Read real English books and understand every line
Tap any word to see what it means in that sentence. Open the grammar of a tricky line, or press Listen and hear the chapter read aloud as each word lights up. Where a book has a translation into your language, it sits beside every sentence. You can also bring your own EPUB or FB2 and read offline.
Free to try · No signup · Works in any browser
What's inside
What helps you on every page
Grammar explained in the line you're reading
When a sentence has a construction worth knowing, a small Grammar row appears under it. Tap it for a short rule in plain words, tied to that very sentence: the pattern, what it means, an example from your book, and the mistake to avoid. You pick up grammar as you read, without a separate textbook.
- The construction is highlighted right in the text.
- The pattern, its meaning in plain words, an example from your book, a common mistake.
- Matched to CEFR levels, so it fits what you can read.
ENGLISH
By the time the boy returned, the old man had already fallen asleep in his chair.
Past Perfect
Tenses · talking about an earlier past
had + past participleUse the Past Perfect for an action that was already finished before another moment in the past.
From this sentence
The construction is highlighted in the text; the Grammar row opens the rule behind it.
The book read aloud, each word lit up as it's spoken
Press Listen and the chapter is read aloud. Each word lights up as it's spoken, so your eyes and ears stay together. Jump back or forward a sentence, slow down to 0.75× or speed up to 1.5×, or tap any word to start from there. Reading turns into listening practice without switching apps.
- Word-by-word highlighting, so you never lose your place.
- Back and forward by sentence; speed from 0.75× to 1.5×.
- Tap a word to start listening from it, or replay a line you missed.
ENGLISH · LISTENING
To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name.
In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex.
One row of controls: back and forward, the translation slider, speed. Nothing covers the text.
Tap a word and see everything about it
One tap opens a card for that word: its translation in this sentence, transcription and pronunciation, how common it is, its forms, the grammar it takes here, and a plain explanation. On a phone the card slides up from the bottom with big buttons; on a computer it opens next to the word.
- Translation, transcription, audio and how common the word is, in one tap.
- Forms, the grammar of this sentence and an explanation, when you want more.
- Save the words worth keeping, even offline, and learn them later in the app.
desaparecer, esfumarse
On a phone the card slides up from the bottom; on a computer it opens next to the word.
Stuck on a line? The translation is right there
Every book in the library comes with a translation into Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Russian or Chinese, lined up sentence by sentence beside the English. A slider fades it in and out: show as much as you need, then slide back to the original. Coloured marks at the start of each sentence keep your place as you switch.
- English and your language lined up sentence by sentence.
- Drag the EN↔ES slider to show exactly as much translation as you need.
- Coloured marks at sentence starts help you find your place at a glance.
ENGLISH
Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer’s wife. Their house was small, for the lumber to build it had to be carried by wagon many miles.
There were four walls, a floor and a roof, which made one room; and…
ESPAÑOL
Dorotea vivía en medio de las grandes praderas de Kansas, con el tío Henry, que era granjero, y la tía Em, que era la esposa del granjero. Su casa era pequeña, porque la madera para construirla había que transportarla en carreta por muchas millas.
Había cuatro paredes, un piso y un techo, que formaban una sola habitación; y…
Move the slider to show the translation, as much as you need.
Bring your own book and read it offline
You're not limited to our shelf. Add your own EPUB, FB2 or TXT file and read it with the same dictionary, grammar notes and audio. Download any book to your device and keep reading without a connection: on the underground, on a plane, out of town. Your taps and saved words wait on the device and sync when you're back online.
- EPUB, FB2 or TXT up to 5 MB; a typical novel is ready in one to three minutes.
- Whole books saved on your device for offline reading.
- Lookups and saved words sync on their own when you reconnect.
Your own book gets the same dictionary and grammar, and downloaded books open with no signal at all.
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Works in any browser
Phone, tablet or computer, with nothing to install. Add the Reader to your home screen and it opens like a regular app.
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Save words as you read
Tap to save a word to your list. When you want to really learn them, the LangOrbit app turns your saved words into short exercises and brings each one back before you forget it.
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No ads, no selling your data
Your data is stored on servers in the EU (Hetzner, Germany). We use privacy-friendly analytics only, and no third-party ad networks. Ever.
Accessibility
Reading that adapts to you, including with dyslexia and ADHD.
Long texts in a foreign language are hard enough. The Reader makes them easier where it can, and doesn't pretend to be a treatment.
Fonts for dyslexia, a ruler for focus
The Reader comes with OpenDyslexic and Atkinson Hyperlegible, fonts many readers with dyslexia find easier to follow, alongside the usual serif and sans-serif ones. And when a dense page makes your eyes wander, the reading ruler keeps a soft band of light on the lines you're reading and dims the rest; drag it down as you go. It's a small thing, but it's often what gets you to the end of a long chapter.
- OpenDyslexic and Atkinson Hyperlegible, one tap away in the settings.
- A reading ruler you can drag to keep your place in dense text.
- Text size, font weight and interface scale, set separately for the day and night themes.
The little prince sat down on a stone and looked up
into the sky. “I wonder,” he said, “whether the stars
are lit up so that each of us can find his own again.”
He looked at the desert folds of sand before him.
“The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that
The ruler dims everything except the lines you're reading; fonts change with one tap.
How it works
Open a book, read, keep the words
The Reader helps you read. The app helps you remember the words you saved.
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1
Open a book, ours or yours
Pick a book from the library (each one shows its level, and some have a translation into your language beside every sentence) or upload your own EPUB, FB2 or TXT.
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Read, listen and tap what you don't know
A tap opens the word's card; save the ones worth keeping. Press Listen to hear the chapter with each word highlighted. Under sentences with a construction worth knowing, a Grammar row explains it.
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Learn what you saved in the app
Your saved words appear in the LangOrbit app, where they turn into short exercises and come back for review, so you keep what you read.
FAQ
Questions about the Reader
Does the Reader read books aloud?
Yes. Press Listen and the Reader reads the chapter aloud, highlighting each word as it's spoken. You can jump back and forward by sentence, change the speed from 0.75× to 1.5×, or tap any word to start listening from there.
Is the Reader good for dyslexia?
The Reader has the OpenDyslexic and Atkinson Hyperlegible fonts, and you can set text size, font weight and the day or night theme. Many readers with dyslexia find long texts noticeably easier this way. Everyone is different, though, so try it on a real chapter; it's free.
Is there a reading ruler for focus?
Yes. The reading ruler keeps a soft band of light on the lines you're reading and dims the rest; drag it as you go. People who find it hard to keep their place in dense text, a common difficulty with ADHD, usually find it helps.
Can I read my own books?
Yes. Upload your own EPUB, FB2 or TXT and read it with the same dictionary and grammar notes as the library books. The translation beside every sentence comes with library books only.
Can I read offline?
Yes. Download any book to your device and keep reading without a connection. Your taps and saved words are kept on the device and sync as soon as you're back online.
Which file formats are supported?
EPUB, FB2 and TXT, or a ZIP with one book inside, up to 5 MB. If your book is in another format, convert it to EPUB first with a free tool such as Calibre.
What level of English do I need to read books in the original?
You can start earlier than you think. With a dictionary on every word, simple classics work from about A2, and most originals feel comfortable from B1. Every book in the library shows its level (A1–C1), so it's easy to pick one that fits.
What happens to the words I tap?
The card shows the translation in context, transcription, pronunciation, how common the word is, its forms, grammar and an explanation, and you can save the word to your list. To actually learn your saved words, open the LangOrbit app: there they come back for review on a schedule. The Reader itself stays focused on comfortable reading.
Is the Reader free?
You can try the whole Reader for free within daily limits, with no card and no signup. Beyond that it's paid; the free limits are enough to see whether it suits you. There are no ads on any plan.
Where can I read English books with a parallel translation for free?
In the LangOrbit Reader. Every book in the library, from Aesop's fables and Treasure Island to Pride and Prejudice and Dracula, shows a translation beside every sentence in Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Russian or Chinese. For most books it is our own machine translation; classics written in one of those languages, such as Cervantes, Dumas, Goethe, Collodi, Eça de Queirós or Tolstoy, show the original instead. Every book has a dictionary on every word and grammar notes. It opens with no signup and no card, free within daily limits. Browse the library
Are there books for A2 or B1 with a translation?
Yes, and every one of them has a translation beside every sentence in Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Russian or Chinese: Aesop's fables, Andersen's and English fairy tales (A2), The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Call of the Wild, Around the World in Eighty Days, Journey to the Centre of the Earth (B1) and more. Every book shows its CEFR level on its card. These are full texts, not simplified versions: the translation beside the line and a dictionary on every word are what make them readable sooner. Browse the library
How does the Reader compare with LingQ or Readlang?
There's a page for that: the LangOrbit Reader beside LingQ, Readlang, Beelinguapp and Language Reactor, compared on facts only — what each does with a text, what its free plan includes and what it costs, as each product states it. In short: LangOrbit is built language by language (English and Spanish), puts library books and your own side by side, explains grammar in the sentence, and sends saved words into a lesson with spaced repetition on the same account. Open the comparison
Open a book and start reading.
Nothing to download, no signup. The Reader opens straight on the first chapter.
Open the ReaderWorks on phone, tablet and computer. Want to learn the words too? See the LangOrbit app.