What is anzan?
Anzan is Japanese for mental calculation. Once you are confident on the real abacus, you start to picture the beads in your head and move them there instead. Strong anzan learners can add long lists of numbers faster than a calculator.
Step 1 – See the abacus
- Look at a real abacus showing 0 for ten seconds.
- Close your eyes and picture it: the frame, the beam, the beads.
- Open your eyes and compare. Repeat until the picture is sharp.
Step 2 – Move the beads in your mind
With eyes closed, show 3 on your imaginary abacus. Now add 4. Do you see the heaven bead come down and two earth beads drop? You should land on 7. Many learners move their fingers in the air as if the abacus were really there. That is normal and helpful.
Step 3 – Build up chains
Ask someone to read out numbers slowly, or use the Flash Anzan mode on our practice page.
- Week 1: 2 single-digit numbers, slowly.
- Week 2: 3 numbers.
- Week 3: 4–5 numbers, including subtraction.
Accuracy before speed. A correct answer in ten seconds is worth more than a wrong one in two.
Try it yourself
Close your eyes and work out 3 + 4 + 2 in your head, then show the answer here.
Your abacus shows 0.
Quick check
Type your answers, then check them. Get them all right to complete the lesson automatically.
Practice tips
- Practise anzan for 5–10 minutes a day rather than for an hour once a week.
- If you lose the picture, open your eyes, look at the real abacus, and start again.