associlangThe brain remembers new things through what it already knows
Learn French, Spanish, Italian and Hebrew words that actually stick
Every word gets a picture and one funny sentence linking how it sounds to what it means. It lands the first time — and spaced reviews keep it there.
Free to sign up. No card.
How it works
See the word
The word you're learning, with a real recording and a pronunciation guide.
See the meaning
What it means in your own language, with audio too.
Get the association
A short, vivid sentence bridging how the word sounds to what it means — plus an image.
Review on a schedule
Spaced repetition brings each word back right before you'd forget it — for example after a day, a week, two weeks, a month.
Why it stays with you
Two things memory works best with: an association, and a review at the right time.
01The power of association
Research shows that a new word, at first just a string of sounds, fades fast — but link its sound to a word you already know, a vivid scene and a picture, and memory has something to hold on to. In one study, students who learned Russian words this way recalled 72% of them the next day, against 46% without. We remember pictures and stories much better than bare lists.
Sources: Atkinson & Raugh, 1975 · Paivio, 1971
02From short-term to long-term memory
Research shows that a new memory is fragile: without a review, much of it fades within days — the forgetting curve. But each time you recall a word just as it starts to fade, the memory grows stronger, and the next review can wait longer: minutes, then about two days, a week, a month, three months. Review by review, a word you would have lost in days becomes one you keep for years: from short-term to long-term memory.
Sources: Ebbinghaus, 1885 · Cepeda et al., 2006 · Roediger & Karpicke, 2006
The words you'll need most, first
Every course is ordered by how often each word is really used, so you start with the most common ones. Research shows that a small core of words does most of the work — so the words from your first weeks are the ones you'll hear and read again and again, and more of the language makes sense, sooner.
The 1000 most common words make up about 80% of the words in everyday speech and writing.
Each square is one word in a hundred. Rounded figures from studies of English, Spanish and Italian.
Sources: Nation, 2006 · Davies, 2005 · De Mauro, 2016
Five words, exactly as you'll meet them
Real cards from the course — the word, the association, the picture. And some you already know: the same word, only the accent is different.
hambrehungerMy hunger calls for a hamburger.
podercanWith this powder, you can fly.
cobrecopperThe temple has a copper cobra statue.
otrootherOne otter swims while the other otter sleeps.
chocolatechocolatechocolate – chocolate: same word, same meaning, only the accent is different
The full course: 3000 words.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost?
Signing up is free, with no card, and includes your first 100 words. Each new word costs 10 coins. You earn coins for every day you study, for each association you write that is approved and for every like it gets — or you can buy them. Reviewing words you've started is always free.
How is this different from flashcards?
A flashcard asks you to memorise. Here every word comes with a picture and one sentence that links how it sounds to what it means, so your memory has something to hold on to. Then it comes back just before you'd forget it, with questions that get harder as it sticks: recognise it, hear it, then find it from its meaning.
How long does it take a day?
Ten minutes is enough: a few new words and a review of what's due. You choose how many new words a day.
Which languages can I learn?
French, Spanish, Italian and Hebrew for English speakers — and 20 courses in all: each of five languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian and Hebrew) for speakers of each of the others. Every course starts with the most common, most useful words, up to 3000 of them.
Which words will I learn first?
The ones you'll need most. Every course is ordered by how often each word is really used, so you start with the most common and work up to 3000. Studies that counted millions of words of real speech and writing found that the 1000 most common words make up about 80% of the words people use, and the 3000 most common about 90% — so what you learn first is what you'll meet again and again.
Do I need to install an app?
No. associlang works in your browser, on your phone or computer, and your progress is saved to your account.
Free to start
Sign up free, no card, with your first 100 words included. Every day you study, every approved association and every like earns coins for more words. Reviewing words you've started is always free.
Start learningYour first word takes under a minute.