The best Vietnamese vocabulary app depends on where you want your words to come from. LingQ saves the words from Vietnamese texts you read, Drops gives you word sets it made, Glossika plays Northern Vietnamese sentences, 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 Vietnamese app comparison.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Vietnamese. You learn from Vietnamese you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Northern Vietnamese 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 can review words in new contexts without having to use flashcards.
- Poppy writes your lessons in Northern Vietnamese, so the words you save match one variety.
- Ask Poppy to explain a Vietnamese sentence in English 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.
- Learn every letter and its sound in the free Vietnamese Quốc Ngữ course.
- You can't turn a whole Vietnamese novel into a lesson. But Poppy will explain a passage you paste or a page you 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™
- Teaches Quốc Ngữ
Mobile
LingQ
LingQ works best if you already own Vietnamese texts or audio. You tap each unknown word while reading, and LingQ queues it for review.
- Tap an unfamiliar Vietnamese word in a lesson and save it as a LingQ.
- Saved words are reviewed with spaced repetition, next to the text and audio they came from.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Drops
Drops introduces Vietnamese words in topic groups, and each word gets a picture, audio and a game. It suits learners who think in images and want the list prepared.
- Each Vietnamese word comes with a picture and its audio.
- Favorites and Quiz bring back words you have already met.
Mobile
VietnamesePod101
VietnamesePod101 suits learners who like to hear a lesson first and then review its word list.
- Audio and video lessons come with word lists, slideshows and flashcards.
- Lessons are explained line by line in English.
- Flashcards
- Teaches Quốc Ngữ
MobileWeb
Glossika
Glossika works with whole sentences rather than single saved words. It suits learners who want to hear Northern Vietnamese again and again.
- Its course is labeled Northern Vietnamese.
- You listen to Vietnamese sentences and repeat them, with sentences prepared for your level.
MobileWeb
Clozemaster
Clozemaster shows a Vietnamese word only inside a whole sentence, so its neighbors come with it. It gives English translations and can read the sentences aloud.
- You fill in the missing Vietnamese word in a sentence, then see that sentence again later.
- Its sentences and translations come from Tatoeba.
- Doesn't teach Quốc Ngữ
MobileWeb
Other Apps We Looked At (2)
- AnkiA card can hold any Vietnamese word or sentence, plus sound or a picture. You supply the words and meanings, and the cards come back on an SM-2 or FSRS schedule. Desktop Anki and AnkiWeb sync are free, and AnkiMobile on iPhone is a one-time purchase. For help setting up decks, read [Is Anki good for language learning?](/blog/is-anki-good-for-language-learning).
- QuizletWrite your own Vietnamese flashcard sets, or open sets that other people shared. Basic flashcards are free, and Quizlet Plus is paid.
| App | Word source | Review | Sentence and audio | Northern Vietnamese | English help | Free boundary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Lessons Poppy writes | Saved words return in new lessons | Words appear in new sentences | Northern course | Partly | Lessons by other learners are free to read; unlimited custom lessons need Pro |
| LingQ | Text and audio you import | Spaced repetition | Matching text and audio | Not labeled | Yes | 20 saved words, 5 imported lessons |
| Drops | Topics made by Drops | Favorites, Quiz, Word Collection | Pictures and audio | Not labeled | Yes | 5 minutes every 10 hours |
| VietnamesePod101 | Lessons and word lists | Flashcards on the website | Audio and video lessons | Not labeled | Yes | Free account, new free lessons, 7-day Premium trial; full library paid |
| Glossika | Sentences made by Glossika | Repeated listening and speaking | Sentence audio | Northern course | Yes | Seven free days, then paid |
| Clozemaster | Sentences with a gap | Review of sentences you saw | English translations and read-aloud sentences | Not labeled | Yes | Free to start; Pro adds more |
| Anki | Cards you make | SM-2 or FSRS | Only if the card has them | Whatever you add | Your own cards | Desktop and AnkiWeb free; AnkiMobile paid once |
| Quizlet | Sets you make or share | Learning and test modes | Only if the set has them; Quizlet can read terms aloud | Whatever you add | Your own cards | Basic flashcards free; Plus is paid |
If you read Vietnamese before you save words, our Vietnamese comprehensible input app comparison covers reading and listening apps.
Which Vietnamese vocabulary app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Vietnamese, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. If a ready-made picture list suits you, take Drops. If you would rather make cards from the Vietnamese you meet, take Anki.
Which of these apps teach Northern Vietnamese?
Glossika labels its course Northern Vietnamese. LingQ, Drops, Clozemaster and VietnamesePod101 do not label their Vietnamese courses as Northern. With Anki or Quizlet, whether a card has audio depends on how you build it.
Can I keep the sentence a Vietnamese word came from?
Clozemaster always shows the word inside its sentence, and LingQ brings the word back with its context. In Anki the sentence is on the card only if you typed it. Drops uses a picture and audio and no sentence.
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: what's free
- LingQ: learn Vietnamese
- LingQ: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Drops: learn Vietnamese
- Drops: what's free
- Drops: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Glossika: learn Northern Vietnamese
- Glossika: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Clozemaster: Vietnamese sentences
- Clozemaster: FAQ
- Clozemaster: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- VietnamesePod101: Vietnamese lessons
- VietnamesePod101: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- AnkiMobile: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Anki: what's free
- Anki manual: scheduling and cards
- Quizlet: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Bubblegum
- VietnamesePod101
- Clozemaster
