Flashcards
| Flashcard software | Description and links |
|---|---|
| Anki | iPhone app (paid) Android app (free) |
| Memrise | An online flashcard program that focuses on using mnemonics |
| Clozemaster | A flashcard program that teaches using fill-the-blank sentences that features a rather gamified interface |
| Quizlet | An online study tool that includes flashcards |
| LearnWithOliver | Another online flashcard system |
Anki
Anki is one of the most widely used flashcard apps, known for its free desktop and Android versions, customizable features, and active community. While it offers powerful tools, beginners can start with its default settings, which are sufficient for most users.
Anki allows its users to export and share flashcard decks they make. There are many pre-made shared decks for you to use to get started here. There is also a great collection of decks by Xefjord. Find a deck with words ordered by frequency. The best decks also have example sentences. Feel free to download multiple and try them out.
Settings
If you’re ready to dive deeper, Anki’s manual is an excellent resource. For some video guides, your can try one of the guides here and here. For a deeper dive of the settings, this video is a great resource.
Reading aids
These enable easy lookup of words and phrases when using content.
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Readlang | Import texts and get instant translations by clicking on words, has a built-in flashcard program |
| Lingq | A popular paid service similar to Readlang that provides lots of content and records and highlights known words |
| WordLab | Two fantastic chrome extensions, one for Netflix and one for YouTube, that give you more control over playback and subtitles—highly recommended for intermediate learners |
| Keyword lookup | Chrome tip to help you search dictionaries faster using the search bar |
| Definer | Instant definitions, translations, and search results for words and phrases you select or type |
| ImTranslator | Dictionary lookup addon |
Dictionaries
| Dictionary | Description |
|---|---|
| Linguee | Clean interface. translations are sorted by frequency |
| Wiktionary | A poplar dictionary with helpful pronunciation guides and support for a wide variety of languages |
| Bab.la | Great interface and lots of sample sentences. Has a built-in verb conjugator |
| Reverso | Useful example sentences |
| Tatoeba | Helps you find example sentences |
| WordReference | Standard dictionary |
Translators
| Software | Description |
|---|---|
| Google Translate | The most popular translation software on the web |
| DeepL | An alternative to Google Translate |
Pronunciation aids
Resources designed to help you improve your pronunciation.
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| Wiktionary | Mentioned as a dictionary, but also includes IPA pronunciation guides and audio |
| Forvo | Example sentences and pronunciation recordings |
| The Wikipedia IPA Charts | These contain information on how every sound in every language is produced; You are unlikely to use this resource directly, rather good dictionaries such as Wiktionary will link you to the correct IPA symbol |
| YouGlish | Lets you input a word (supports lots of languages) and shows an example from YouTube of the word being used by native speakers |
Writing system resources
These help you learn new writing systems.
| Resource | Language | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Skritter | Chinese | An app to help you practice writing Hanzi |
| Tofu Learn | Chinese | An app to learn reading and writing Hanzi |
| WaniKani | Japanese | A mnemonic-based method for learning Japanese Kanji |
Reference resources
Reference resources are there to help you look up some aspect of the language, usually grammar.
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| HiNative | Get answers to foreign language questions from both AI and native speakers |
| Lingolia | A website with grammar explanations and exercises for English, German, French, Spanish, and Esperanto |
| Cooljugator | Tables of verb conjugations for many languages |
Phrasebooks
| Website | Description |
|---|---|
| Book2 | Phrasebooks in lots of languages |
| LanguageGuide | Interactive way of showing simple vocabulary |