The words that matter
Madeleine teaches 1,647 words and 616 phrases, chosen for useful everyday French. Build a practical vocabulary foundation, from common verbs to expressions you'll use in conversation.
French vocabulary for iPhone
Build a stronger foundation in French
Madeleine is a French vocabulary app for iPhone. Learn useful words and everyday phrases with lifelike French audio and review that adapts to your memory.
Du coup
so, as a result
How it works
Every word, three ways.
Madeleine picks about 30 cards for a session: new words coming in, older ones due back right before you’d forget them. As a word gets easier, it starts being asked in a harder way.
- 01
Read it
The French word is on screen and read aloud in a native voice. Hold the card to reveal the meaning and check yourself. Madeleine grades from how you respond, so you never rate yourself.
- 02
Hear it
Once you have recognized a word on your own, it starts coming back with the French hidden. You get the voice and nothing else, so your ear does the work.
- 03
Say it
Later the card turns around. The English is the prompt and you produce the French from memory, out loud or in your head. Nothing is recorded: you reveal the card and see whether you had it.
Inside the app
The whole app, in four screens.
Why Madeleine
One job, done well.
Written and spoken, together
Every card pairs the written word with lifelike native audio, so you learn to read it and catch it by ear at the same time.
It knows when you’re about to forget
Every review teaches Madeleine how your memory behaves: solid words stretch further apart, shaky ones come back sooner.
Makes your lessons count
Madeleine skips grammar drills on purpose — grammar and conversation are what tutors, classes, and time in France are for. Arrive already knowing the words, and those hours go further.
Only French
No menu of thirty languages spread thin. One language, one carefully built curriculum, with audio and content made only for it.
Calm and private
No streaks, no points, no leaderboards, no guilt. No account, and your progress stays on your iPhone.
FAQs
- How is Madeleine different from other French apps?
- Madeleine does one thing: it builds your French vocabulary. The course is finite — the most common words and phrases real people use in France — and every item is learned in written and spoken form together, with native audio. It is also calm by design: no streaks, points, leaderboards, or guilt. And it can be finished.
- Is Madeleine for beginners?
- Yes — and for anyone restarting. Madeleine asks once how much French you already have, then starts you at the right depth in the same curated list. Calibrate your deck, in onboarding or Settings, is an optional two-minute check.
- How many French words does Madeleine teach?
- Madeleine teaches 1,647 words and 616 phrases: 2,263 items in a curated French curriculum. You practice reading, listening, and recalling each one, then review it over time.
- Does Madeleine teach grammar or speaking?
- Madeleine focuses on vocabulary: reading, listening to, and producing each word and phrase. It does not provide grammar lessons, conversation practice, or speech scoring. Use it alongside a tutor, a class, or conversation practice to build a stronger foundation.
- How long does a session take?
- A session is about 30 cards, and Madeleine picks them: new words coming in, older ones due back. There is no timer and no daily goal. When the cards run out the session ends, and you can keep going if you want. Miss a day and the next session is still about 30 cards.
- Will I actually remember the words?
- That's the whole design. Every review teaches Madeleine how your memory behaves, and each word comes back right before you'd forget it — the engine is FSRS-6, the modern spaced-repetition algorithm. Grading is inferred from how you respond, so you never rate yourself.
- Can I hear how the words are pronounced?
- Yes. Every word and phrase is spoken aloud in lifelike, native French audio — four voices to choose from — so you learn how French actually sounds, not just how it is spelled. Choose masculine or feminine forms once, and Madeleine shows and speaks the form that applies to you.
- Can I try Madeleine before I pay?
- Yes. The app opens with a real practice session on the real cards, before any payment screen: ten French words with native audio, first read, then caught by ear, then produced from the English. The website also has a free 100-card browser sample, and eligible new subscribers get a seven-day free trial on either plan.
- Does Madeleine have a free trial?
- Eligible new subscribers get a seven-day free trial on either plan; after it, the plan's price applies unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends. There is no free app tier, and the App Store shows current pricing. Eligible offer codes can provide access under their own terms. Billing runs through Apple; you can cancel in your App Store account, and refunds follow Apple's refund policy.
- Can I use Madeleine on Android or in a browser?
- The full app requires an iPhone with iOS 26 or later and uses English translations. There is no Android app. The website has a free 100-card browser sample; its progress is separate from the iPhone app.
- Is my data private?
- Yes. Madeleine has no account and no login, and your progress stays on your iPhone. Online, we only see Apple's subscription records and which of our App Store ads led to an install, never your name or what you study.
Weighing Madeleine against something specific? Read the side-by-side with Anki, Duolingo, Babbel, Pimsleur, or Rosetta Stone.
