How to remember vocabulary for the long term
Seeing a word many times can create familiarity without usable recall. Durable vocabulary grows when you retrieve meaning, notice form and use the word in changing contexts.
Learn a word with its partners
Record a common phrase, grammar pattern or contrast rather than an isolated translation. This makes the word easier to place in a sentence.
Retrieve before revealing
Pause and attempt the meaning or phrase before checking. Trying to recall the answer shows learning more clearly than rereading a list.
Space the encounters
Return after the answer is no longer completely fresh. Increase the interval when recall is reliable and shorten it when the word fails.
Change the direction
Practise listening to the word, producing it from a meaning, completing a phrase and using it in a personal sentence. Each direction tests a different access route.
Use it under realistic pressure
Finish with a short message, voice response or role-play in which the word helps achieve a goal. Not every word needs active mastery, so prioritise those your life requires.