LingQ is a language app for learning from books, podcasts, and shows. You pick lessons from its library or import your own with its browser extension, and its site lists 53 languages. On r/languagelearning, learners who ask for other apps want different things. One wanted AI tools that adapt to them, another wanted audio they could follow, and a third wanted a simple way to read PDF files on a phone.
The apps below are grouped by what they help you do, starting with LingQ itself.
What LingQ Does
LingQ
LingQ suits learners who already have books, podcasts, or shows in mind and want help reading and hearing them. Its site says it works for beginners and advanced learners alike, and it can turn a show or a song into a lesson with a transcript, a translation, and audio.
- Read and listen to library lessons sorted by topics such as news, culture, and food.
- Import books, articles, and videos with the LingQ Importer for Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge.
- Save the words you don't know yet, and review them later with spaced repetition.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Custom Lessons Made for You
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 each lesson for you. Tell her what you'd like to read about, like a trip you're planning or a hobby you love, and she writes a lesson for your level that you can read, hear, and ask her about.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum can't help you read a book, an article, or a show you found yourself. For that, use LingQ or the tools further down.
- Every lesson starts from your level and the topics you choose.
- Lessons come with audio, and there are stories and news to read as well.
- Stuck on a line? Ask Poppy what it means and why.
- Saved words return inside new lessons through Regenerative Review™, with no flashcard deck to keep up.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Books, articles, and videos you find yourself can't be imported.
- 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 Graded Stories Made for Learners
Readle
Readle turns short news pieces and stories into graded lessons in seven languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese. Its library has more than 2,000 stories, graded from A1 to C1, from HSK 1 to HSK 5 for Chinese, and from N5 to N2 for Japanese.
- Tap any word to see what it means in that sentence.
- Practice saved words inside the sentence where you first met them.
- Read new stories and news every day.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Use an App Made for One Language
Some reading apps teach a single language, which lets them add help that only that language needs.
Satori Reader
Satori Reader is a Japanese reader from the team behind Human Japanese, with more than 1,650 episodes, from folklore to thrillers. Its site says every story is written, edited, voiced, and annotated by its own team.
- Read in kanji, in kana, or in kanji with furigana.
- Grammar explanations and word meanings sit right inside the text.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Du Chinese
Du Chinese has more than 3,000 Mandarin readings and over 80 graded stories. Each story keeps to a set vocabulary. I'm a Cat, a story for brand-new learners, uses only 150 characters.
- Tap a word for its meaning, a translation, or a grammar tip.
- Listen to recorded audio as you read.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
For more apps in these languages, see our Japanese comprehensible input comparison and our Chinese comprehensible input comparison.
Learn From Shows and Videos
Language Reactor
Language Reactor was once called Language Learning with Netflix. It is a Chrome extension that adds learning tools to Netflix shows and YouTube videos you already watch.
- See subtitles in two languages at once on Netflix.
- Look up words in a popup dictionary while you watch.
- Import a text to get a machine translation and hear it read aloud.
Browser extension
Migaku
Migaku is a browser extension and mobile app for 11 languages, including Cantonese and Vietnamese. It works on sites such as Netflix and YouTube. Beginners can start with its course of the most common words and grammar.
- Click a word for its meaning, its pronunciation, and an AI explanation.
- Make a flashcard with the sentence, the audio, and a screenshot.
- See a comprehension score for each video or page, based on the words you know.
- Flashcards
MobileBrowser extension
Read Web Pages and Your Own Texts
Readlang
Readlang is a web reader and browser extension for more than 100 languages. Every word you translate is saved, and you can practice it later with flashcards.
- Click a word or a phrase on any web page to translate it.
- Upload your own texts, or read articles on its site in genres such as fiction and songs.
- Export your words to Anki.
- Flashcards
WebBrowser extension
Other Apps We Looked At (6)
- LingopieWatch TV shows and movies in 15 languages, and tap any word to see what it means in that conversation.
- BeelinguappRead stories, news, and songs next to their translation, and listen to the audio as you read.
- LuteA reading app you install on your own computer and fill with your own texts. It can link a word form such as habló to its root, hablar, so one meaning covers both.
- TTMIK StoriesMore than 1,000 original graded Korean stories with audio, from Talk To Me In Korean.
- The Chairman's BaoMandarin lessons based on the news, sorted into seven levels, with new articles added each day.
- Kimchi ReaderA Korean popup dictionary for YouTube, Netflix, Viki, ebooks, PDFs, and web articles. It colors each word by whether you know it yet.
Common Questions
Which LingQ alternative 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 Readle if it teaches your language and you want short graded stories, or with Du Chinese if you're learning Mandarin.
Can I use these apps on my phone?
Most of them, yes. Language Reactor runs in Chrome on Windows and Mac computers, so it needs a laptop or a desktop. Readlang works in your phone's browser, and its site says its reader suits a phone or a tablet. LingQ, Migaku, Readle, Satori Reader, Du Chinese, and Bubblegum have iPhone and Android apps.
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
- LingQ: Library, importer extension and 53 languages
- r/languagelearning: New to CI, is LingQ the way to go in 2026?
- r/languagelearning: LingQ audio alternatives
- r/languagelearning: Simple alternatives to LingQ for reading PDF files on a phone
- Language Reactor: Chrome Web Store listing
- Readlang: Features
- Readlang: Free and paid plans
- Lingopie: Learn a language by watching TV shows and movies
- Beelinguapp: Parallel texts with audio
- Lute manual: Introduction
- TTMIK Stories: Korean graded stories with audio
- The Chairman's Bao: News-based graded reader
- Kimchi Reader: Korean popup dictionary
- LingQ
- Bubblegum
- Readle
- Satori Reader
- Du Chinese
- Language Reactor
- Migaku
- Readlang
Checked on October 14, 2026 against each app's own pages.
