Wanting an API to push your class vocabulary list straight into your students’ practice apps is a smart teacher instinct: you want everyone drilling exactly what you taught this week, without manual setup by thirty students. The practical answer separates the underlying need, which is solvable now, from the specific mechanism of a full API, which is roadmap territory. Here is the realistic path.
The real need: students practice your exact list
Step back to the goal: you want your students practicing the specific characters and vocabulary from your class, not a generic set, so practice reinforces your teaching. That need is met by a tool with custom character sets and class assignment, where you define the list and assign it to your students, so everyone drills your week’s words. So the core requirement, your list in your students’ practice, is solvable with import and assignment features, the same class-control need as a volume license for a Saturday school.
Import and assignment versus a full API
The distinction is in the mechanism. Importing a vocab list, you paste or upload your characters and assign them, achieves the goal today with minimal effort. A full open API that automatically syncs from your own systems or an LMS in real time is a heavier integration, useful for larger programs, and a reasonable roadmap item, but not required to get your list into students’ hands. So the honest framing is that the outcome is available via import now, while seamless API syncing is a future enhancement, the same now-versus-roadmap clarity as other integrations.
Why a custom list beats a generic one
Assigning your own list matters pedagogically, because practice that matches your teaching reinforces it, while a generic set pulls students in another direction. Students producing your week’s characters from memory engages the generation effect and the testing effect, and spaced review per the spacing effect keeps your taught characters retained. So a tool that lets you push your exact list is doing real instructional work, related to ensuring assessment integrity by preventing OCR cheating.
What a teacher actually needs
| Mechanism | Availability | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Custom list import | Now | Your list in students’ practice |
| Class assignment | Now | Everyone drills the same set |
| Full open API / LMS sync | Roadmap | Automatic real-time syncing |
| From-memory practice | Now | Reinforces your teaching |
This pairs with class tools like an LMS integration, randomized test PDFs, and a collaborative whiteboard.
A plan to push your list
- Define your class vocabulary list as a custom set.
- Assign it to your students via class assignment.
- Have students practice your list from memory.
- Use spaced review to retain the taught characters.
- Treat full API or LMS syncing as a future enhancement.
How Hanzi Write Practice fits
Hanzi Write Practice is built around custom character sets and class assignment, so the core need is met. You define your class list, assign it, and your students drill exactly those characters: it hides the character, they produce it from memory, and it checks stroke order and structure with spaced repetition. So your students practice your week’s words, reinforcing your teaching, with a full open API the kind of integration that fits the roadmap, on the foundation of the case for a writing app.
Bottom line
An API to sync your class vocab list into students’ apps is a sound goal, and the core need, students practicing your exact list, is met by custom-list import and class assignment now, while a full open API is a reasonable roadmap item. Hanzi Write Practice is built around custom sets and assignment, and it is in early access, so join the list.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an API to sync my class vocab list directly to student apps?
The core need, your students practicing your exact list, is met now by custom-list import and class assignment: you define the list and assign it, so everyone drills your week’s words. A full open API that automatically syncs in real time from your own systems or an LMS is a heavier integration and a reasonable roadmap item, but not required to get your list into students’ practice. Hanzi Write Practice is built around custom sets and class assignment.
Why does pushing my own list matter?
Because practice that matches your teaching reinforces it, while a generic set pulls students elsewhere. When students produce your week’s characters from memory and review them on a spaced schedule, your taught material is what gets retained, so a tool that lets you assign your exact list is doing real instructional work.
Can I do this without a full API?
Yes. Importing your vocab list and assigning it achieves the goal today with minimal effort, no real-time API required. The API would automate syncing for larger programs, but the outcome, your list in your students’ hands, is available now through import and assignment.
Does it work with my other class tools?
Custom-list assignment fits alongside class tools like an LMS, randomized test PDFs, and collaborative practice. The point is that students drill your exact characters from memory with feedback, and that integrates into a class workflow whether or not a full automatic API is in place yet.
Want students on your exact list? Join early access and assign your vocabulary directly.