AI German flashcards for Anki, made from one word
Tarkib is a free, open-source add-on for Anki. Type one German word and it builds a full card: the meaning in your language, a casual and a formal example sentence, the grammar, a photo and audio. A card takes about 15 to 20 seconds.
What is on a card
The same card format as the Tarkib German decks, built for the word you typed.
Any of 24 languages
The meaning in any of 24 languages. English by default, with an optional second language. Each language has its own voice, and you can play a sample first. Arabic uses Modern Standard Arabic.
A casual and a formal sentence
A casual and a formal sentence, usually du and Sie, both translated, so you learn when to use the word.
The grammar
Article, plural and, from B1, the genitive for nouns. Present, past and perfect for verbs, with the real past form of strong verbs: fuhr, not fahrte.
Prepositions with their case
When a sentence uses a preposition, the pattern comes with its case, like warten auf (+Akk). A pattern is only kept if it is really in your sentences.
A photo, emojis and audio
A photo, a couple of emojis, and audio for the German and the translation. Photos need a free Pexels or Pixabay key.
An optional typing card
A cloze card where you type the missing word. It goes into a Cloze subdeck under your deck.
A1 to C1, or Native
Pick A1 to C1 and the German stays clean and fits your level: Besprechung, not Meeting. Native is for real spoken German, and it is the only level where Denglisch is allowed.
It checks before it writes
It refuses input that is not German, asks "Did you mean ...?" when you mistype, and warns you before a duplicate. One Undo removes the card and its cloze card.
What you need
Anki on a computer
Anki 23.10 or newer on Windows, macOS or Linux. You make the cards on a computer, and they sync to AnkiDroid and AnkiMobile like any other deck.
Your own AI key
The default is Groq, which is free and needs no credit card. The free plan is enough for a few dozen cards a day. OpenAI, Gemini, OpenRouter, Mistral, Anthropic and a local Ollama work too.
A photo key
For photos, a free Pexels key (recommended) or a Pixabay key. Without one, many cards get no photo.
Your keys stay on your computer
They are never synced, each one only goes to its own service, and nothing is sent to me. There is no server.
About the audio
The audio uses Microsoft Edge voices through an unofficial service. If it stops working, cards are still added, only without sound.
Please check each card
The cards are written by AI, so look over each one after it is added and edit it like any other note.
Free and open source
MIT license. There is no account, no subscription and no paid version. If it saves you time, you can leave a tip on Ko-fi.
Rather not make the cards yourself?
The Tarkib German decks are ready-made cards in the same format, A1 to C1, with English or Arabic meanings. Made with Claude (Anthropic's AI), reviewed and fixed by a person, card by card. The whole A1 level is free.
You could build them yourself with the add-on, but A2 to C1 is 1,814 word cards: on the free AI plan, which allows a few dozen cards a day, that takes well over a month, and every card still needs checking. The paid levels are those cards already made and reviewed.