Learn Spanish by reading real Spanish
Short stories written for learners, then real books by Latin American and Spanish authors — with the English translation beside every sentence, a dictionary on every word and a daily lesson built from the words you save.
Your first lesson opens with no signup. A free plan to keep going; full access is paid.
Inside
Real Spanish, never on your own
English beside every line
Every story and every book opens with our English translation next to the Spanish, sentence by sentence. A slider decides how much of it you see — all of it on day one, a glance later, nothing when you are ready.
- Matching colours tie each sentence to its translation
- New, learning and familiar words marked in the text
- Read aloud in the accent you picked, word by word
Spanish
Había una vez un hombre que vivía en Buenos Aires, y estaba muy contento porque era un hombre sano y trabajador. Pero un día se enfermó, y los médicos le dijeron que solamente yéndose al campo podría curarse.
El no quería ir, porque tenía hermanos chicos a quienes daba de comer.
English
Once there was a man who lived in Buenos Aires, and he was very happy because he was a healthy and hardworking man. But one day he became ill, and the doctors told him that only by going to the countryside could he be cured.
He did not want to go, because he had little brothers whom he fed.
The opening of “La tortuga gigante” by Horacio Quiroga, as the reader shows it.
Every word, explained — verbs included
Tap a word for its meaning in this sentence, its dictionary form and, for a verb, all of its forms: “dijeron” leads straight back to “decir”, the tense it is in already marked.
- Irregular verbs resolved to their infinitive
- Gender and plural for nouns and adjectives
- One tap saves the word to your next lesson
to say; to tell (someone)
“los médicos le dijeron…” — one tap, and the irregular form is taken apart.
Grammar in the line you are reading
The subjunctive, ser and estar, por and para — highlighted where they happen, explained with the sentence in front of you. 85 topics, A1 to B2, each with a short card and drills.
- Tap a highlight for the rule, the form and the trap
- Examples from the text you are reading
- A grammar map shows what your level still needs
Spanish
Por eso quiero que se vaya a vivir al monte, a hacer mucho ejercicio al aire libre para curarse.
Subjuntivo tras «que»
Subjunctive
querer / esperar / dudar + que + subjuntivoAfter que introducing a wish, a request, an emotion, a doubt or a purpose, the verb goes into the subjunctive instead of the indicative.
From your sentence
The rule, the form and the trap — with the sentence you are reading as the example.
Answers that count the accents
In Spanish an accent changes the word — hablo is “I speak”, habló is “he spoke”. Typed answers are graded with their accents, and the keys are on screen, so an English keyboard is never in the way.
- á é í ó ú ü ñ ¿ ¡ — one tap each
- Six stages per word, from recognising it to writing it
- Mistakes come back sooner; what you know waits longer
Practice · writing it
Stage 4 of 6 · type from memory
Type the Spanish word
“But one day he became ill.”
Pero un día se ________.
Accent keys, on screen
“enfermo” without its accent is a different word — the answer is graded as written.
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Reviews timed to your memory
Every word you learn is scheduled to come back just before you would forget it (FSRS).
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Writing with feedback
Short writing tasks at your level, with every mistake named: tense, word choice, preposition, spelling.
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Conversations in Spanish
Talk with an avatar who answers in Spanish, at your level (Plus).
How it works
From your first word to your first novel
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1
Start where you are
A short check sets your level. Starting from zero? Ten short primer pages come first: how a Spanish sentence is built, how to read a word aloud, ser and estar, why Spanish speakers so rarely say “I”.
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2
A lesson a day from your words
New words and phrases, a short text that uses them, the grammar of your level and reviews timed to your memory. About fifteen minutes a day.
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3
Stories, then books
More than 200 short stories in themed packs, A1 to B1, written for learners — then real books, A2 to C1, with the English beside every line.
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4
Write and speak
Short writing tasks with a note on every mistake, and conversations with an avatar who answers in Spanish (Plus).
Which Spanish
Latin American Spanish — the kind understood everywhere
Lessons, stories and exercises teach neutral Latin American Spanish, with no single country's slang. You pick the accent you hear, and every word, story and book is read aloud in it.
- ustedes for “you all” — never vosotros
- Words that travel: computadora, not ordenador; celular, not móvil
- Accents from Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Chile — or Spain, if that is where you are going
- Books from both sides of the Atlantic, left as their authors wrote them
The library
16 books in Spanish, A2 to C1
Stories and novels from Spain and Latin America, each with our English translation beside every sentence. Beginners read the short stories in the packs first.
Access
Try it first. The rest can wait.
We show no ads — on any plan. The service runs on Plus subscriptions, so access is simple and honest.
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Right away
A lesson with no signup
Pick your level and interests — the first story and first lesson open immediately. An account (email and password) is needed once: to save your progress.
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14 days
Plus — free
Confirm your email and everything opens for two weeks: unlimited lessons, stories built from your own words, the whole library. No card, nothing auto-charges.
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After that
Plus — or a calm pace
Liked it? Subscribe to Plus — cancel in one click. If not, the free plan stays forever: the whole library of themed packs with their episode stories (hundreds of them), sample chapters and a 15-minute daily lesson.
There are no ads on the free plan either — it's simply the same method at a calmer pace.
Questions
Before you start
Is it Latin American Spanish or Spain Spanish?
Latin American. Lessons, stories and exercises use ustedes for “you all” and the everyday words understood from Mexico to Argentina — computadora rather than ordenador, celular rather than móvil. You choose the accent you hear: Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile or Spain. The books come from both sides of the Atlantic and are left as their authors wrote them.
Can I start with no Spanish at all?
Yes. A short check places you, and if you are starting from zero, ten short primer pages come first — how a Spanish sentence is built, how to read a word aloud, ser and estar, asking and saying no — before your first lesson.
Do I need to sign up?
Not to start: your first lesson opens right away. An account — email and password, or Google — is needed once, to keep your progress.
What does it cost?
You can start for free. Confirm your email and Plus is open for 14 days, with no card. After that Plus is a paid subscription; the free plan stays, with the themed story packs, sample chapters of the books and a 15-minute daily lesson.
Which books can I read?
Sixteen, from A2 to C1: Horacio Quiroga's jungle tales, Galdós's Marianela and Doña Perfecta, Alarcón's The Three-Cornered Hat, Bécquer's legends, Rubén Darío's Azul…, José Martí's La Edad de Oro, Ricardo Palma's Peruvian tales and more.
Who translated the books?
We did: every book has our own English translation, made with the help of machine translation and aligned with the original sentence by sentence. It is there to help you follow the Spanish, not to stand in for a literary edition.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes — in any browser, on a phone or a computer, and you can install it from the browser like an app. Nothing to download first.
Your first story in Spanish is one tap away
Pick your level, and the first lesson opens right away.
Your first lesson opens with no signup. A free plan to keep going; full access is paid.