Lingvist

What Lingvist is

Lingvist is a language learning app for independent learners that concentrates on one thing: vocabulary. Its home page promises to help learners "Learn the words that you really need, and improve your vocabulary in as little as 10 minutes per day." Instead of a sequence of themed lessons, it works through cards, each built around a common word in a real sentence, and decides for itself which word to show next. It runs on the web and on mobile, and the home page sums up its scale under "Lingvist by the numbers": 7 million app downloads, 60+ language courses and 121 nationalities learning with it. The site also says Lingvist was featured in Google Editors' Choice 2022.

The headline offer is "One subscription, 50+ language courses," a figure the site also gives as "more than 50 language courses" in its page description and as 60+ in the numbers section. Either way, one paid plan opens every course rather than one language.

How the method works

The site groups its approach under the heading "Language learning meets AI," and sets out four parts.

The first is placement. The site says "our AI positions you at the right level, so you can start learning the most relevant words immediately," for complete beginners, intermediates and advanced learners alike, and lists this as "Smart algorithms that place you at the right level." A learner who already knows some of the language starts from the words they still need.

The second is the choice of words. Lingvist teaches "the most common vocabulary first," and the site says "These words cover 80% of everyday scenarios and come with an example sentence and grammar information to provide contextualized learning." So grammar does appear, but through the sentence attached to each word rather than in separate lessons. For two courses the site links resources on the word frequencies behind this, titled English course frequencies and German course frequencies.

The third is timing. "Lingvist is powered by a spaced repetition algorithm that ensures you learn the right words at the right time," the site says, with the learner's job reduced to "learn and repeat."

The fourth is the session itself. The site suggests "studying for 10 minutes every day or completing just 50 cards with no distractions, no ads, and bite-sized lessons." The 50-card target gives a clear daily finish line that fits a commute or a lunch break.

Custom Decks

Custom Decks is the feature that sets Lingvist apart from a fixed word list. The site describes it as "a feature that turns any words or text you provide into a custom language course," and suggests using it to "Learn new words about your favorite topic or industry-specific vocabulary relevant to your work." A learner can paste in the vocabulary of their own job, hobby or reading and study it with the same card format as the main course. Custom Decks has its own page in the site's menu, with a "Try Custom Decks" link from the home page.

Courses and languages

The home page lists the courses a learner can start: English, Spanish (Europe), French, German, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Spanish (Latin America), Estonian, Portuguese (Brazil), Dutch, Polish, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian. The two Spanish courses split European and Latin American Spanish, which matters for learners heading to one region or the other.

The course count is larger than that list of target languages. One reviewer on the home page describes "learning Swedish from English, Spanish from German, German from English, French from Spanish, Spanish from English" on Lingvist at the same time, so courses are not only taught from English. The site itself can be displayed in English, Spanish, French, Russian, Portuguese (Portugal and Brazil), German, Estonian, Dutch, Italian, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Ukrainian, Polish, Japanese and Arabic.

Devices, plans and trial

Lingvist works on desktop in the browser and on mobile, where the home page offers the app and a direct APK download, and shows a 4.6 rating for the mobile app. A banner invites visitors to "Download the app and enjoy Lingvist at its best."

The site advertises "subscription plans and free trial," and every call to action reads "Try Lingvist for free." The home page gives no prices; plan details sit on the separate Pricing page. Beyond individual learners, the menu lists Classroom, Education pages for students and educators, a Business page and an Affiliate Program, so the app is also offered to schools and companies. Support runs through an FAQ and a contact page.

What learners say

The home page quotes eight reviews, and they are frank about both the strengths and the effort. One reviewer, under the title "Excellent app," writes: "Honestly, this way of learning is not entertaining, but it's very efficient. If you commit to 50 cards/day (I did 60), then you can learn very quickly." The same reviewer, a native French speaker, went to Italy "after 6 months with the app" and "was able to get by in most situations," summing up the method as "Very efficient if you're committed" but "Hard to commit."

Another says Lingvist "helped me to learn Dutch in two months, so that I can read without pain." A third used it heavily: "I'm using your app around 45 minutes a day at the moment, slightly addicted," and after a conversation with a French speaker "felt so much more equipped." One reviewer describes it as being "like having a language wizard in your pocket" that "adapts to your style, offers comprehensive progress monitoring, accelerates your skills." A more measured review, titled "Good vocabulary builder," notes that the English prompts "could more precisely indicate how the answer differs from near synonyms," while concluding that "Lingvist is a good tool for expanding and refining vocabulary."

Who it suits

Lingvist suits motivated learners who want to build a working vocabulary fast, with little time each day. The AI placement makes it a good fit for returning learners and intermediates who do not want to start again from the first page, and the frequency-first word order gives beginners the words they will meet most often. People who need the vocabulary of a profession or a hobby get real value from Custom Decks, and learners juggling several languages or learning from a language other than English are well served by the one subscription and its many course pairs. The Classroom, Education and Business pages extend it to teachers and teams.

The caveats come from its focus. Lingvist is a vocabulary trainer, so grammar arrives through example sentences rather than lessons, and the site describes no live tutors or speaking classes. As its own reviewers put it, the method is efficient but not entertaining, and it pays off for learners who commit to the daily cards.