Use Language Reactor’s .apkg export for the most direct Anki route, its tab-separated “CSV” export when you want to map fields yourself, and JSON only when you deliberately plan a conversion or custom-processing step first.
Language Reactor gives you three useful export doors. For Anki, they do not all open into the same room. One is basically “please make me a deck.” One is “give me a table and let me decide.” The third is raw data for people who enjoy building pipelines—or have somehow misplaced their evening.
Choose your export path before you export anything
I want the fastest route into Anki
Choose .apkg. Language Reactor documents an Anki package export, and Anki’s own manual supports importing packaged decks. This is the lowest-friction path when the generated deck structure already suits you.
I want to control which Language Reactor fields go where
Choose the “CSV” export. Language Reactor says this export is tab-separated. Anki supports delimited plain-text imports and lets you map incoming columns to note fields.
I want raw data for a custom workflow
Choose JSON. Language Reactor offers JSON export, but Anki’s normal documented import routes are packaged decks and delimited text—not JSON. Plan to transform the data before ordinary Anki import rather than expecting Anki to consume the JSON file directly.
First check what you actually saved
Language Reactor’s current Export help documents three saved-item categories:
- Phrase
- Words with context
- Words without context
That distinction matters before Anki ever enters the picture. A word saved with useful sentence context gives you different raw material from an isolated word. Export format cannot magically add context that was never saved.
So before choosing a file type, ask a more boring—but much more useful—question: what do I want to see when this item appears in Anki?
Path 1: .apkg — the direct packaged-deck route
Language Reactor documents an Anki .apkg option in its Export dialog. Anki’s official Packaged Decks documentation confirms that .apkg packages can be imported into Anki.
This is the obvious choice when your priority is convenience: export the package, import it, inspect the result, and start reviewing if the structure works for you.
What this article cannot honestly promise is the exact field layout, media behavior, card template or duplicate-handling outcome of every Language Reactor package forever. Those details can change and depend on the generated package. The right move is simple: import a small sample first and look at the resulting notes before committing your entire saved library.
Path 2: Language Reactor “CSV” — choose this when you want field control
Here is the detail worth noticing: Language Reactor labels the option CSV, but its current help describes the exported data as tab-separated.
That is not a problem for Anki. Anki’s official Text Files documentation says it can import plain-text files whose fields are separated by commas, semicolons or tabs. During import, Anki can map incoming columns to note fields and supports options involving things such as the target deck and tags.
So choose this route when your real thought is: “I want to decide what becomes which field.”
Do not guess the mapping from the filename. Look at the exported columns, then use Anki’s import mapping deliberately.
Path 3: JSON — useful raw data, not the ordinary Anki import path
Language Reactor also documents a JSON export. JSON is useful when you want structured data for your own script, converter or custom workflow.
But Anki’s official Importing overview documents normal import paths for text files and packaged Anki decks. JSON is not listed as one of the ordinary built-in import formats there.
That does not mean your data is trapped forever in a JSON dungeon. It means there is another step: transform the data into something your intended Anki import path accepts, or use a custom tool/workflow that explicitly understands the JSON structure.
There are many possible ways to do that, but prescribing a random third-party converter without verifying it would be lazy. If you do not already have a reason to want JSON, you probably want .apkg or the tab-separated export instead.
A five-item test beats a 500-item surprise
Before exporting your entire vocabulary history, run a tiny sample.
- Choose a few representative saved items: ideally a phrase, a word with context and an isolated word if you have all three.
- Export using the format you think you want.
- Import that sample into Anki.
- Inspect what landed in each field.
- Only then export the larger set.
This is not a learning experiment and there is no magic sample size. It is simply a cheap way to catch an ugly field mapping before it multiplies across hundreds of notes.
What happens if your Language Reactor Pro subscription ends?
Language Reactor’s current FAQ says that after Pro expires, you cannot save new words and phrases, but you can still view and export the words and phrases you had already saved.
That matters if your immediate goal is migration: losing the ability to create new saved items is different from losing access to export your existing material.
Do you need FunFluen for the conversion?
No. The Language Reactor-to-Anki paths above stand on their own.
FunFluen has its own saved-item and export workflows for learners who want to build a different movie-based study system, but it is not a required bridge for converting Language Reactor files. If you want to explore that separate workflow, open FunFluen.
Quick answers
Does Language Reactor export directly to Anki?
Yes. Language Reactor currently documents an Anki .apkg export, and Anki supports importing packaged decks.
Is Language Reactor’s CSV really comma-separated?
Its current Export help labels the option CSV but describes the data as tab-separated. Anki’s text importer supports tab-separated input, so that is compatible with the documented text-import path.
Can Anki import the Language Reactor JSON file directly?
JSON is not listed in Anki’s official manual as a normal built-in import path. Treat it as raw data that needs transformation or a custom workflow before ordinary Anki import.
Can I still export old saved items after Pro ends?
According to Language Reactor’s current FAQ, yes: previously saved words and phrases remain viewable and exportable after Pro expires, although new saving is restricted.
Pick the door that matches the job
If you want convenience, start with .apkg. If you want field control, use Language Reactor’s tab-separated “CSV” and map the columns in Anki. If you want raw structured data, use JSON because you already know what custom step comes next—not because JSON sounds more technical and therefore somehow more powerful.
The export should be a bridge to review, not a second hobby. Test a few items, inspect the result, then move on to the part that actually matters: using the language you saved.
Explore more language-learning guides in Media-Based Language Learning.