Learn languages the way you learned your first
Short lessons written entirely in the language you're learning. Pictures and context explain every new word, so you never need a translation.
Try it: tap any word in the headline.
On your computer? Or Useuse Loquelo in your browser
French
Spanish
Italian
German
English
Latin
Hindi
Portuguese
Czech
PolishHow a lesson works
Every word comes with a picture or a definition
New words arrive as flashcards with an image, or with a short definition written in the language you're learning. Never a translation.
Practise without the pressure
Quick exercises between the sentences. Tap any word for its meaning, and if you get one wrong, it simply comes back later.
Pick the right picture, say the right phrase
Picture checks show whether a new word has stuck, and speaking cards have you say whole sentences out loud.
Try it yourself
Loquelo works like a feed: one card at a time, and you swipe up for the next. Swipe right when a card felt easy and left when it was hard, and the lessons adjust to you.
A short lesson about animals, playing on its own. Pick a language, tap any word to see how Loquelo explains it, or take over and swipe through it yourself.
Click, drag or scroll on the phone to try it
Supported by
Loquelo originated in the vibrant Cambridge startup ecosystem and is supported by many initiatives connected to the University of Cambridge and beyond.
The natural method
Stephen Krashen on how we acquire language
You didn't learn your first language from a dictionary. You worked it out from what you saw and heard, always a little beyond what you already knew. Loquelo is built the same way.
The idea is not new. In the twentieth century, the Danish Nature Method courses and Hans Ørberg's Lingua Latina per se Illustrata taught whole languages through the language itself, one carefully graded text at a time. Classrooms still use Ørberg's book today.
But the method never made it off the page. It has lived only in printed textbooks, most of them decades old and out of date, with no audio, no pictures you can tap and nothing that adapts to you. Loquelo brings it into an app: each lesson adjusts to your answers, and every word you meet comes back in later lessons right before you would forget it.
Why we're building Loquelo
There are very few things at which a two-year-old outperforms you, but language learning is one of them. How is that possible?
Hi, we're Karol and Jeremi. Apart from a passion for language learning, we share a frustration: most language learning is built on translation. It's the one thing a toddler doesn't need, and the one thing all existing apps refuse to abandon.
That's why we built Loquelo, which gives you the toddler's method with an adult's head start. From your first lesson, you're fully inside the language you're learning. And lessons adjust to you, keeping you right at the edge of what you understand, where learning happens fastest.
You'll make mistakes, just like any two-year-old. Good. That's how it works, and Loquelo will never punish you for it.
Because Loquelo never leans on your native language, it works whatever language you speak, including for the roughly 45% of the world that mainstream apps leave out simply because they don't offer courses from their language.
No toddler ever needed a translator, and neither do you.
Karol Wapniarski
Co-founder & CEO
- King's College
- University of Cambridge
Jeremi Jaksina
Co-founder & COO
- Trinity College
- University of Cambridge
King's College
University of Cambridge
Trinity CollegeQuestions
Which languages can I learn?
French, Spanish, Italian, German, English, Latin, Hindi, Portuguese, Czech and Polish. One subscription unlocks every lesson in every language.
Does Loquelo translate words for me?
No. Every lesson is written in the language you're learning. New words come with a picture or a short definition in that language, and you can tap any word to see how Loquelo explains it.
How is Loquelo different from other language apps?
Most language apps teach through translation. Loquelo uses the natural method: you work out meaning from pictures and context, the way you learned your first language, and lessons adjust to your answers so new words come back right before you would forget them.
Is Loquelo good for complete beginners?
Yes. The first lessons start from zero, and every new word is explained with a picture or with simple words you already know.
Do I need an invite?
For now, yes. Loquelo is invite-only, and every member has three invite links to share. If you have no invite, you can join the waiting list.
How much does Loquelo cost?
Loquelo is a subscription, monthly or yearly, and one subscription unlocks every lesson in every language, on every device where you sign in. An invite from a friend, or a code from a school or a group, comes with free access to start with.
Where can I use Loquelo?
On iPhone and iPad, on Android, and in your browser at www.loquelo.com. Your progress follows you to every device where you sign in.