About this app
What Phrasewise does
Duolingo teaches you 'the dog is eating an apple in the kitchen' for 200 days, then you land in Madrid and can't ask where the pharmacy is. Reddit's r/duolingo is full of complaints about irrelevant content and aggressive notifications. Phrasewise is the opposite: scenarios you'll actually use, in five languages. Six scenarios per language: — Airport: 'I have a connection to ___', 'Where is gate ___', 'My bag is missing'. — Hotel: 'Do you have a room', 'My key doesn't work', 'Could I extend by one night'. — Restaurant: 'A table for two', 'I'm allergic to nuts', 'Could we have the check'. — Pharmacy/Doctor: 'Do you have ibuprofen', 'I have a headache', 'I'm pregnant'. — Directions: 'How do I get to ___', 'Is this the train to ___', 'Where's the toilet'. — Emergency: 'Help', 'I've lost my passport', 'Call an ambulance', 'Police'. Languages v1: Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese. Each phrase has on-device synthesized audio (AVSpeechSynthesizer with the language voice). Tap any word for phonetic + literal translation. Spaced repetition built in if you want it, but no streak shame, no notifications, no leaderboards. Open it on the plane, close it after Madrid. The audio works offline.
Features
Built to be useful, not noisy.
Language picker
Choose Spanish / French / Italian / German / Japanese
Scenario list
Six scenarios with curated phrase sets
Phrase card
Big text, audio button, tappable word breakdown
Practice mode
Optional spaced-repetition quiz
Offline audio
AVSpeechSynthesizer native voices, no internet
Why it exists
The problem
Duolingo is too long-game and gamified for trip prep; Apple Translate handles ad-hoc lookups but doesn't drill phrases. Existing phrasebook apps are subscription-walled or dated. Travelers want scenario-based phrasebooks that work offline on the plane.
What's different
How Phrasewise stands out
Phrasewise is the only iOS phrasebook organized around six concrete travel scenarios with on-device AVSpeechSynthesizer audio in all five languages — no streaks, no notifications, no account. Spaced-repetition is opt-in. Every phrase has tappable word-by-word literal+phonetic translation. Apple Translate handles looku…
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FAQ
Questions about Phrasewise
How much does Phrasewise cost?▾
Phrasewise is free. All features are included from day one — no subscription, no in-app purchases, no paid tiers. Everything you see in this listing works the moment you install it.
Where does Phrasewise store my data?▾
On your device. Phrasewise is built privacy-first: no account is required, no analytics SDKs, no third-party trackers. Nothing is uploaded to a server we control — the app works without one.
What platforms does Phrasewise support?▾
iOS, on iPhone and iPad. You can find the latest availability on this page.
How do I get support for Phrasewise?▾
Use the Support link on this page, or email support@allthingsn.com. We answer every message and keep responses on the same thread.
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