I built Lela because Duolingo didn't work for me. 400+ days of streaks and I still couldn't read a news article. Lela takes a different approach: learn by reading real content. 1. Browse articles from top news sources or share any webpage 2. Every word shows its translation inline — just read naturally 3. Tap words you know to build your vocabulary 4. Quiz yourself with flashcards made from your words No streaks. No cartoon owls. Just reading — the way languages were always meant to be learned.
Hey PH! 👋
I'm Pung, the solo dev behind LelaAI.
Quick backstory: I had a 400+ day Duolingo streak and still couldn't read a German newspaper. That bugged me.
Research backs this up, extensive reading is one of the most effective ways to acquire a language, yet most apps ignore it completely.
So I built LelaAI. The idea is dead simple: read things you actually care about, in the language you're learning, with translations right there when you need them. Over time, you tap fewer and fewer words. That's real progress not XP points.
A few things I'm proud of:
- Explore tab — fresh articles daily from real news sources (Tagesschau, BBC Mundo, Le Monde, and more) so you always have something to read
- Flashcard quizzes — test yourself on words you've actually learned from reading, not random vocabulary lists
- Zero cloud dependency for translations — everything runs through Apple's on-device Translation framework, so it's fast and private
- Share extension — see an interesting article in Safari? Share it to Lela and start reading with translations instantly
- No engagement tricks — no streaks, no lives, no ads. Just reading.
Would love your feedback. What languages are you learning? What kind of content would you want to read?
I am nearly 500 days on duolingo and I started to really feel that i am using it just to keep the streak going. The articles based approach seems pretty interesting. Good Luck!
love this. this would solve the problem of me having to open the translator each time i see an unfamiliar word in a book i’m reading :) simple and powerful!
This is great fun, if you could choose preferred content like techmeme. I'd look through this app in that case.
I totally relate to this because I started learning German with Duolingo and it didn't work for me. Learning through real articles is definitely the better way to go.
Another owl victim here 🦉 Had 200+ days streak and realized I was opening the app for the streak, not for English. The moment I missed one day - zero motivation to come back.
Learning through real articles is double useful - you actually learn the language AND stay informed. That's smart.
@pungme love the real-content approach, but how does it handle difficulty levels? Can beginners jump straight to news articles, or do you recommend starting with simpler sources? And does it suggest articles based on vocabulary level? Thanks)
My level of learning is the same. Using DuoLingo for 1100+ days and not able to create some reasonable sentence :D
