Vocabulary quiz
Match the word to its meaning. Misses come back soon, known words fade out. A few minutes a day is enough.
Why this beats a word list
Reading down a list of 40 words feels productive, but most of them are gone within days: that decline is the forgetting curve Hermann Ebbinghaus measured in the 1880s. Retrieval practice (making yourself recall the answer) and spacing (reviewing after a gap) are two of the best-supported techniques in learning research, rated “high utility” in Dunlosky and colleagues’ 2013 review of study methods. This quiz does both: every question is a retrieval, and the boxes decide the spacing for you.
Questions people ask
How does the vocabulary quiz work?
Each question shows a definition and four words. Pick the one that fits. Words you get right move up a box and come back less often; words you miss drop to box 1 and come back soon. That is the Leitner system, a simple form of spaced repetition.
What is spaced repetition?
Reviewing something just as you are about to forget it. Hermann Ebbinghaus described the “forgetting curve” in 1885, and many studies since have found that spreading reviews out beats cramming for long-term memory. Sebastian Leitner turned the idea into a box-of-flashcards method in the 1970s.
Is this a vocabulary test that gives me a level?
It is a practice quiz rather than a standardised test. Your score per level is kept in your browser so you can see progress over time, but it is not an official measure of vocabulary size.
Can I quiz myself on my own words?
Yes. Save words from any entry or dictionary lookup, then choose “My saved words”. Saved words that are also in our lists get full multiple-choice questions.
Where is my progress stored?
Only in this browser’s local storage. Nothing is sent to a server. Use “Reset progress” to clear it.