These cards (including Vol. 2) are well-designed. They include for each character both simplified and traditional versions, diagrams of the step-by-step order for writing the strokes, the radical, the pinyin, a sample sentence, compound occurances, and of course the translation.

They are a nice portable way to study. To make them easier to carry around, I punched a hole in the corner of each card and put them on a book ring so they could be easily flipped through.

These cards are meant to be carried everywhere -- they are sturdy business-card size. Waiting for the bus, in the departure lounge in the airport, with some dead moments before a lecture... perfect moments to pull out the cards. I especially like the stroke order -- I can trace them with my finger on the large character, even if I don't have a pencil or exercise book. Others have commented on the sample sentences and compounds. The publisher explains that these are to illustrate some of the range of meanings , they are no substitute for a text, dictionary or grammar! A flash card is for review, not for primary learning, and should be judged as such. The order of characters presented is also logical: groups of related characters (e.g. I, you, him/her/it) and in increasing order of complexity.

Finally, my native speaker (PRC) tutors love these cards and the clever sentences and interesting sayings included "for fun".