The best German vocabulary app depends on where you want your words to come from. LingQ saves the words from German texts you read, Drops gives you picture word sets, and Anki holds cards you write yourself. This page compares how each app gets words to you, how it brings them back, and what stays free. For courses, tutors and speaking, see our German app comparison.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn German. You learn from German you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your German lessons. If a sentence is hard to follow, ask Poppy to explain it.
With Regenerative Review™, words you save show up again in new lessons, so that you can review words in new contexts without having to use flashcards.
- Every German lesson is written at your level, about things you like.
- Ask Poppy about a sentence while you read.
- Saved words come back in new lessons through Regenerative Review™, and you can send them to Anki too.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- You can't turn your favorite novel into a lesson. But Poppy will explain a page you screenshot or paste.
- Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
LingQ
LingQ suits learners who read or listen to German that they choose themselves. You import the text, tap the words you don't know, and they join your review.
- Tap an unfamiliar German word in a lesson and save it as a LingQ.
- Saved words come back in review with the sentence they came from.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Drops
Drops works through German vocabulary topic by topic. Every word has a picture, a recording and a quick game, so it fits visual learners who want the list made for them.
- Each German word comes with a picture and its audio.
- Favorites and Quiz bring back words you have already met.
Mobile
Memrise
Memrise teaches German words in learning and review activities. Tap a word for its meaning and an example. Wordlists, where you pick your own, are rolling out to new users.
- Learn German words in a course and review them on a schedule.
- Word Information shows meanings, examples and native-speaker clips where available.
MobileWeb
Clozemaster
Clozemaster is for learners who want to see each German word inside a full sentence. Tatoeba, a community collection, supplies the sentences.
- Fill in the missing German word in a sentence.
- Sentences you have seen come back later, with translation and audio modes.
MobileWeb
Anki
Anki suits learners who want to decide what goes on each card, such as a German noun on the front, with its article and plural on the back. Desktop Anki and AnkiWeb sync are free. AnkiMobile on iPhone is a one-time purchase, and Android uses the separate AnkiDroid app. For help setting up decks, read Is Anki good for language learning?.
- Download shared decks from AnkiWeb, made by other learners.
- Make your own cards for the words and sentences you want to remember.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Other Apps We Looked At (2)
| App | Word source | Review | Sentence and audio | English help | Free boundary | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Lessons Poppy writes | Saved words return in new lessons | Words appear in new sentences | Partly | Lessons by other learners are free to read; unlimited custom lessons need Pro | iPhone, iPad, Android |
| LingQ | Text and audio you import | Spaced repetition | Matching text and audio | Yes | 20 saved words, 5 imported lessons | iPhone, iPad, Android |
| Drops | Topics made by Drops | Favorites, Quiz, Word Collection | Pictures and audio | Yes | 5 minutes every 10 hours | iPhone, iPad, Android |
| Memrise | Courses; wordlists for new users | Scheduled review | Examples and speaker clips where available | Yes | Limited free plan, Pro is paid | iPhone, iPad, Android |
| Clozemaster | Sentences with a gap | Review of sentences you saw | Translation and audio modes | Yes | Free to start; Pro adds more | iPhone, iPad, Android |
| Anki | Cards you make | SM-2 or FSRS | Only if you add them to the card | Your own cards | Desktop and AnkiWeb free; AnkiMobile paid once | iPhone, iPad, Android, computer |
| Quizlet | Sets you make or pick | Study and test modes | Sentences depend on the set; spoken audio is generated in study modes | Your own sets | Free to start; Quizlet Plus is paid | iPhone, iPad, Android |
| uTalk | Topics made by uTalk | Recall games | Native audio and your own recordings | Yes | Free starter words; the rest is paid | iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows |
If you read German before you save words, our German comprehensible input app comparison covers reading and listening apps. For vocabulary methods in any language, see vocabulary apps compared.
Which German vocabulary app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning German, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or choose Drops for a ready-made picture list. Choose Anki if you want to make your own cards from the German you meet.
Who adds the article and plural to a German noun?
In Anki and Quizlet you type them on the card or set yourself, so write the noun with its article, such as , and add the plural on the back. In Bubblegum, nouns come with their articles in the lesson sentences Poppy writes.
Can I keep the sentence a German word came from?
LingQ brings a saved German word back with its context. An Anki card has a sentence only when you add one, while Clozemaster turns the sentence into the exercise.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- AnkiMobile: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Anki: what's free
- Anki manual: scheduling and cards
- Drops: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Drops: what's free
- Drops: German course
- Memrise: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Memrise: German course
- LingQ: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- LingQ: what's free
- LingQ: learn German
- Clozemaster: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Clozemaster: FAQ
- Quizlet: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- uTalk: German course
- uTalk: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Bubblegum
- Memrise
- Clozemaster
- Anki
