Words with multiple pronunciations: Confusing use of semicolon and new line?

This is probably not possible to change, but I would like to mention it, because it is something that annoys me a lot, and which in my opinion makes Skritter harder to use. If a word has multiple pronunciations, Skritter will first give me a list of translations of the first pronunciation, separating the words with a semicolon. It will then start a new line, but not add any vertical space, and give a new list of translations of the second pronunciation, separating them with a semicolon.

Maybe I’m unusual, but I find this very hard to decipher visually. To me, a semicolon implies a higher level separation. Why not use a comma? Are there some special cases where the translation would contain a comma? I would guess that would be rare, and could probably be avoided.

The new lines without any vertical space are hard to spot for me, especially on a small phone. It usually takes me several seconds to look for the line break, and determine whether the previous line ended with a semicolon or not.

Characters with different pronunciations are a big problem for beginner learners, and I honestly feel that you’re not helping much. :frowning:

Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback! We hope to get this cleaned up more in the future. A large number of data is user-made, so sometimes there are inconsistencies in the format.

We are currently working on major Skritter 4.0 updates and we will likely be making improvements to how these types of things are displayed. Skritter 4.0 is still in the planning stages, so I can’t say with certainty what will be different just yet.

In the meantime, if you run into a definition that you find particularly challenging to read, you have the option to create a custom definition. I understand that this isn’t the most ideal solution for all entries. Here are the instructions: Editing Definitions and Mnemonics for Personal Use - Skritter.

Let me know if you have any other questions!