Learn German by listening.
LingoTello is an app for learning German 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 German with LingoTello
- 1Pick your levelFrom A1 to C2. No account: choose German and your first text is ready.
- 2Read and listen at the same timeThe yellow highlight follows the word being spoken. Slow down or loop a sentence when the German goes by too fast.
- 3Tap what you don't understandThe meaning appears in English without stopping the audio. Separable verbs are shown together, like hat … entdeckt.
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 "German 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
German has a reputation for being hard because of two things word lists can't fix: sentence order and separable verbs. When you hear Mara hat ein kleines Café entdeckt, the verb splits in two and the important part arrives at the end. Reading while you listen lets you see that whole structure, and hearing it many times makes it stop surprising you.
That's why LingoTello keeps separable verbs together when you tap a word: you see hat … entdeckt as one unit with its English meaning, not two loose words. And because the audio keeps playing, you don't lose the thread of the sentence.
Hearing a lot of German 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 German 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.
LingoTello shows them together: when you tap a word you see the whole verb, for example hat … entdeckt, with its meaning.
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 is the part of preparation that's hardest to do alone: reading and listening comprehension. 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: Free German texts · Learn Spanish by listening · Who makes LingoTello · How the app works