Low-intermediate, but new to Skritter: Some Qs

Chinese
1

Hi all,

I just received a gift subscription to Skritter, and I’m very excited to try it! But I’ve already been using other flashcard programs, and I’m trying to figure out how to get started here.

By way of background, I’ve been studying Chinese with an iTalki tutor since April, and I’d say I’m a beginner-intermediate. I’m semi-retired, and I’m obsessed, so I study four-plus hours a day – reading, studying Integrated Chinese (simplified characters), watching videos, playing games, and doing Anki and Pleco flashcards. I use Anki for sentences, using the Spoonfed Chinese deck; that’s about 50 reviews a day. I use Pleco for words, even more reviews a day. Much as I love Pleco, though, I’m not sure I love it as a flashcard system – even the 4.0 beta, which I’m testing. I’ve used Pleco and (formerly) TofuLearn to practice some writing, but Skritter’s writing-practice is clearly superior, and I’d like to increase my focus on writing. I have read most of the Mandarin Companion books (and I’m delighted to see you have decks based on them). I have Heisig. Anyway, here are my questions.

  1. In general, how should I start? Should I start with Skritter’s most basic decks and go from there? I like to think I know my numbers, but I probably could stand to practice writing even those characters with raw squigs!

  2. More specifically: my Pleco study deck has about 3,100 words in it. Many are from Integrated Chinese, HSK 1-4, and other common sources. But some are unique to me and my interests, or have come up repeatedly in chats with my tutor. Should I import this deck from Pleco and start with it? Or should I first start with Skritter’s provided starter decks and import “my” deck later?

  3. Finally, are there any decks that replicate Anki’s sentence study? I might be happy sticking with Anki for that feature, but if Skritter has something similar, I might be interested. I do notice Skritter has some decks with videos, so maybe they do this? I find it very helpful to practice not only individual words but entire sentences.

I’ve sent the Skritter team a similar email, but I thought I’d post here too. Thanks in advance for any advice. :slight_smile:

2

Hey, thank you for reaching out! I have sent a response to your email from team@skritter.com. I’m sure others in the community may have some great responses too!

1 Like