Phrase It - Vocabulary App for Vocab List Haters

UPDATES

1/16/17 - Flash feature; a new way to review vocabulary, and WaniKani level tagging on import
iOS and Android versions have been updated with the new Flash feature and WaniKani level tagging when importing.

Give us your ideas/thoughts/suggestions/bugs using the paper airplane button!

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DOWNLOADS

iOS
Android

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APP DESCRIPTION
Hey fellow Wanikani-ers!

I’m developing an app called Phrase It that is designed to improve speaking and writing. The methodology isn’t very new - create sentences using vocabulary words - but the app is designed to work with the typical language learners behavior.

Typical behavior is:

  1. Have conversation or read something; stumble upon a word that you don’t know.
  2. Add the word to your vocab list for later reference
  3. Continue conversation/reading
  4. Later - look up meaning to word
  5. Write sentences and/or a story using the word to practice context and grammar
Phrase It helps alleviate this tedious process. You can add words quickly, edit them later, progress them by writing sentences about them, and if you’ve got writer’s block, there’s even a topic to help you out.

Why does this work?
Creating sentences with the app on a daily basis helps you practice your vocabulary, speak/write it quicker (if you’d like to speak it, find a keyboard that allows voice input like Swype or Google keyboard), and think faster which is essential to holding any conversation.

Best of all, it’s free!
Premium options include Flash; a new way to review vocabulary, WaniKani vocab import, Lang-8 sharing, will soon support updates like cloud backup and others!

Feedback is appreciated!
Use the paper airplane button in the app to send me feedback or bugs you find.
If you’d like to be first on the list for new features and aren’t scared of space shuttles or deep see exploring, join the Beta program on the Play store.



Sounds like a great idea. How much would you charge for the premium options?

Jamthom8 said... Sounds like a great idea. How much would you charge for the premium options?
 $1.99 for Phrase It Pro, which includes all of the items listed in premium and future updates.

Your app sounds really cool! As a person who has a hard time finding casual ways to write/speak new languages, it sounds great. I’m on iOS, but I would love to get in on this when it’s ready. 

copperheadcowboy said... Your app sounds really cool! As a person who has a hard time finding casual ways to write/speak new languages, it sounds great. I'm on iOS, but I would love to get in on this when it's ready. 
 I will post here when iOS is ready! The iOS release is waiting on Phrase It Pro, which will include cool features like the ones listed above.

I can’t find this on the app store at all when using my phone.

Very cool, I’ll have to try this out when I get the chance!

Sounds really promising! Looking foward for the iOS release :slight_smile:

That’s very nice, the only problem I’d see is that I have no idea if I’m using the word right at all or not. Well, of course, that goes for everything that’s not corrected by a native, so it won’t be an easy fix.
Anyway, cool app :slight_smile: It has a really cool slender look to it. Might use it to kill time :3 I really like how it gives a theme. 

kairu said... I can't find this on the app store at all when using my phone.
 The iOS app store or the Play store? Right now the app is only available on the Play store. I'm working hard on getting the Pro version implemented so that I can submit it to the iOS app store.

Stay tuned!
Firefly72 said... That's very nice, the only problem I'd see is that I have no idea if I'm using the word right at all or not. Well, of course, that goes for everything that's not corrected by a native, so it won't be an easy fix.
Anyway, cool app :) It has a really cool slender look to it. Might use it to kill time :3 I really like how it gives a theme. 
 I haven't looked at the app yet, but some kinda way to export sentences you write so they can easily uploaded to places like lang8 might be a useful feature.

Yeah that sentence export feature would be really really useful. I have to get my sentences corrected . It would increase its usefulness greatly.

Jintanuki said...
Firefly72 said... That's very nice, the only problem I'd see is that I have no idea if I'm using the word right at all or not. Well, of course, that goes for everything that's not corrected by a native, so it won't be an easy fix.
Anyway, cool app :) It has a really cool slender look to it. Might use it to kill time :3 I really like how it gives a theme. 
 I haven't looked at the app yet, but some kinda way to export sentences you write so they can easily uploaded to places like lang8 might be a useful feature.
That's a great idea! I will keep that in mind for a future update.
Unfortunately lately I've been battling health issues so it may not be implemented for a few weeks at least. But stay tuned! :)

That sounds great!

rushkharg said... That sounds great!
 Go check out the latest! :)

I couldn’t find it on the play store searching for “phrase it”, though I typed in “speak your vocab” and it found it that way.  (I got that phrase because I first searched for it on my desktop).  It looks pretty nice and simple.  :slight_smile:

This seems like a fabulous idea, though honestly I don’t know if I will actively use it simply because I can’t seem to figure out how to type properly and easily in Japanese on my phone.  I can copy things from my digital dictionary, but that is too much of a pain when I would like to write sentences.

pegasus said... I couldn't find it on the play store searching for "phrase it", though I typed in "speak your vocab" and it found it that way.  (I got that phrase because I first searched for it on my desktop).  It looks pretty nice and simple.  :)

This seems like a fabulous idea, though honestly I don't know if I will actively use it simply because I can't seem to figure out how to type properly and easily in Japanese on my phone.  I can copy things from my digital dictionary, but that is too much of a pain when I would like to write sentences.
 Go get a Japanese keyboard like Google Japanese Input on Android or add the Japanese keyboard to your keyboard on iOS.

Feedback, guys. Feedback! :slight_smile:

I had a look at this, what i would recommend is having a basic set of words on there for people to try out the app with. Initial set up is quite arduous you see and people wouldn’t mind adding words if they already had a bank there to use (like other free apps). i was resistant to paying for pro before i tried it out, however i am often too busy just to sit inputting words. hope this helps as i do like the sound of sentences etc but not been able to actually use it yet.

Hamigakiko said... I had a look at this, what i would recommend is having a basic set of words on there for people to try out the app with. Initial set up is quite arduous you see and people wouldn't mind adding words if they already had a bank there to use (like other free apps). i was resistant to paying for pro before i tried it out, however i am often too busy just to sit inputting words. hope this helps as i do like the sound of sentences etc but not been able to actually use it yet.
 Sorry to here that! This application is language independent (other than the app UI is only in English for now), so one can't assume you're learning Japanese. Although like you mentioned, the Pro version allows quick WaniKani import to solve the import issue.

I see what you mean by 'try before you buy' though and will look into it more. Thanks for the feedback!