Flash Card Maker

Paste a list of terms and definitions and print flash cards with the answer on the back. One card per line: put a tab (paste two columns from a spreadsheet), a dash with spaces, a colon, a semicolon or a comma between the two sides, or open a CSV file. Choose 8 or 10 cards per US Letter or A4 sheet, 3 × 5 in or 4 × 6 in index cards on a sheet, or index cards fed one at a time. The PDF puts each page of fronts before its page of backs, and the backs are placed for your printer’s flip setting, long edge or short edge, so every definition prints behind its own term. A two-sided test page shows whether your printer lines up, and Back shift corrects it to a tenth of a millimetre. Text is wrapped and sized to fit each card. Study on screen too: turn a card over with a click or the space bar, mark it known or put it back in the pile, and shuffle. Nothing is uploaded or saved.

100% private — everything runs in your browser. Everything runs in your browser; your cards and files are never uploaded.

How to make printable flash cards

1. Paste your cards, one per line: the term, a tab, dash, colon or comma, then the definition.
2. Choose the paper and card size: 8 or 10 per sheet, or 3 × 5 / 4 × 6 in index cards.
3. Pick Flip on long edge or Flip on short edge to match your printer’s two-sided setting.
4. Print the two-sided test page once and check the B numbers sit behind the F numbers; set Back shift if they do not.
5. Download the PDF and print it two-sided at 100% (Actual size), then cut along the thin lines.

What you can use it for

• Vocabulary cards for a language you are learning
• Science and history terms for a test
• Times tables and maths facts for children
• Exam revision from your class notes
• Medical, legal or technical terms to learn by heart
• Quiz cards for a classroom game

Flash card sizes

Paper	Cards per page	Card size	In mm	Backs, flip on long edge	Backs, flip on short edge
US Letter	8	3.75 × 2.5 in	95.3 × 63.5 mm	Mirrored left to right	Mirrored top to bottom
US Letter	10	3.5 × 2 in	88.9 × 50.8 mm	Mirrored left to right	Mirrored top to bottom
US Letter	3	5 × 3 in	127 × 76.2 mm	Mirrored left to right	Mirrored top to bottom
US Letter	2	6 × 4 in	152.4 × 101.6 mm	Mirrored left to right	Mirrored top to bottom
A4	8	3.74 × 2.68 in	95 × 68 mm	Mirrored left to right	Mirrored top to bottom
A4	10	3.35 × 2.17 in	85 × 55 mm	Mirrored left to right	Mirrored top to bottom
A4	3	5 × 3 in	127 × 76.2 mm	Mirrored left to right	Mirrored top to bottom
A4	2	6 × 4 in	152.4 × 101.6 mm	Mirrored left to right	Mirrored top to bottom
Index card (one at a time)	1	5 × 3 in	127 × 76.2 mm	Mirrored top to bottom	Mirrored left to right
Index card (one at a time)	1	6 × 4 in	152.4 × 101.6 mm	Mirrored top to bottom	Mirrored left to right

Sheet layouts are our own, centred with margins of at least 10 mm so home printers do not cut the edge cards. Index cards fed one at a time print edge to edge, so keep words away from the edges.

Two-sided printing: where the backs go

Printer setting	How the sheet turns	Back of the card in the top left corner prints
Flip on long edge, portrait page	Like a book page	In the top right corner of the back
Flip on short edge, portrait page	Like a notepad or wall calendar	In the bottom left corner of the back
Flip on long edge, landscape index card	Top to bottom	Behind it, with the back page turned top to bottom
Flip on short edge, landscape index card	Side to side	Behind it, with the back page mirrored left to right

Most home printers flip on the long edge by default. If the backs come out upside down or swapped, change the setting here to match the printer, or the printer to match this page, and print the test page again.

Ways to paste your cards

Line you paste	Front	Back
Photosynthesis[tab]How plants make sugar	Photosynthesis	How plants make sugar
hola – hello	hola	hello
7 × 8: 56	7 × 8	56
Osmosis; water through a membrane	Osmosis	water through a membrane
Nucleus, “The control centre, holds DNA” (CSV)	Nucleus	The control centre, holds DNA
Mitosis | (cell division)[tab]One cell splits into two	Mitosis, then (cell division) on a second line	One cell splits into two

A first line such as Term, Definition (or Front, Back) is read as a header and skipped. A line with no separator is skipped and its line number is shown.

Study mode keys

Key or button	What it does
Click or Space / Enter	Turn the card over
I know it or →	Take the card out of the pile
Again or ←	Put the card at the back of the pile
Shuffle and restart	Mix the pile and start again

Next steps

Plan revision weeks with the Study Planner, turn the same words into a game with the Bingo Card Generator, a Word Search Maker or a Crossword Maker, and write longer notes on Lined Paper. Recipes fit the same index cards with the Recipe Card Template.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make double-sided flash cards that line up?

Choose the same flip setting here as in your printer’s two-sided option. On a portrait sheet, flip on long edge turns the page like a book, so the backs are mirrored left to right; flip on short edge turns it like a notepad, so the backs are mirrored top to bottom. Each definition is then placed exactly behind its term. Print the two-sided test page once to check your printer.

My printer cannot print on both sides. What do I do?

Print the odd pages (the fronts), put the printed stack back in the paper tray the way your printer needs to print on the other side, then print the even pages (the backs). A pencil mark on the top edge of the first sheet helps you check which way round it goes. The test page shows straight away if a sheet went in the wrong way.

Can I print flash cards on 3 × 5 index cards?

Yes, two ways. Choose 3 × 5 in index cards, 3 per sheet, to print on Letter or A4 and cut them out, or choose the index card fed one at a time to print straight onto blank cards: the page is 5 × 3 in, with the front then the back of each card. 4 × 6 in cards work the same way.

How do I paste my cards?

One card per line. Between the term and the definition put a tab (what you get when you copy two columns from a spreadsheet), a dash with spaces around it, a colon, a semicolon or a comma. A comma inside quotes is kept, so a CSV from a spreadsheet works. A | inside a side starts a new line on the card.

Can I import from a spreadsheet or another flashcard app?

Copy the two columns from a spreadsheet and paste them, or open a CSV or TXT file. Many study apps can export a deck as text with a tab or comma between the sides; that file opens here too. Cards CSV saves your deck as Term,Definition rows.

What if a definition is long?

Text is wrapped and made smaller until it fits the card, up to a comfortable largest size. If a definition still does not fit at 4 pt it is shortened with “…” and you see a message, so you can choose a bigger card or split it.

How does the study mode work?

Study on screen shows one card at a time. Click it or press Space to turn it over, press I know it (or the right arrow) to take it out of the pile, or Again (left arrow) to put it at the back. Shuffle and restart mixes the pile. Nothing is saved when you leave the page.

Which size is best for flash cards?

3 × 5 in is the classic index card and holds a short definition. 4 × 6 in suits longer answers or diagrams written by hand. 8 per sheet gives cards a little larger than a business card; 10 per sheet are business card size, handy for vocabulary.

Is it free?

Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit beyond the size of one batch.

Is anything uploaded?

No. Everything you type, paste or open is read by JavaScript in your browser and never leaves your device. Only the free fonts load from a public font CDN, and nothing is saved when you close the page.