To make the answer stand out the moment you flip the card, bump just the answer up to 24–32px and shrink secondary info down to 14–16px. Anki's default template sets the entire card to a single 20px, which is why the answer, pronunciation, and example sentence all stack up at the same size. In ankieditor, click the part you want to change in the preview and adjust the font size under "Text Style."
Why Does a Card Read as One Big Block?
Anki's built-in note types have font-size: 20px set once, on
.card, in their styling. That value is inherited by every element
inside the card, so no matter how many fields you add, they all come out the same
size.
That's not a problem on a single-word card. Once you start adding pronunciation, meaning, example sentences, and notes, your eyes no longer know where to look first, so they end up scanning the whole thing — and the answer, the one thing you actually need to check, arrives late.
How Many Size Tiers Should You Use?
The rule is to make only the one thing you need to see first big on any given card.
- The answer (word or meaning) — 24–32px. This is what should register first when you flip the card.
- Body text or explanations — leave at the default 20px.
- Pronunciation, example sentences, notes — 14–16px. Dropping
the color to a light gray (
#888888) pushes them back further still.
Two or three tiers are plenty. Past four, the sense of what's more important disappears, and you're back to the original "everything the same size" problem. These numbers are recommended starting points rather than measured optimums, and they'll vary by screen and font.
How to Change Font Size in ankieditor
- Click the field you want to resize in the preview to select it. Clicking empty space targets the whole card instead.
- Drag the Font size slider under "Text Style" in the left panel, or type a number into the box next to it. It adjusts from 10 to 60px.
- For secondary info, drop the Text color to a light gray at the same time.
- Use [Copy Code] to copy the updated code and paste it into
Anki's
Tools → Manage Note Types → Cards...screen.
What Splitting Sizes Writes to Your CSS
Selecting a field and changing its size makes ankieditor issue a class named after that field and write the rule there.
.card { font-size: 20px; }
.Meaning { font-size: 28px; }
.Example { font-size: 15px; color: #888888; }
The 20px on .card stays as the default for anything without its
own size, and only the fields that got a class use their own value. The three
rules can coexist without conflict since each targets a different element.
Careful When Splitting Sizes
Don't push past four tiers. Once size gets split into too many levels, your eyes can no longer judge what the answer is, and the whole point of splitting sizes disappears.
Light gray can get lost in night mode. On a dark background,
#888888 has low contrast and is hard to see. For a way to use a
different color at night only, see
When Your Text Colors Disappear in Night
Mode.
px is a fixed value regardless of screen size. A 32px that looks right on desktop can feel large on a phone. If you review mostly on your phone, check it there once.
Set this separately for each note type. Card templates are stored in the card types that belong to a note type, so if you use several note types, you'll need to apply it to each one.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I change font size in Anki?
Change font-size on .card in the styling and the
whole card changes. To change just one field, create a class for that field and
set font-size on it. Clicking a field and adjusting the font size in
ankieditor creates this class automatically.
Can I make the answer big and the example sentence small?
Yes. Click each field in the preview to select it, then set the font size separately for each. 24–32px for the answer and 14–16px for the example sentence are good starting points.
I changed the font size, but part of it didn't change.
That part has a size set on it separately. Click that element to select it and set the font size again. ankieditor clears inline styles that conflict with the property it's about to apply and writes to the rule instead, so setting it once more cleans it up.
If the lines feel cramped, see How to Change Line Spacing in Anki; if the lines are too long, see How to Change Card Width in Anki.