Anki Kaishi 15k ★ Ultimate

Kaishi 1.5k

The deck is widely considered the modern "gold standard" for beginner Japanese vocabulary on Anki. It was specifically designed to replace older, clunkier decks like the Tango N5 and N4 by merging them into a more efficient, 1,500-word all-in-one package. Why Kaishi 1.5k?

The Suspended Deck Strategy

A "leech" is a card you keep getting wrong. In a 15k deck, these will kill your motivation. Be Ruthless: If you’ve missed a word 8 times, suspend it anki kaishi 15k

1. Download from AnkiWeb (search “Kaishi 1.5k”).
2. Review settings: New cards 10–15/day, steps 1m 10m, graduating interval 1 day.
3. Practice daily – Listen to the audio first, read the sentence, try to recall the word.
4. Suspend obvious words (e.g., 私, 食べる) to focus on new ones.

4. Monolingual Transition Support

Context-First Learning:

Unlike simple word lists, this deck uses i+1 sentence mining . Each new card introduces exactly one new word in a sentence where you already know everything else, making the meaning stick through context rather than rote memorization. Kaishi 1

• Reduce new cards to 10–20/day; focus on suspending or merging weak cards.
• Increase focused active recall: simulate exam conditions or free-recall sessions.

The Struggle

: At first, it's a mountain of squiggles. Characters like 日 (day) and 本 (book/origin) are easy, but then come the verbs— 起きる (to wake up) vs. 起こす (to wake someone up). Download from AnkiWeb (search “Kaishi 1