Learn French by listening.
LingoTello is an app for learning French by reading and listening: 1,000 lessons with natural audio per language (about 17 hours of listening), from A1 to C2, with meanings in English. The highlight follows the word being spoken; tap a word and you see what it means without the audio stopping.
Start free, no account. Android first; an iPhone version will follow.
- 1,000 lessons per language
- Levels A1–C2
- Meanings in English
- No account
- Start free
Who it's for
How you learn French with LingoTello
- 1Pick your levelFrom A1 to C2. No account: choose French and your first text is ready.
- 2Read and listen at the same timeThe highlight follows the word being spoken, even when several words are pronounced as one. Slow down or loop a sentence.
- 3Tap what you don't understandThe meaning appears in English without stopping the audio. Fixed expressions are shown together, like est-ce que or il y a.
A sample text
A sentence from an A2 text about daily life. In the app each group of words carries its English meaning underneath, and you can switch to "with translation" or "French only".
What you read at each level
| Level | What you can read and listen to | Example topics |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | Short sentences about everyday situations: introducing yourself, ordering a coffee, describing your morning. Half-minute texts. | Daily life, shopping |
| A2 | Simple stories in past and present tense, with everyday and travel vocabulary. | Daily life, travel, work |
| B1 | Texts from one to several minutes about society, work and plans, with subordinate clauses and connectors. | Society, work, travel |
| B2 | Articles and stories with opinions, nuance and more abstract vocabulary. | Society, culture, work |
| C1–C2 | Long texts with varied register, irony, idioms and specialised topics. | Culture, society, science |
Why listening and reading at the same time works
French is written one way and sounds another: ils aiment and il aime sound almost the same, final consonants go silent, and les amis gains a "z" that isn't on the page. That's why people who read French novels still can't follow a conversation. Reading while you listen ties every written word to what it actually sounds like.
Nasal vowels and the fast rhythm are the other wall. Because LingoTello's highlight follows the word you're hearing, you see découvert the instant it's spoken, and tapping it gives you the English meaning without losing the thread. Fixed expressions are shown as one unit, not word by word.
Hearing a lot of French you can understand, at your level, is what improves listening comprehension most. With texts from A1 to C2 you can start with half-minute sentences and reach articles several minutes long without changing method.
Built for listening on the go
How LingoTello compares with other reading apps
| LingoTello | Readle | Beelinguapp | LingQ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Format | Texts with audio, tap-to-see meaning, three reading modes | News and stories as lessons, audio sentence by sentence | Parallel text (two languages side by side) with audio | Library plus your own imported content |
| Levels | A1–C2 | A1–B2 lessons | Graded stories | Graded library |
| Account needed | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Price | Free tier (10–15 lessons per language); Plus €7.99/month or €49.99/year for all languages | Free A1–A2 articles; subscription for full access | Free plan with paid upgrade | Subscription for full use |
| Tap a word while the audio keeps playing | Yes | — | — | — |
| Background and offline audio | Yes (offline with Plus) | — | — | — |
| Data stays on your phone | Yes | — | — | — |
Competitor details taken from their public store listings in October 2026; "—" means the listing does not state it. Check each app for current terms.
Questions about learning French with LingoTello
Yes. A1 texts are short sentences about daily life, with natural audio and the meaning of every word in English one tap away.
Yes. If your language is English, glosses, translations and the app itself are in English. You can also choose Spanish or German.
The highlight follows what is spoken, so you see which letters are silent and where words link. You can slow the audio down and loop a sentence.
Every text has natural audio, sentence by sentence. You can slow it down, loop a sentence and keep listening with the screen off.
LingoTello isn't an exam course, but reading and listening to many texts at your level trains exactly reading and listening comprehension, which is hardest to practise alone. Texts go from A1 to C2.
No account needed. You start free with 10–15 complete lessons and every feature. Plus (€7.99 a month or €49.99 a year) unlocks the full catalogue of all languages, with offline downloads. No ads.
Tell me when
it's out on Android.
Join the waitlist and we'll email you the day LingoTello is on Google Play. Start free, no account.
Keep reading: Learn German by listening · Learn Spanish by listening · Who makes LingoTello