Memrise teaches words and phrases with thousands of short videos of real people, and its App Store page says you can learn Spanish, Korean, Japanese, or 136 other languages. On Reddit (r/languagelearning), learners who look for other apps often want help with words. One wanted memory tricks like the mems they had used on Memrise, because coming up with good ones alone was hard. Another wanted a place to study their own word lists with writing practice and speed tests.
The apps below are grouped by what they help you do, and Memrise is first.
What Memrise Does
Memrise
Memrise suits learners who want to sound like the people they'll meet. Its courses aim at a goal, like passing an exam, speaking with confidence at work, or building relationships.
- Hear a phrase in a short video, learn it, then copy how it's said.
- Pick from hundreds of real-life scenarios to practice.
- Speak with AI Buddies after you watch the videos.
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 lessons you read and hear.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum is not a flashcard app or a person to talk with. To drill a word list of your own, Anki is next.
- Poppy writes new lessons at your level, so new words come with plenty you already know.
- Choose topics you like, from cooking to video games.
- Tap a word you don't know and save it, or ask Poppy about it.
- Saved words come back inside new lessons through Regenerative Review™, not in a flashcard deck.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- There are no flashcard decks to build or share.
- 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™
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Study Your Own Word Lists
Anki
Anki is a flashcard program for any subject, and it can handle decks with more than 100,000 cards. After each card, you say how well you remembered it, and Anki shows it again around the time you'd forget.
- Build cards with your own words, sounds, and pictures.
- Change how cards look and how often they come back.
- Add-ons give Anki new features.
- Flashcards
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Learn Words Inside Real Sentences
Clozemaster
Clozemaster covers more than 50 languages and over 170 language pairs, so you can learn German from English or Portuguese from Swedish. Besides Vocabulary, it has Listening and Speaking modes.
- Fill in the missing word in a real sentence.
- Sentences are sorted so you meet the most common words first.
- Tap Explain after a wrong answer to see the grammar.
MobileWeb
Play Word Games With Pictures
Drops
Drops teaches vocabulary through quick games in more than 55 languages, from Maori to Yoruba. Its word list has more than 3,000 words and phrases.
- Each word has its own picture to help you remember it.
- Learn to read scripts such as Korean, Hindi, and Hebrew.
- Professional voice artists read the words aloud.
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Take a Course With Recorded Speakers
Mango Languages
Mango Languages has courses in more than 70 languages, including endangered and Indigenous languages. Its site says many public libraries and schools give their members full access.
- Every lesson asks you to say the phrase out loud.
- Voice Comparison plays your recording next to a speaker's.
- Cultural notes sit right inside each conversation.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Other Apps We Looked At (4)
- PimsleurAudio lessons, plus flash cards and a Speed Round game to review words.
- LingopieLearn words from TV shows and movies, and tap a word in the subtitles to see its meaning.
- DuolingoFree courses with short, game-like lessons in more than 40 languages.
- BusuuVideo flashcards with real people, inside full courses for 14 languages.
Common Questions
Which Memrise 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 Drops if you'd like quick picture games for your first words, or with Mango Languages if your library gives you access.
Where can I study my own word list?
Anki is made for that. You type in your words, add audio or a picture, and Anki decides when to show each one again.
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
- Memrise: Hear it, learn it, copy it (short videos of real speakers)
- Memrise: App Store listing (AI Buddies, hundreds of real-life scenarios)
- r/languagelearning: Looking for a Memrise alternative with Mems/mnemonics
- r/languagelearning: Memrise speedtest alternative
- Anki: Powerful, intelligent flashcards
- Clozemaster: Fill-in-the-blank sentences in 50+ languages
- Clozemaster: App Store listing (Vocabulary, Listening and Speaking modes)
- Drops: Visual vocabulary in 55+ languages
- Drops: App Store listing (custom illustrations, 3,000+ words and phrases)
- Mango Languages: 70+ languages, library access
- Pimsleur: Audio lessons with flash cards and Speed Round
- Lingopie: Learn with TV shows and movies
- Bubblegum
Checked on October 14, 2026 against each app's own pages.
