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Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Lexical - How I learned 3 languages in 3 years

Hey HN, I'm Taylor and today I'm launching Lexical, a language learning app that actually works by teaching the 5,000 most common words in the target language. Spaced repetition is how I've learned Spanish, French, and Italian in the last 3 years and I couldn't find tools that have the languages that I want to learn in the future, so I built Lexical. The link goes to my White-Paper describing the language learning philosophy behind Lexical if you just want to try it out you can click "Get Started" at the top of the page. To really experience Lexical at it's best you'll need an account (sorry…

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Prices are shown for the 1 we have checked on their own sites, 1 of them free or with a free tier.

  1. 1GA

    Hi HN, For over two years I've been working on an App to learn languages (currently French, Italian and Spanish), together with my partner, a language teacher. I think it is finally ready to share with this community! The idea is to introduce vocabulary and grammar whilst you read eBooks in your own language. I've found that it is easier to remember vocabulary 'in context' and with regular repetition. Plus you don't have to carve out dedicated time for language learning. Other apps require you to build a habit around various exercises or ‘games’, whereas lots of people already read books.…

    2024 · glossarie.app · its alternatives →

  2. 2

    Learn more efficiently and remember things longer with the power of science. CleverDeck includes 3000-word decks for most major languages.

    2014 · cleverdeck.com · its alternatives →

  3. 3

    Learn the 1000 most used words - language flashcards

    2023 · its alternatives →

  4. 4

    Learn the most common 1000 words of popular languages

    2020 · mostcommonwords.co · its alternatives →

  5. 5

    Hi! Wanted to share the project I really wanted to have. TLDR; this app lets you create your own list of words and you get a Duolingo-like experience (kind of, still needs a lot of features) practicing those words in their context. My English is not the best but not the worst either. But I realized I can't boost it up after a certain level! In my belief, in order to truly learn a language, you need to be exposed to that language often. Vocabulary is the key factor here if you really want to improve in any language. My experience is that when I read a book to improve my English vocabulary, I…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    Learn languages with AI, spaced-repetition flashcards

    2024 · vocabuo.com · its alternatives →

  7. 7
    Lingvist▲364

    Take your language skills to the next level

    2015 · lingvist.com · its alternatives →

  8. 8
    Lexios▲76

    Learn vocabulary effortlessy while browsing the web

    2021 · its alternatives →

  9. 9LL

    Hi! I'm living as an expat in France and I had a hard time following the news. So I've been working on Fluentsubs that turns YouTube content into a language learning experience. YouTube videos up to 20 minutes can be transcribed and listened to. At the same time I made it easy to lookup certain words and automatically add spaced repetition cards using the given context. This means that you can also rehearse with a real voice and not with AI dubs. This works especially well for the somewhat smaller languages that have a small track on Duolingo, and now are desperately looking for content…

    2025 · fluentsubs.com · its alternatives →

  10. 10

    The easiest way to learn a language

    2019 · itranslate.com · its alternatives →

  11. 11
    Wordy▲231

    Hey HN, I'm Sándor. I built Wordy because I kept pausing Netflix to look up words in a dictionary. So I made a subtitle tool for myself, and it kind of snowballed from there. What it does: You watch short clips from real movies and TV shows, then get quizzed on the vocabulary you just heard. The app tracks every word automatically and adapts to your level. 20+ languages. How it evolved: Started as an iOS app for interactive streaming subtitles. Then I added curated video clips with quizzes. Then vocabulary tracking, spaced repetition, and personalized learning paths. Now it's iOS + Android +…

    Feb 2026 · wordy.info · its alternatives →

  12. 12

    Frequency-based, contextual language learning

    2021 · lang-bridge.com · its alternatives →

  13. 13

    Depending on the language, the top 1,000 most frequently used words account for ~85% of all speech and text, and the top 5,000 account for ~95%. It’s really important to learn these words. Learning words in context helps you naturally understand their meaning and use cases, while avoiding the rote memorization of definitions. ListLang helps you achieve fluency by learning the 5,000 most frequently used words in context. Most language learning apps never move past beginner level content. This method requires some basic knowledge, but otherwise it should rapidly increase your level past the…

    2023 · listlang.com · its alternatives →

  14. 14
    Termyfree tier, from $5.99/mo▲122

    Termy turns the content you already enjoy into language practice. Press a shortcut in any game, video, website, or app to get an in-context explanation of a word or phrase. Save it with its original sentence, screenshot, translation, and pronunciation, then review it through adap

    Aug 2026 · termy.ai · its alternatives →

  15. 15

    Learn languages with YouTube videos

    2021 · its alternatives →

  16. 16
    Karteto▲137

    Master foreign words with efficiency and fun

    2024 · karteto.com · its alternatives →

  17. 17
    Leximio▲68

    Create your own lexicon

    2023 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  18. 18

    Write, learn things, and memorise with spaced repetition

    2021 · learncycle.space · its alternatives →

  19. 19
    LangPanda▲124

    Learn languages from watching your favorite shows

    May 2026 · langpanda.com · its alternatives →

  20. 20PL

    Hey there HN - Today I'm sharing a demo of my our language learning tool, Phrasing. It's a tool born from the language acquisition hypothesis, too many hours in an anki slog, and a strange desire to always be learning obscure languages. The method is simple: 1. type in a show 2. learn the most important words 3. watch the show/acquire the words 4. review the words when needed in the future. On top of that, we're trying to: - do some novel things with spaced repetition (no more anki slog) - expand the sort of content you can learn from (I want to to refresh my French by reading The…

    2024 · phrasing.app · its alternatives →

  21. 21
    Blarma▲81

    Build vocabulary - learn words & languages with techniques

    2022 · blarma.com · its alternatives →

  22. 22

    Learn more than 20 languages

    2024 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  23. 23

    Hi HN, Just wanted to share a tool i've been working on to help with my own study routine. It’s a browser extension called Lingoku. The idea is simple: we spend hours browsing the web in English every day. This tool replaces some of the english words with Japanese vocabulary based on your japanese level (Similar to Toucan, but with a better user experience). It’s basically an attempt to make the "i+1" method actually passive, you understand the sentence because it's mostly english, but you pick up Japanese words naturally from the context. It uses an LLM in the backend to make sure the…

    Dec 2025 · lingoku.ai · its alternatives →

  24. 24

    Learn & remember 5000+ words

    2023 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →