also use a popup dictionary in the browser like zhongwen or perapera, so I get the correct meaning immediately. There are ways to change the definitions but you can't do it directly, unless you request to become a contributor of the course. You can still write in the forum though and the author of the course can change it (if he's active). But with memrise you can also create YOUR OWN courses, I'm doing it lately and I like the system.

When I went to China last year I bought a small book for kids about food names, I left it in my room for quite some time because I didn't have time or I was lazy to study it, then I had the brilliant idea to create a memrise course based on that and I could learn all the words in a few days ;) By the way the course is here: http://www.memrise.com/course/274729/chinese-food-baby-book/ .

 

Then I created a course about useful words for browsing Chinese websites, for example for now I added words extracted from Youku website, then I'l add other useful words creating different levels for different sections. http://www.memrise.com/course/278048/chinese-vocabulary-7/

 

Then I started using Chinesepod and I noticed that there are already a few courses about Chinesepod words on memrise but the words are mixed and ordered according to frequency, it may be useful for reviewing but I wanted a course with a level for each lesson so that I could listen to the podcast and then study the characters of every single lesson. It didn't exist, I created it This is for Chinesepod level 1, I'm adding new lessons at the same time I study them. http://www.memrise.com/course/285717/chinesepod-newbie-dialogs/

 

I'm using memrise for preparing for HSK. There are courses for all the levels of the new HSK, though someone says the old HSK exam was harder. Well, if we look at the number of characters to study for each level, it could be true. If you want to expand your vocabulary, it could be useful to study the characters and words of the old HSK rather than a random list (unless you have something specific to learn). There were no courses for the old HSK exam on memrise, I just created one yesterday for level 1. I still have to refine some definitions that i took from a skritter list, you can contribute, anyway it's ok  http://www.memrise.com/course/294550/old-hsk-level-1/

 

You may or not like memrise, though I like the system and it's working well for me, so I use it I'm in no way affiliated to it

[hedwards]

I think that unless you're going to use somebody else's mnemonics, which is generally suboptimal, that you might as well just use Anki or one of the other SRS systems.

 

Well, I guess that's a bit strong, the rankings can be motivating for some folks, and that is beneficial.

 

Personally, I use one of their courses for the HSK vocab and examples, but I use imron's program to take text from a graded level reader and Mandarin version of Finding Nemo for the rest of my vocab. Which on the vocab side of things seems to be working, I can sort of read that book now.

[Tatarik]

I tried Memrise, really like the concept and eventually gave up as I couldn't access my Chinese courses offline on my Android. That was a dealbreaker for me. 

I think it was because of their size, since there wasn't as many issues with other topics of study. Weird. 

 

I left a message on the support forum thread here but never got a meaningful reply. :-(

[mouse]

fabiothebest, it's great that you find memrise useful and I'm sure others do too. However, it sounds like we both came across the same problems and the only solution was to make our own courses. This was the deal breaker for me, as I think anki is both far more sophisticated and more simple to use than memrise.

 

Memrise is basically non-functional for users who don't want to spend the time making their own courses. When I first started using it, the most attractive thing about the site was the idea that I could pick a course and just get on with drilling the vocab, no need to input everything myself, no need to find my own audio files etc, it was all done for me. But then you start using some of the courses and you find that, say, this course is throwing in radicals as if they're words without telling you, or a number of words have extremely pedantic definitions (add an 's' or forget a 'the' and it's incorrect) or even that the definitions are flat-out wrong. When you decide to bite the bullet and start your own collection, you find that you're limited to memrise's database of words, so the problem of wrong or slightly off definitions doesn't go away. Then, if you're me, you get caught in the middle of an interminable upgrade of the memrise website, where the site is inaccessible for weeks. When the site finally comes back online, you find your words have been randomly sorted into "levels" and you can't re-arrange them. After this, building a deck from scratch on anki suddenly doesn't look like so much work. Also, I find the kind of mnemonics that people post on memrise to be completely redundant, so moving away from memrise to an SRS programme that actually worked was not hard for me.

[fabiothebest]

For Tatarik: I didn't experience that problem, I have android too. Anyway it wouldn't be a too big problem for me, I have an internet connection on my phone. The used bandwith is very little, instead it would take some space in the memory of your phone, that is limited. Yes according to the phone, you may expand it with a sd card, anyway the android system makes a difference between internal and external memory. Apps should be installed in the internal memory, some can be moved to the sd card, but not all. Then you'd end up having to uninstall apps when you run out of space. I prefer using internet than filling too much the memory of my phone. Anyway you need internet for that. If you don't, then I see the value of being able to use it offline..

 

For mouse: I didn't get caught in the middle of the upgrade so I didn't experience that problem, anyway it seems to be working fine now. Yes memrise uses a database of words, but when you create new courses you can edit each field (definition included) and use the best one for you. Both memrise and Anki allow you to create flashcards. I have used both, but I used memrise more. I find it a bit easier to use (even if less flexible) and more engaging. Also the gamification itself and the fact that you earn points and can challenge others helps a bit keeping motivated. The GUI of anki is very minimal, memrise looks better. I usually look at the substance and not at the aestetics anyway I think memrise has a nice interface. I like more the visual presentation of characters on memrise rather than on anki and the fact that there is more interaction (sometimes on memrise I have to write the definition, the pinyin or the Chinese characters rather than just flip a card and select whether I knew it or not). Can it be done with Anki? What I like about Anki is the bigger flexibility, its open source nature, the detailed statistics. Besides also the SRS system itself can be better controlled and I think even with default settings the two systems are different. I notice that sometimes anki shows me a card even after 1 month if I know it well so I have less cards to review daily (which could be better..if I know them well, I may wait a bit longer before reviewing them)..instead with memrise I would have to review them all every 1-2 days, and if you have hundreds of flashcards like me, it becomes like a job . About memrise I also like the mems though, sometimes I may have to create my own mems (and it lets me do it, so it's fine), anyway sometimes I find some that are okay for me as well, so it's useful to have them. Mems are related to the character, not just about a course, so they can be automatically reused with different memrise courses. I think that I prefer memrise for studying new characters, after I studied them, I may also use anki for just reviewing them. I didn't use anki much and I should try it more though.

 

I found a web app service for converting a memrise course into an Anki deck, I didn't test it personally but if it works, it may be useful for someone: http://www.peteschlette.com/memrise2anki.html . Happy Chinese study, no matter which system you use

[Melanie1989]

Well that's a bloody shame, i didn't realise memrise had so many flaws. Does anyone think it would be worth it to keep using it anyway and using something like DimSum to double check the meanings? I have considered it all day but still unsure as to whether it might be just too much pratting around.

 

@tatarik My boyfriend has been having the same trouble, he's using memrise for Italian.....i think maybe it's just another fault of the website, unfortunately. i hope they are working on fixing these problems, especially if they are soon to expect people to pay for service. It's a shame there are so many problems, i think it's a great way to learn.

[Demonic_Duck]

I used memrise for a bit, liked it pretty well, although it's true there were a few problems evident. I no longer use it as pleco is basically my all-in-one tool now. I still think memrise is a cool site with a nice interface, though. Perhaps further upgrades will iron out some of the kinks.

[hedwards]

A couple things, Anki actually does allow you to type in the answer if you like, it's just not enabled by default. Here's a tutorial on it that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tYObQ3ocrw . It's probably fairly annoying on ones phone, but when typing on the computer it shouldn't be too bad. What's more you still have to manually rate your answer so if you know that it's just a stupid typo and not an error in learning that you can just ignore it.

 

As for the process of entering cards into the system, when I get a chance I'll do a tutorial on that, because while it's a valid exercise to go in and manually do all that typing, it's also a huge time suck that can be rather demoralizing as you're not really making any progress like that.

[fabiothebest]

Thanks for the video, I need to learn to use anki better. Any help is welcome.

[John Zhouran]

I started using Memrise about 18 months ago and continue to use it daily,  I think it is very useful, but realise some may point out its faults and limitations, but for me it has been invaluable especially because I use PC only to study and not willing to spend a few extra dollars.

 

I was unsure when I started learning Chinese whether I would be interested in committing to a languange, and especially a difficult language like Chinese. I enjoyed using it and 3 months later, using only memrise and HSK mock tests, passed the HSK1 test. My commitment to Memrise has continued since then and I am now using it to learn HSK 5 words.

 

I find for me it is the quickest way to recognise new characters and gives some useful hints that can actually help aid memory.  I like the look and feel of the site and the 3 different audio voices for each character is also of great benefit. I find that actually typing in pinyin that requires tone number after the word ie ma3 is the only way I have found to remember tones. Some people I believe, prefer learning a word and just pressing the spacebar for the answer, which is better for phone apps. But for me, the extra effort of typing on a PC helps with the learning process.

 

So good luck if you enjoy using Memrise, for further interest add me and we can compete against each other.

[fabiothebest]

@ John Zhouran: I also find Memrise an invaluable tool. I'm about to finish HSK 2, you are already at level 5, anyway if you tell me your username we can make a challenge ;)

[Manuel]

Anki is highly customizable allowing users to create multi-dimensional cards. I haven't looked much into Memrise but after glancing at their website it would appear as though you are limited to pre-made decks, suitable for students who like being spoon-fed. Personally I find creating my own content to be a key aspect of the learning process. When I create my own material, all my senses and other parts of my brain are being engaged, which greatly enhances the probability of retention. Also, the one-size-fits-all paradignm does not work well when it comes to language learning: my whacky mnemonics and example sentences will not work for everyone.

 

Furthermore, I only ever try to remember words and expressions I encounter through personal experience while talking to someone, or while reading a piece of text that interests me. By contrast, pre-made decks are a collection of meaningless, out-of-context words and sentences.

 

For all the above reasons, I think Anki is a great tool for 1) recording the knowledge you have already encountered and comprehended, and 2) reinforcing your memory of that knowledge.

 

Want more? Anki comes with a desktop version, which makes it a doodle adding and editing your own material. You can even record high-quality audio into it if you have a decent microphone and sound card. It's also cross-platform and open-source, meaning that if the developers drop support anyone can pick up the code and keep the party going.

[fabiothebest]

Anki indeed is a great tool and all you said is true except, that in order to be fair, we must say that Memrise also DOES allow to create your own courses with your own words/characters and your own mnemonics. I use it, so I know what I'm talking about.

[Manuel]

I should have looked more carefully, thanks for setting the record straight!

[hedwards]

Manuel, you can, but once you have a set of spreedsheats for entering vocab into Anki, it's hard to find a more efficient way of doing it. And if you don't mind the occasional goof, you can even make Google auto translate the words for you.

[kikosun]

I agree with the other posters that with memrise it is easier to get started studying other peoples decks. But that includes the occasional mistake without the ability to change other peoples decks. It's ok if you are just starting out, but at some point you are going to want to be building your own decks with the words you see on a daily basis, and your own mnemonics. Anki is ok, but I prefer Pleco. It is more geared toward Chinese learning and has some chinese specific things like chinese text to speech and OCR recognition, etc.