Export Kindle Vocabulary Builder to Anki
Open your Kindle's vocab.db file to browse the words you've looked up, including the book and date you found them. Handpick the words you want to keep and export them as Anki flashcards.
Where do I find vocab.db?
- Connect your Kindle to your computer with a USB cable.
- Open the Kindle drive and go to
system/vocabulary/vocab.db. - The
systemfolder is hidden. On Windows, tick View → Hidden items in File Explorer. On a Mac, press ⌘ ⇧ . in Finder. - Newer Kindles (2024 and later) don't mount as a drive on a Mac. Use the free OpenMTP app to copy vocab.db to your desktop first.
Your Kindle vocabulary is trapped
Kindle Vocabulary Builder is a built-in feature on Kindle e-readers that automatically saves the words you look up in the dictionary while reading, along with the sentence and the book they came from. You can review these words or practice them using Kindle's built-in flashcards.
The problem is getting those words out of Kindle. Amazon doesn't provide a built-in export option, so transferring your vocabulary to Anki usually involves extracting a SQLite database, running a script, and converting the results into a format Anki can import. Some of the tools available online are outdated or no longer maintained.
Even after exporting your vocabulary, you may still need to clean up the data, add definitions and pronunciation, and format the cards before they're ready to study in Anki.
How it works
Upload your Kindle vocabulary, select the words you want to learn, and export them to Anki.
Open your vocab.db file
Connect your Kindle to your computer via USB and select the vocab.db file from your Kindle (see the FAQ below for its location). Browse the words you've looked up, including the original sentences, books, locations, and lookup dates.
Your file is processed locally in your browser.
Select words and generate flashcards
Browse your vocabulary by book, language, or date, and select the words you want to study. Wordwise generates definitions based on the original sentence, along with pronunciation, part of speech, and example sentences. Over 20 languages are supported.
Export to Anki
Download your flashcards and import them into Anki. Each card includes the word's definition, pronunciation, examples, and a tag identifying the original book.
You can upload vocab.db again after reading more books. Words you've already imported are recognized, so you can select just the new ones.
- It was a grey, drizzly afternoon in late autumn.
Frequently asked questions
Is my vocab.db uploaded to a server?
No. Your vocab.db file is read locally in your browser and is never uploaded to our servers.
If you're signed in with an active plan, we check your words against your Wordwise library to see which cards you already have. Book titles and sentences are not included in this check. Sentences are only sent when you click “Create cards” for the selected words.
What can I see without an account?
You can open your vocab.db file and see the total number of words, books, and languages, along with a preview of the first 10 words. Each word includes its original sentence, book, location, and lookup date.
Start a free trial to browse your full vocabulary and create Anki flashcards.
What if I've already imported some words?
Wordwise recognizes words that already have a card in your library and marks them as “In your library”. You can export these cards again without generating new ones.
When you upload an updated vocab.db file, you only need to create cards for the new words.
Can I import Kindle highlights?
Not directly. Wordwise supports vocabulary words rather than full passage highlights.
You can still use batch import to create flashcards from a list of words you've collected from your highlights.
Where can I find vocab.db on my Kindle?
Connect your Kindle to your computer with a USB cable. The file is located at:
system/vocabulary/vocab.db
The system folder is hidden, so you may need to enable hidden files in your file manager.
If you're using a newer Kindle (2024 or later) on a Mac, you may need an app such as OpenMTP to access the file.
Once you've found vocab.db, select it in the uploader at the top of this page.
Do I need to set anything up in Anki?
No. Wordwise exports your cards as an .apkg file, which you can open directly in Anki, AnkiMobile, or AnkiDroid.
Before downloading, you can enter the name of an existing deck or create a new one.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. New accounts get a 7-day free trial, and English-to-English lookups are always free. See pricing for details.
Your Kindle vocabulary,
finally in Anki
Stop hoarding words in Vocabulary Builder. Turn them into cards you'll actually review.