Anki relearning steps: what they do and what to set them to

Relearning steps are the quick re-checks Anki gives a card after you forget it. When you press Again on a card you'd already learned, Anki shows it again later that same day, once per step. Then the card goes back to coming up every few days. The default is one step of 10 minutes, and for most people that's the right setting. If you use FSRS, keep every step shorter than a day.

They're the same idea as learning steps, except learning steps are for new cards and relearning steps are for cards you've forgotten.

What happens when you forget a card

Take a card that's due every 30 days, with the starting ease of 250%. You press Again. With the default settings, Anki:

1. Counts a lapse.
2. Takes 20 points off the ease, to 230% (SM-2 only).
3. Shows the card again in 10 minutes. That's the relearning step.
4. Sets the card's next gap: 30 days × New interval (0% by default), but never less than the Minimum interval (1 day by default). So the card comes back tomorrow.

From there the gap has to grow again from 1 day, and with a lower ease it grows more slowly.

What each button does during relearning

With the default single step of 10 minutes:

Only the first Again, on the review card, counts as a lapse. Pressing Again while the card is relearning doesn't add another.

The settings, and their defaults

These are in Deck Options, under Lapses.

New interval (default 0.00) is in the Advanced section. It sets how much of the old interval a card keeps after a lapse. At 0 it keeps none, so every forgotten card starts again from the Minimum interval.

If you leave Relearning steps blank, the card skips the same-day review and goes straight to its new interval.

What to set them to

Keep the default 10m. One quick check that you can recall the card again is enough. Anki's manual says to keep steps to a minimum: seeing a card many times on the same day doesn't do much for long-term memory.

If cards you've just relearned keep failing the next day, try two steps, such as 10m 1h. Don't add more than that. A card that keeps failing needs to be rewritten, not drilled more.

If you use FSRS, keep every step under a day. Anki's manual says relearning steps of a day or more aren't recommended with FSRS, and suggests steps such as 10m or 30m. FSRS picks the interval after a lapse itself and ignores New interval.

Leave New interval at 0 unless you know why you're changing it. Some people set it to around 0.2 so a well-known card keeps part of its interval: at 20%, a 30-day card comes back after about 6 days instead of 1. That saves reviews, but you'll forget more of those cards.

Relearning and leeches

Each lapse adds to the card's lapse count. When the count reaches the Leech threshold (8 by default), Anki tags the note "leech". If Leech action is set to Suspend Card, it also suspends the card so it stops coming up. After that, Anki warns you again every half threshold: at 12, 16, 20 lapses and so on.

Relearning steps don't decide when a card becomes a leech. Only the number of times you forget it does. A card that's lapsed eight times usually has a problem that more same-day reviews won't fix. What to do with leech cards covers how to rewrite them. Every lapse also costs 20 points of ease, so a card that keeps lapsing ends up in what Anki users call ease hell.

Again or Hard?

Relearning only starts when you press Again on a review card. If you remembered the card with real effort, press Hard. It's a pass, so there's no lapse and no relearning. Hard vs Again explains how to choose.

In Decks

Decks uses the same defaults and they can't be changed: one 10-minute relearning step, a 1-day interval after a lapse, and 20 points off the ease. On the relearning step, Hard, Good and Easy all send the card back to reviews at 1 day. Decks counts lapses but doesn't tag or suspend leeches.