Vocabulary apps help you see a new word again before it slips away.
The 12 apps below are grouped by where your words come from: your own cards, a ready-made list, a game, a sentence, or something you read or watched.
Words That Come Back in Your Lessons
Bubblegum
Bubblegum is the best app for serious learners. You learn from text and audio you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
When you save a word in any of Bubblegum's 60 languages, Poppy, your AI tutor, puts it back into the new lessons she writes for you, so you read it again in new sentences. Bubblegum calls this Regenerative Review™.
To save words while you watch a show, try Migaku or LingQ near the end of this page.
- Tap any word to see what it means, and save the ones you want to keep.
- Take a photo of a page, or paste some text, and pick which words to save.
- Your Saved Words list shows which words are new, learning, or learned, and which are due today.
- Export your saved words to Anki as flashcards. When you export again, Anki adds only the new words and keeps your progress.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- It doesn't play shows or videos, so it can't pull words from what you watch.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
Make Your Own Cards
These apps let you decide which words to study. You type the cards yourself or pick a deck someone else made.
Anki
After each card, you tell Anki how well you remembered it. Anki then shows that card again around the time you would start to forget it.
- Set the look of each card and the timing of its reviews yourself.
- Start from a shared deck that someone else already built.
- Keep a deck with more than 100,000 cards if you need one.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Quizlet
Quizlet works for any subject, from a new language to next week's history quiz.
- Type, paste, or upload your notes, and Quizlet turns them into a study set.
- Spaced repetition brings back the cards you need to see again.
- Play Charms, a puzzle game made from your own study material.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Follow a Ready-Made Word List
These apps choose the words for you, usually starting with the most common ones.
Memrise
Memrise has 139 languages, and its lessons use short clips of people saying everyday words.
- Tap a speaker to hear a real person say each word.
- Say a phrase into the mic, then compare it with the person in the video.
- Try out new phrases with AI Buddies, its practice bots.
MobileWeb
Lingvist
Lingvist starts with the words people use most, which cover 80% of everyday situations. It teaches 16 languages, from Estonian to Korean.
- A quick check places you at your level before you start.
- Each word comes with an example sentence and grammar notes.
- Custom Decks turns words or a text you give it into its own course.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Speakly
Speakly starts with the words its data shows are most useful, and spaced repetition decides when each one comes back. It teaches 11 languages, Finnish and Estonian among them.
- Learn the 4,000 words that come up most in your new language.
- Practice real-life situations on your phone or computer.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
MosaLingua
MosaLingua is a flashcard method made by a team of language teachers. It has courses in 11 languages, plus word lists for English tests like the TOEFL.
- Study more than 3,500 flashcards, sorted by topics like eating out or asking for directions.
- Add your own cards next to the ready-made ones.
- Use hands-free mode while you work out or shop for groceries.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Learn Words Through Picture Games
These apps show each new word with a drawing and turn practice into a quick game.
Drops
Drops has word games in more than 55 languages, such as Samoan and Egyptian Arabic. It can also teach you to read Korean or Hindi letters.
- Play short games, with a drawing beside each word.
- Choose from more than 5,000 words and phrases.
- Nine of its courses now teach grammar too, with short tips.
Mobile
FunEasyLearn
FunEasyLearn teaches 34 languages through games with drawings. You can start from any of 61 languages you already speak.
- Each course covers the alphabet and its reading rules as well as its words.
- Practice with 5,000 phrases for everyday life and travel.
Mobile
Learn Words Inside Sentences
Clozemaster
In Clozemaster, you finish real sentences by adding the word that is missing. You start with sentences that use common words and move on to rarer ones, and you can learn one language from another, like Portuguese from Swedish.
- Choose the missing word from a list, or type it for a harder round.
- Slow down or speed up the voice that reads each sentence.
- Switch between modes for words, listening, and speaking.
MobileWeb
Keep Words From Shows and Stories
These apps start with something you watch or read. When you meet a new word, you save it, and the reader brings it back for review later.
Migaku
Migaku lets you save words from what you watch in 11 languages. Its starter word courses are for Japanese, Mandarin, and Korean, and spaced repetition brings your saved cards back.
- Bring in decks made for Anki and keep studying them in Migaku.
- Its beginner courses teach about 1,500 common words, one new word per card.
- Flashcards
MobileBrowser extension
LingQ
LingQ is a reader for podcasts, books, articles, and videos in 53 languages. Words you look up go into a review list with spaced repetition.
- LingQ's reader tracks every word you meet.
- See how many words you know grow over time.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
How Many Languages Each App Covers
| App | Languages It Teaches | Menu Languages |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 60 | 74 |
| Anki | Any | 25 |
| Quizlet | Any | 17 |
| Memrise | 139 | 22 |
| Lingvist | 16 | 20 |
| Speakly | 11 | 13 |
| MosaLingua | 11 | 6 |
| Drops | 55+ | 16 |
| FunEasyLearn | 34 | 52 |
| Clozemaster | 50+ | 37 |
| Migaku | 11 | 4 |
| LingQ | 53 | 17 |
Other Apps We Looked At (4)
- WaniKaniTeaches 2,000 Japanese kanji and 6,000 words, with a memory story for each kanji and reviews spread over time.
- SkritterPractice writing Chinese and Japanese characters, with feedback on every stroke and extra reviews for the hard ones.
- Noun TownA vocabulary game for PC, Mac, and VR headsets, with mini-games and spaced repetition in 12 languages.
- BrainscapeA flashcard app with a large catalog of ready-made decks, foreign languages included, and room to make your own.
Common Questions
Which vocabulary app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning a language, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Drops if you'd like each new word shown as a picture, or with Lingvist if you'd like the most common words first.
How many words do I need to follow a show or a book?
Migaku says about 1,500 words are enough to recognize 80% of the words in modern media.
Can I add my own words to these apps?
Yes, in several of them. Anki and Quizlet are built around cards you make, and MosaLingua lets you add cards to its lists.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Bubblegum: Every language you can learn
- Anki: Powerful, intelligent flashcards
- Anki Manual: Background
- AnkiMobile: App Store listing (25 menu languages)
- Quizlet: App Store listing (spaced repetition, 17 menu languages)
- Memrise: Home page (free start, record and compare)
- Memrise: App Store listing (139 languages, 22 menu languages)
- Lingvist: Home page (common words first, Custom Decks)
- Lingvist: App Store listing (16 languages, 20 menu languages)
- Speakly: Home page (4,000 words, seven-day trial)
- Speakly: App Store listing (11 languages, 13 menu languages)
- MosaLingua: Home page
- MosaLingua: App Store listing (11 languages, 6 menu languages)
- Drops: Home page (55+ languages, 5,000+ words and phrases, Premium)
- Drops: App Store listing (16 menu languages)
- FunEasyLearn: Home page (34 languages)
- FunEasyLearn: App Store listing (61 starting languages, 52 menu languages)
- Clozemaster: Home page (170+ language pairings)
- Clozemaster: App Store listing (three modes, 37 menu languages)
- Migaku: Home page (one-click flashcards, 10-day trial)
- Migaku: App Store listing (about 1,500 words, 4 menu languages)
- LingQ: 53 languages
- LingQ: App Store listing (word tracking, 17 menu languages)
- WaniKani: Home page
- Skritter: Home page
- Noun Town: Home page
- Brainscape: Home page
- Bubblegum
- Quizlet
- Migaku
- LingQ
Checked on October 15, 2026 against each app's own pages.
