Weeblingo is a desktop application for learning Japanese, optimized for use via a Command Line Interface (CLI) while still having the benefits of a Graphical User Interface (GUI). With a nice and friendly interface, users can learn Japanese at a comfortable pace and manage flashcards with this application.

Table of contents

Introduction

About Weeblingo

Weeblingo is a desktop application that helps users learn the Japanese language. It has three primary modes, which are the learn, quiz and history modes. The app contains flashcards that pairs a Japanese word and its corresponding English syllable for users to learn. It allows users to test themselves on their grasp of the Japanese language by starting a quiz session. In addition, users can view their history of past quiz attempts and the relevant statistics.

Additional information

These are symbols used throughout the User Guide you might want to take note of.

  • :information_source: : Indicates information that is likely to be helpful

Quick start

  1. Ensure you have Java 11 or above installed in your Computer.

  2. Download the latest weeblingo.jar from here.

  3. Copy the file to the folder you want to use as the home folder for your Weeblingo application.

  4. Launch the app through running java -jar weeblingo.jar or double-clicking the icon. The GUI similar to the image below should appear in a few seconds.
    Ui

  5. Type the command in the command box and press Enter to execute it. e.g. typing help and pressing Enter will open the help window.
    Some example commands you can try:

    • learn : Enters Learn mode.

    • tag 1 t/easy : Tags the first flashcard shown as easy.

    • end : Returns to menu.

    • exit : Exits the app.

  6. Refer to the Features below for details of each command.

Features

:information_source: Notes about the command format:

  • Words in UPPER_CASE are the parameters to be supplied by the user.

  • Items in square brackets are optional.

  • Items with …​ after them can be used multiple times including zero times.

  • Parameters can be in any order.
    eg. if the command specifies n/NUMBER t/TAG, t/TAG n/NUMBER is also acceptable.

  • If a parameter is expected only once in the command but you specified it multiple times, only the last occurrence of the parameter will be taken.
    eg. if you specify n/5 n/10, only n/10 will be taken.

  • Extraneous parameters for commands that do not take in parameters (such as help, next and exit) will be ignored.
    e.g. if the command specifies help あいうえお, it will be interpreted as help.

General Commands

Commands listed in this section can be run in all modes of the app.

Ending the session: end

Prematurely ends the current quiz session. Quiz progress will not be saved if this is done.

The end command is only applicable while the user is in Quiz mode.

:information_source: Note: If you want to end your current quiz session but want to see the statistics of the questions answered so far, consider skipping all questions until the end using next instead. The end command is meant as a way to quickly discard and close the current quiz session.

Format: end

Asking for help: help

Shows a message explaning how to access the help page.

help message

Format: help

Exiting the application: exit

Exits the application.

Format: exit

Learn Mode Commands

Entering learn mode: learn

Enters Learn Mode, where all current flashcards are listed out. Answers to current flashcards are shown as well.

Users can utilise this mode to facilitate the learning process, and look through complete flashcards without having to test themselves.

Tagging related functions are also only available in this mode.

Format: learn

Learn Mode:
learn mode

Tagging a flashcard: tag

Reads in a positive index and one or more tags, and adds these tags to the flashcard at the desired index. At least one tag must be provided, else the user will be prompted to enter a valid command. Tags can include spaces between words, but any trailing whitespaces will be removed.

Tagging of flashcards can only be done in Weeblingo’s Learn Mode.

:information_source: Note: Default tags are provided by Weeblingo, which can neither be deleted nor edited. The purpose of this command is to allow users to add their own tags as well to assist in the learning process.

Format: tag INDEX t/TAGS…

Examples:

  • tag 1 t/difficult
  • tag 5 t/fire

After successfully adding a tag:
tag successful

Deleting tags from a flashcard: deleteTag

Reads in a positive index and zero or more tags, and removes these tags from the flashcard at the desired index. If no tags are provided, all user-added tags will be removed from the flashcard.

Tagging of flashcards can only be done in Weeblingo’s Learn Mode.

:information_source: Note: Default tags are provided by Weeblingo, which can neither be deleted nor edited. The purpose of this command is to allow users to delete tags added by themselves.

Format: deleteTag INDEX [t/TAG]…

Examples:

  • deleteTag 3
  • deleteTag 1 t/difficult

After successfully deleting sampleTag from the flashcard at index 3:
delete_successful

Quiz Mode Commands

Entering quiz mode: quiz

Enters Quiz Mode. The answer to all displayed flashcards will be hidden.

Format: quiz [t/TAG]…​

  • When used with tags, only flashcards that posses all specified tag(s) will be displayed.
  • When used without tags, all flashcards will be displayed.

Examples:

  • quiz
  • quiz t/hiragana

Starting a quiz session: start

Starts a quiz session with randomly ordered flashcards.

Format: start [n/NUMBER] [t/TAG]…

  • NUMBER specifies the number of questions for the quiz session.
  • NUMBER specified should be a positive integer and less than number of available flashcards in the database.
  • When used without a number, either all existing flashcards (if no tag is specified) or flashcards with specified tags will be tested.
  • TAG specifies the categories of questions for the quiz session.
  • There are currently four default tags, gojuon, hiragana, katakana and numbers.
  • When used without tags, all categories of questions can be tested.

Examples:

  • start
  • start n/10
  • start t/katakana
  • start n/5 t/gojuon t/hiragana

Before executing start command:

before start

After executing start command:
after start

Checking flashcard answers: check

Checks if user attempt matches the answer of the currently displayed flashcard.

Format: check ATTEMPT

  • ATTEMPT is case-insensitive and ignores leading and trailing white spaces.
  • Each time the user checks an attempt, number of attempts increments by one.
  • If attempt is correct, answer to the current flashcard will be displayed and number of correct attempts increments by one.
  • If attempt is incorrect, user may choose to try again through check, skip the question though next or end the session through end.

Examples:

  • check hi
  • check hI

If user attempt matches answer of flashcard:
correct answer

If user attempt does not match answer of flashcard:
incorrect answer

If user tries to answer already correctly answered flashcard:
answered again

Going to next flashcard: next

Goes to the next flashcard in the quiz session.

Format: next

  • If the quiz session has reached an end (i.e. no more flashcards to be tested), result statistic and flashcards tested (with answers shown) will be displayed. User may choose to start a new session through start, return to quiz view through quiz or return to menu through end.

History Mode Commands

Entering history mode: history

View scores of all past quiz attempts.

Format: history

Example:
HistoryExample

  • If a quiz is left unfinished (i.e. there are still questions in the quiz), the history statistics will not be updated.
  • If a quiz session has zero attempt, a default correct ratio of 0.000% will be recorded.
  • In future versions, history will provide more useful information to better optimize users’ learning experience.

Adding and removing flashcards [coming in v2.0]

These functions are likely to be included in future versions of Weeblingo, stay tuned.

Saving the data

Weeblingo data is saved in the hard disk automatically after any command. There is no need to save manually.

FAQ

Q: How do I transfer my quiz attempt scores to other computers?
A: Install the app in the other computer and overwrite the empty data file it creates with the file that contains the data of your previous Weeblingo home folder.

Q: Can I add my customized flashcards?
A: Sorry, the current version of the application does not allow self-defined flashcards to be added. However, if you are advanced and know how to manipulate the storage files, you can do so if you want. However, the application assumes a certain format for each data field, thus if you modified the data wrongly, the app will use the fallback option, which is to load the storage file with built-in default flashcards and tags.

Q: Why can’t I delete some tags?
A: Default tags are provided by the application to aid in the learning process and guide you along the way. You can, however, add your own tags to any flashcard. The deletion of tags exists to complement this user tagging function, in case you have a change of mind or typed any tag wrongly.

Q: I just want to do a short quiz! Is there any way to do that?
A: There are multiple ways to set up a shorter quiz session: one would be to start with a selected number of questions, and let the application randomise some questions for you. The other option could be to tag questions you would like to be tested on; starting with these tags will give you a quiz session with only these selected flashcards. A combination of the above two options is also possible.

Command summary

Action Format, Examples
Learn learn [t/TAG]…
e.g. learn, learn t/hiragana
Tag tag INDEX t/TAG [t/TAG]…
e.g. tag 1 t/difficult
DeleteTag deleteTag INDEX [t/TAG]…
e.g. deleteTag 1 t/difficult, deleteTag 3
Quiz quiz [t/TAG]…
e.g. quiz, quiz t/hiragana
Start start [n/NUMBER] [t/TAG]…
e.g. start, start n/5, start t/hiragana, start n/15 t/hiragana
Check check ATTEMPT
e.g. check he, check HE
Next next
History history
End end
Help help
Exit exit

Note for Testers

By the nature of Weeblingo, it is inconvenient for testers who do not possess some elementary knowledge of Japanese to test our application.

Therefore, to facilitate testers, we have provided a list of flashcards which reside in the database of the current version of application for your reference. The link is here.