Japanese · Spanish · Korean
Learn Japanese, Spanish or Korean by watching
real conversations.
Scroll short videos made by native speakers. The transcript runs underneath, and every word is one tap from its meaning.
Out now on the App Store. Coming to Google Play in a few weeks: leave your email and we will tell you the day it lands.
A demonstration of the app: a short video plays at the top of the screen, and its transcript sits underneath, one word at a time lighting up as the speaker says it. Every word carries its pronunciation above it and its meaning below. Tapping a word stops the clip and opens a card with the definition, an example sentence and a button to save it.
It never feels like homework
No lessons and no drills. Just the feed you would scroll anyway, in the language you are learning. That is why you come back tomorrow.
Real speed, real people
Real slang, real accents, nothing slowed down. The help sits under the clip rather than inside it, so you learn to follow the real thing.
Words arrive with a memory attached
You never meet a word in a list. You meet it in a moment you were watching, and when it comes back for review, that moment comes with it.
How it works
Watch. Tap. Keep.
- 01
Watch
A clip plays straight from YouTube, with its creator credited on screen. Swipe up for the next one, just like you already do.
- 02
Tap
Spot a word you do not know? Tap it. The clip pauses right there, and the word opens up.
- 03
Keep
Save it. It comes back just before you would forget it, along with the clip you found it in.
What you get
Built around the word you did not know.
Every word, one tap away
What it means, how it sounds, its level, and how often it has already gone past you.
Is this fresh today?
1.Fresh. Of food: newly caught, picked or made.
Tap any underlined word.
Words come back before you forget them
Pick the right meaning out of four. Each time you get it, the gap grows: a day, then a week, up to three months.
終電
しゅうでん · shuuden
What does it mean?
One of the four is right.
The caption knows where the voice is
The highlight follows the speaker word by word, so even a fast talker never loses you.
It only came in this morning.
Hear a word everywhere it is said
Search a word, in the language or in English, and see every real line it turns up in, at your level.
終電、逃しそう。
I'm going to miss the last train.
終電に間に合った。
I made the last train.
Languages
Three to learn in, and more on the way.
Pick one and your whole feed switches to it: the clips, the words, the readings. Menus and help stay in English, so you never get lost in a language you are still learning.
- Japanese
- Spanish
- Korean
- Frenchsoon
- Germansoon
- Portuguesesoon
- Mandarin Chinesesoon
- Russiansoon
- Hindisoon
Not the one you are learning? . The most requested languages come first.
Only clips worth watching twice.
Real videos from real creators, played in YouTube’s own player with their name on screen. No filler and no ads from Vako, though YouTube’s player may show its own.
Questions
Before you spend an evening on it.
Can I install it yet?
On the App Store, yes: the button above takes you to the listing. It is not on Google Play yet. Tap Notify me: Android, leave your email, and we will write once, the day it arrives. No newsletter, and your address goes nowhere else. Rather ask a person? Write to [email protected].
What does it cost?
Vako is free to download and starts with a 3-day free trial of everything. After the trial it is a monthly or yearly subscription, whichever you choose, and the app shows you both prices before the trial starts. Nothing is charged during the trial, the app reminds you the day before it ends if notifications are on, and you can cancel any time in your App Store or Google Play account. The subscription pays for the transcripts, meanings and reviews; every clip stays free to watch on YouTube itself.
How do I cancel?
In your App Store or Google Play account settings, under Subscriptions. Cancel at least a day before the trial ends and you pay nothing. Cancelling later stops the next renewal and keeps everything working until the end of the year you paid for.
Which languages can I learn?
Japanese, Spanish and Korean today, with more on the way. Missing yours? Ask for it in the languages section of this page: the most requested languages arrive first. Menus stay in English throughout, so you never have to read one in a language you are still learning.
Do I have to be able to read the script?
No. Japanese words carry their kana reading above them, and you can switch that to Latin letters while you are learning the alphabet. Korean carries a romanisation. Spanish is Spanish.
Where do the videos come from?
They are short-form videos published on YouTube by the people who made them. Every clip plays in YouTube’s own player, from the creator’s upload, with their name on the frame. Nothing is downloaded, re-hosted or re-cut.
Are the transcripts any good?
Every transcript is checked against its clip before the clip is published, and anything that reads badly is corrected or thrown out. A caption that is slightly wrong teaches a word that is entirely wrong.
Do I need an account?
No. Every device gets its own account the first time the app opens, so you can start watching immediately. Signing in later, with Apple or Google, upgrades that same account rather than replacing it, so nothing you saved is lost.
Does it work offline?
No. Clips stream, so you need a connection to watch. The words you have saved stay on your phone.