Flashcards help many learners. On Reddit (r/languagelearning), others say they gave up on them. One learner stopped because flashcards took the joy out of learning. Another said drilling cards feels like a treadmill, and reading a book feels like a walk in the countryside.
If you're not sure flashcards are worth it, our guide Do Flashcards Work for Language Learning? answers that first.
Get New Lessons That Use Your Saved Words
Bubblegum
Bubblegum is the best app for serious learners. You learn from text and audio you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
In Bubblegum, Poppy, your AI tutor, writes your lessons. When a word you saved is due, she works it into a new lesson where it fits the story. Bubblegum calls this Regenerative Review™. If you saved the word for "umbrella" during a lesson about rain, Poppy might use it next week when you ask for a lesson about a picnic.
The five steps in How to remember words in a new language work with any app on this list.
- Add words from your own notes by pasting a list or taking a photo.
- You can also export your saved words to Anki as flashcards.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- You can't choose the day a saved word comes back.
- 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
Read Short Stories at Your Level
Readle
Readle teaches seven languages through short stories, with every word explained in context, and it adds new stories and news each day.
- Pick from more than 2,000 stories, dialogues, and news pieces.
- Stories are graded from A1 to C1.
- Each word you practice shows up in its original sentence.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Save Sentences From Shows
Saving whole lines from shows and videos is often called sentence mining.
Migaku
Migaku works in Chrome and on your phone, in 11 languages, and the cards it makes come back on a spaced-repetition schedule.
- Save a line from a show as a card, with its audio and a screenshot.
- Choose what to watch by how much of it you'll understand.
- If you're new, Migaku starts you on the most common words and grammar patterns.
- Flashcards
MobileBrowser extension
Language Reactor
Language Reactor works in Chrome on Netflix and YouTube, so the new words come from shows you picked.
- Show subtitles in your new language and your own language together.
- Use its playback controls to go back over a line.
Browser extension
Fill In the Missing Word
Clozemaster
Clozemaster works in more than 50 languages, and its sentences are sorted so you meet the most common words first. It uses spaced repetition, so each sentence comes back for review at the right time.
- Slow a sentence down when it's too fast to follow.
- Get a grammar explanation when you pick the wrong word.
MobileWeb
Listen and Speak
Pimsleur
Pimsleur teaches 51 languages through audio lessons that build your speaking and listening.
- Each lesson takes about 30 minutes.
- Learn hands-free and offline, even while you drive.
- Practice speaking with role-play and Voice Coach pronunciation feedback.
MobileWeb
Use New Words With People
HelloTalk
HelloTalk is a language exchange with more than 260 languages, where you learn through real conversations.
- Text, call, or video chat with a language partner.
- Partners can correct your messages.
- Join a Voiceroom to talk about a topic you like.
MobileWeb
italki
italki has more than 20,000 teachers to choose from. You can tell your teacher which words you're learning, so they can plan the lesson around them.
- Book a 1-on-1 lesson with a teacher, on your own schedule.
- Choose from more than 150 languages.
MobileWeb
Other Apps We Looked At (4)
- AnkiMake your own cards with audio and pictures, or study decks other learners shared, on your computer or phone.
- LingopieLingopie has TV shows, movies, and music in 15 languages, and every word you click is saved for review.
- LingQLingQ lets you read and listen to books, podcasts, and shows in 53 languages, and highlight the words you want to review.
- ReadlangReadlang translates words on any web page with one click, and saves them so you can practice them later.
Common Questions
Do any of these apps space out reviews like flashcards?
Yes. Clozemaster and Migaku have spaced repetition built in, and Bubblegum brings your saved words back in new lessons. To keep using flashcards in a different app, see our Anki alternatives.
Which flashcard alternative should a beginner try first?
If you are serious about learning a language, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or try Pimsleur if you'd like to learn by listening, or Readle for short stories if it has your language.
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
- r/languagelearning: Anyone not use flash cards/anki?
- Readle: Graded stories and news in seven languages, A1 to C1
- Migaku: One-click flashcards from Netflix, YouTube and the web
- Language Reactor: Chrome Web Store listing (dual subtitles, popup dictionary, playback controls)
- Clozemaster: Fill-in-the-blank sentences in 50+ languages
- Clozemaster: App Store listing (sorted by frequency, speaking speed, Explain)
- Pimsleur: Listen and learn in 30 minutes
- Pimsleur: App Store listing (51 languages, offline and hands-free)
- HelloTalk: Language exchange in 260+ languages
- italki: 1-on-1 teachers in 150+ languages (tell the teacher your learning needs)
- Anki: Powerful, intelligent flashcards
- Lingopie: Learn with TV shows, movies and music in 15 languages
- LingQ: Learn languages from books, podcasts and TV shows
- Readlang: Features (click to translate, flashcards, Anki export)
- Bubblegum
- Migaku
- Language Reactor
- HelloTalk
Checked on October 16, 2026 against each app's own pages.
