The best Norwegian vocabulary app depends on where your Bokmål words come from. Bubblegum and LingQ save words from Norwegian reading, Drops and uTalk give you ready-made word sets, Clozemaster puts each word in a sentence with a gap, and Anki or Learn Norwegian Words hold lists you shape yourself. This page compares how each app collects words, keeps noun gender and verb forms in view and brings words back for review. For courses, see our Norwegian app comparison.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Norwegian. You learn from Norwegian you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Norwegian 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 you review them in new contexts without flashcards.
- Norwegian lessons are written in Bokmål at your level, and Poppy explains hard sentences in English.
- Saved Norwegian words come back in new lessons through Regenerative Review™, and you can send them to Anki with their sentences.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- You can't turn a Norwegian book into a lesson. But Poppy will explain a page you paste or photograph.
- 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 choose their own Norwegian texts. The spelling follows whatever you import, so pick material in Bokmål.
- The Norwegian page offers a library and your own imports, with matching transcripts.
- Saved words come back through spaced repetition or in context, and the audio playlist can work offline.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Drops
Drops sorts Norwegian vocabulary into illustrated sets. Drops does not name the Norwegian variety, so check the spelling against a Bokmål dictionary when you meet a new word.
- Norwegian words come with pictures, audio and short review games.
- Games bring back words you have already studied.
Mobile
uTalk
uTalk teaches Norwegian words and phrases in topic groups. Written Bokmål is one of two Norwegian standards, and Norwegian speakers sound different from region to region.
- The course is Norwegian (Bokmål), and each word links to a picture and a native-speaker recording.
- Recall games review the words you miss, and you can record yourself and compare.
MobileWeb
Clozemaster
Clozemaster fits learners who want the sentence around each word, which also shows how a noun or verb is used.
- The Norwegian Bokmål collection puts each word in a sentence, and you pick or type the missing word.
- You can listen before you read the text.
MobileWeb
Other Apps We Looked At (5)
- Learn Norwegian WordsThe developer says its word data is Bokmål, drawn from the NoW1 and NoW2 vocabulary lists of NTNU, and lets you import and update word lists. Nynorsk needs data you import yourself.
- Tobo: Norwegian VocabularyWord cards, favorites and word games. Swipe a word right when you know it and left to see it again. The App Store lists a 1 month plan at $2.99, 3 months at $6.49 and 1 year at $18.99 in the US.
- Norwegian FlashcardsBokmål flashcards with Again, Hard, Good and Easy ratings, article and gender, verb forms and English meanings. It works fully offline, and a seven-day trial leads to a monthly subscription.
- AnkiMake your own Bokmål cards with the noun's gender, verb forms, an example and audio, and review them with FSRS or SM-2. Desktop and AnkiWeb are free, and AnkiMobile on iPhone costs $24.99 once.
- ReadlangImport an article and click a Norwegian word or phrase to see its translation, then review what you clicked as flashcards. Look at its language list for Norwegian before you sign up.
| App | Word source | Save and gender | Audio | Review | English help | Norwegian variety | Free boundary | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Lessons Poppy writes | Words appear in new sentences | Read-aloud voices | Saved words return in new lessons | Partly | Bokmål lessons | Lessons by other learners are free to read; unlimited custom lessons need Pro | iPhone, iPad, Android |
| LingQ | Texts and audio you import | Saved word with its context | Matching audio | Spaced repetition | Yes | Depends on your material | 20 saved words, 5 imported lessons | Web, mobile |
| Drops | Topics made by Drops | Words with pictures | Audio | Games | Yes | Norwegian, variety unconfirmed | 5 minutes every 10 hours | iPhone, Android |
| uTalk | Topics made by uTalk | Words and phrases with pictures | Native-speaker audio and your recordings | Recall games | Yes | Bokmål | Free starter words and one topic unlocked by score; the rest is paid | iPhone, Android |
| Clozemaster | Sentences with a gap | Sentence kept in review | Sentences you can listen to before reading | Built-in spaced review | Yes | Bokmål | Free to start; Pro is paid | Web, iPhone, Android |
| Learn Norwegian Words | Bokmål word lists | Import your own lists | Word audio player | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | Bokmål | Unconfirmed | Android |
| Tobo | Word sets made by Tobo | Word cards | Pronunciation audio | Swipe known and repeat words | Yes | Norwegian, variety unconfirmed | Free download; subscription unlocks more | iPhone, Android |
| Norwegian Flashcards | Bokmål cards | Article, gender and verb forms | Unconfirmed | Again, Hard, Good, Easy | Yes | Bokmål | Seven-day trial, then monthly | iPhone |
| Anki | Cards you make | Only if you add it to the card | Only if you add it | FSRS or SM-2 | Your own cards | Whatever you enter | Desktop and AnkiWeb free; AnkiMobile paid once | Computer, iPhone, Android |
| Readlang | Text you import | Translated words and phrases | Unconfirmed | Flashcards with spaced review | Yes | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | Web |
Meeting Norwegian words in stories and shows first? See our Norwegian comprehensible input app comparison. For vocabulary methods in any language, see vocabulary apps compared.
Which Norwegian vocabulary app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Norwegian, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or choose uTalk if you want ready-made Bokmål topics to work through. Anki fits once you want cards from Norwegian you came across yourself.
Which Norwegian vocabulary app shows noun gender?
Norwegian Flashcards lists the article and gender for each noun. In Anki you type the gender into the card yourself, and in Clozemaster the sentence around the word shows how it is used.
Do these apps teach Bokmål or Nynorsk?
Norwegian has two written standards, Bokmål and Nynorsk. uTalk, Clozemaster, Learn Norwegian Words and Norwegian Flashcards say Bokmål. Learn Norwegian Words handles Nynorsk only through word lists you import.
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
- LingQ: learn Norwegian
- LingQ: what's free
- Drops: Norwegian course
- Drops: what's free
- uTalk: Norwegian (Bokmål) course
- Clozemaster: Norwegian Bokmål vocabulary
- Learn Norwegian Words: Google Play listing
- Tobo: Norwegian Vocabulary, iPhone App Store listing
- Norwegian Flashcards: iPhone App Store listing
- Anki: what's free
- AnkiMobile: iPhone App Store listing
- Anki: deck options and schedulers
- Readlang: about
- Bubblegum
