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Learn a new language,
a little each day.
Languages is a free website with courses in French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Korean, Chinese and Japanese, starting from your very first word. Spanish speakers can also learn English here.
Loading a sample card…
A real card from a course. Nothing you do here is saved.
A course’s first day, in small: each new word is shown with its answer, then asked a few cards later. If you knew it, it comes back once more later that day.
You study with flashcards: each card asks you one short question, such as what a word means, and shows the answer when you are ready. The app keeps track of what you knew and shows each card again on a later day, while you still remember it, so the words stay with you.
- Free, with no ads. Read the privacy notice
- On a phone or a computer, with nothing to install.
- About 21 minutes a day for one language, or less if you choose.
To sign up, you need only a name, an email address and a password.
HOW IT WORKS
You answer.
The app plans the rest.
A card you have learned comes back on a later day, to check that you still remember it. That is called a review. From your answers, the app works out when each card should come back: soon if it was hard for you, later if it was easy. This way of studying is called spaced repetition.
Two buttons. You never set dates or plan what to study.
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01
Choose a language and an amount.
After you sign up, pick one language or several, and where to start: a complete beginner starts at the first level. Then choose how many new cards to learn each day. Twenty take about 21 minutes and ten about 13, reviews included. You can change this any day.
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02
Learn each new card first.
The first time you see a card, it shows the question and the answer together. You read it and press Got it. A minute or so later, after a few other cards, the same card comes back with only the question.
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03
Say whether you knew it.
Press Show answer, then Again if you didn’t know it or Good if you did. Again brings the card back soon, the same day. Good sends it further away each time you know it, until it comes back only after weeks or months.
THE COURSES
Which language would you like to learn?
Every course starts from your first word.
Press one to try
one of its cards.
What the levels mean
Each course is divided into levels, most of them named after official language scales and exams. A complete beginner starts at the first one: A1, HSK1, or the alphabet in Japanese (Kana) and Korean (Hangul). At 20 new cards a day, a level takes up to about six months, and Kana or Hangul about a month. Finishing a level here is not an exam and gives no certificate.
What A1, HSK1, N5 and the other names mean
- A1 to C2
- Six steps of the Common European Framework of Reference, the scale most European language exams use, for French, Italian, Portuguese, German and English. A1 is a complete beginner, B2 upper intermediate and C2 near-native.
- HSK1, HSK2
- The first two levels of China’s official Chinese exam. HSK1 starts with pinyin, the sounds of Chinese written in Latin letters, and its tones.
- Kana, N5, N4
- Kana are the two Japanese alphabets, hiragana and katakana. N5 and N4 are the two easiest of the five levels of the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test.
- Hangul, TOPIK1
- Hangul is the Korean alphabet. TOPIK1 is the first level of the Test of Proficiency in Korean.
The English course is written for Spanish speakers: its meanings and explanations are all in Spanish. In the other courses, notes and grammar are explained in English, and each meaning is shown in English and Spanish.
What else is in the app
Read, listen and write.
Each word has several cards: one to read it, one to hear it, one to type it, and more. So 20 new cards a day bring fewer than 20 new words.
How the cards differ
Each kind of card has its own colour and title, so you know what it is asking. When you type an answer, the app compares it with the right one and marks where they differ, and you still choose Again or Good yourself.
Reviews and new cards, mixed.
Cards due from earlier days are mixed in with your new ones. Miss a day and nothing is lost: the cards wait for you, and after a long break they come back a few at a time.
When a day of study ends
Your study for the day ends when the due cards and the new ones are done, and the app says when your next card is due. After two or more days away, it offers a short session of about 2 minutes to start again.
See the words you know.
A private page counts the words you know in each level. The first ones usually count after a week or two.
When a word counts, and what else the page shows
A word counts once you know it well enough that the app won’t ask about it for three weeks or more, and it can drop out again if you forget it. The page also shows how far through each level you are and how your weeks went. Your account keeps it all, on your phone and your computer.
A short text to read.
Once you have studied 40 words in a language, you can ask for one short text a day, written by an AI model. It can make mistakes.
What a text holds
It is written with words you have studied, especially the ones you are closest to forgetting, and comes with three questions and a translation. You can listen to it too, more slowly if you like. In Japanese and Korean, the alphabet levels don’t count toward the 40 words.
Reminders, if you want them.
Turn them on and get one notification at the hour you choose, only on days you haven’t studied yet. On an iPhone or iPad, the site must be on your Home Screen first.
How reminders work, and a goal for the week
If you stop studying, reminders come on the first three days, then on the fifth and seventh, and then stop until you are back. You can also choose how many days a week you want to study, and the app shows how many you have done.
Study alongside others.
The leaderboard ranks learners by the days they studied in the last seven, then by cards. Your name appears there unless you hide it.
Who is on the leaderboard
Because days come first, anyone can climb it, however many cards they study. Only signed-in learners see it, and only those who studied in those seven days appear.
QUESTIONS
Before you
begin.
Is it really free?
Yes. I run Languages on my own, as a personal project, not a company. There are no ads and no paid version, and I sell nothing and share nothing about you for marketing. Its code is free software, open for anyone to read.
I don’t know a word of the language. Can I start?
Yes. Every course starts from zero, and each new word is shown with its answer before you are asked about it. In Japanese and Korean, you begin by learning to read the alphabet, which takes about a month.
How much time does it take each day?
You choose how many new cards to learn each day, for each language. At 20, the amount the courses are built for, it takes about 21 minutes a day; at 10, about 13 minutes; at 40, about 34. These are averages that include going over earlier cards; the first days are shorter. With two languages, they add up.
Do I need to install anything?
No. It runs in the web browser of your phone or computer. On a phone, you can add it to your home screen, and it opens like an app. It needs an internet connection.
Will I be able to hold a conversation?
The courses teach you to understand, read and write words and sentences, and to recognize them when you hear them. There is no teacher and no speaking with other people, and nothing checks your pronunciation. The voices are computer-generated.
Can I study more than one language?
Yes. Choose as many as you like when you sign up. They start with the same number of new cards a day, and you can give each its own later. You can add or drop a language at any time, and one you drop keeps your progress for when you return.
What if I miss a day?
Nothing is lost. The cards that were due wait for you, and after two or more days away the app offers a short session of about 2 minutes.
How does the app decide when I see a card again?
From your answers, a model of memory called FSRS-7 estimates when you are likely to forget each card, and brings it back while you would still remember it about 9 times out of 10. Your part is only to choose Again or Good.
Is there a Spanish course?
No. This page can be read in Spanish, but there is no course to learn Spanish. Spanish speakers can learn English here, with everything explained in Spanish.
Can I delete my account?
Yes, yourself, from the Account page. Everything is removed at once, and backups keep a copy for up to 28 days.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
Start with hello.
I made Languages for anyone who wants to learn a language a little each day. I hope it helps you with yours.
Create an account, choose a language, and your first card opens.
Create a free accountAlready have an account? Sign in