Dev tools · alternatives · 2026
24 alternatives to Ricotta – Language Learning to Replace Anki
I’ve been tinkering with Ricotta for about a year now and I'm happy to announce it’s ready to for others to use officially. Largely the time has been spent making the project a framework to spin up newer projects quickly which I can share details around if anyone is interested. The app was born out of my frustration with Duolingo drilling me on words I knew. I moved on to creating custom Anki cards and found myself spending ages creating decks. It’s free, uses spaced repetition under the hood, and focuses on helping you learn what you want to without a course structure. I'd love to hear your…
Ricotta is a free language learning app designed for users who want to study vocabulary without following a structured course. It uses spaced repetition to optimize retention and lets learners focus on words they… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes.
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streamlines language practice, build focused study decks
2025 · fluentcheese.com · its alternatives →
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Hi HN, I watch A LOT of educational YouTube videos but wasn't forgetting a good chunk of the details because I was only really passively watching. So I made a tool that generates quiz questions/flashcards from YouTube videos, and uses spaced repetition like Anki or Duolingo to keep it in memory. Let me know if you find it cool/useful (or terrible ) or if you want to know a bit about the details!
2024 · platoedu.org · its alternatives →
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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 →
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Learn languages with this flash card app, now on the web
2017 · its alternatives →
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The future of learning with flashcards, by Duolingo
2016 · duolingo.com · its alternatives →
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Learn languages with AI, spaced-repetition flashcards
2024 · vocabuo.com · its alternatives →
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Here is a tool I built initially for myself to help with my German and Greek language studies. It started as a hack for creating Anki cards from native language audio. It extracts the words, finds their base forms (lemmas) and groups the examples by the lemma. At some point I realised that I have a transcription with word level timestamps that opens a lot of other opportunities. So I added a mode to click the first and last word in the transcript and it starts looping with the right gap and repeat count. Another feature I use a lot is selecting an audio fragment, sending a predefined prompt…
Jun 2026 · lingochunk.com · its alternatives →
- 9IM
The idea is actually quite simple. As a Japanese learner and a coder, I've always wanted there to be an open-source, 100% free for learning Japanese, similar to Monkeytype in the typing community. Unfortunately, pretty much all language learning apps are closed-sourced and paid these days, and the ones that are free have unfortunately been abandoned. But of course, just creating yet another language learning app was not enough - there has to be a unique selling point. And then I thought to myself: why not make it crazy and do what no other language learning app ever did by adding a gazillion…
2025 · kanadojo.com · its alternatives →
- 10GA
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 →
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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 →
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Hey HN, it’s been 8 years since I posted on here about the launch of my Japanese dictionary app Nihongo [0] and I’m finally back with a new app: Nihongo Lessons! Think of Nihongo Lessons as the textbook to Nihongo’s dictionary. It’s an app for learning Japanese, specifically made for learners who are serious about becoming fluent, and want a guided set of content that will help them efficiently acquire vocabulary and grammar. The project came about when Adam Shapiro of Japanese Level Up (Jalup) [1] announced last April that he was shutting Jalup down. As a fan of Adam’s work I was bummed to…
2022 · lessons.nihongo-app.com · its alternatives →
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Actually learn a new language without any of the fuss
2024 · airlearn.com · its alternatives →
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Clozemaster is language learning gamification through mass exposure to vocabulary in context. Great post-Duolingo app and useful for language learners of all levels. Free to sign up and play!
2017 · clozemaster.com · its alternatives →
- 17AF
I'm a long time lurker that recently quit my job to work on my own projects, a lot due to the inspiration from Hacker News. Now I have published my first serious project, an app for learning how to write Japanese characters. It's the app I always wanted but couldn't find when I was studying. It tries to be simple to use, you just start the quiz and go with the flow. There's no need to plan and manage your studies, and it uses spaced repetition for better retention. There's a promo page with more details up at http://www.kanjibyhand.com. It's only for Android so far. The free version includes…
2012 · kanjibyhand.com. · its alternatives →
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Hi Everyone, I recently wanted to learn Japanese with duolingo but it kept giving me repetitive lessons. So I built an app that gives a variety of lessons from anime. You can try it out here:https://kanjieight.vercel.app/ Thanks everyone.
Nov 2025 · kanjieight.vercel.app · its alternatives →
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CantoCards▲68Learn Cantonese characters & readings with spaced repetition
2023 · cantocards.com · its alternatives →
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Itsumo is a language learning app that generates short lessons from stories about topics you choose, at your level. Instead of working through a fixed curriculum or another flashcard deck, you can make a lesson about whatever happens to be interesting to you that day, with audio, tappable words, and grammar notes. You can try a language story from the landing page without signing up, and if you want to try full access, no credit card is required at signup, and the premium tier free for 14 days. It supports Japanese, Polish, Spanish, English, Portuguese, French and Italian. I built it because…
Apr 2026 · itsumo.study · its alternatives →
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Sharing a friends first-ever Rails application, dedicated to Arabic learning, from 0 to 1. Pulls language learning methods from Anki, comprehensible input and more.
Mar 2026 · abjadpro.com · its alternatives →
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Hey there! Out of the necessity to teach my son a new language, I developed an app just for him. After months of use and realizing how effective it was, I decided to make it available to the public. Now, I’m looking for your support, feedback, and possibly help in reaching potential customers. Take a look and let me know your thoughts! Thank you!
2024 · voiczy.com · its alternatives →
- 24
Turn anything into a language lesson, instantly
2022 · roshi.ai · 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 →