Matching

What & why

A Matching card gives two short columns and asks the learner to pair each item on the left with its partner on the right — a word with its translation, a term with its definition, an author with their work. One card exercises several pairs at once, which makes it an efficient way to drill a small set of related items.

When it beats Basic

Use it for sets with clear one-to-one relationships where the items belong together — a batch of vocabulary, a handful of terms and their meanings. Keep the set small (around four to six pairs); a long column becomes a puzzle of elimination rather than a test of knowledge.

It’s a recognition exercise, not production — the learner picks from what’s shown, rather than recalling from nothing. For that reason, pair it with Basic or Reverse cards when you also want the learner to produce the answer cold.

A good fit: matching four Spanish words — hola, gracias, adiós, por favor — to hello, thank you, goodbye, please.

Bad → good

Matching rewards a quick scan, so both columns should stay short and roughly the same length. The fastest way to spoil one is to drop a definition into the right column: now it’s a reading test, the tiles stretch to uneven heights, and it’s really a Basic card in disguise.

When a pair truly needs a sentence to make sense, that’s the signal to make it a Basic card instead — not to stretch a column around it.

In the editor

Add two to six pairs — a left item and its right partner on each row. The right column is shuffled for learners by default (turn it off if the order carries meaning). Studying is tap-to-pair: the learner taps a left item, then its match; a completed pair locks in, and tapping it again releases it if they change their mind. One note is one review card — matching doesn’t expand the way Cloze or Reverse do.

Related

• Which card type to use when
• Reverse
• Basic