Polymath

The problem

Most language apps are optimised for retention of users, not retention of knowledge. They reward you for showing up, not for knowing more. They build streaks that become anxieties. They dress vocabulary drills in cartoons. For a beginner, that can work. For a serious adult learner, a translator, a polyglot, a literature student, it is noise.

The alternative has historically been Anki: powerful, extensible, and visually unforgiving. Polymath is what you reach for when you want Anki's rigour with the finish of a considered piece of software.

The system

Polymath is built on the SM-2 spaced repetition algorithm, the same foundation trusted by serious learners for decades. Reviews are scheduled based on how well you actually know the material, not on how many days in a row you have opened the app. There are no streaks. There are no mascots. There is a card, a prompt, and your answer.

The languages

Each language is delivered as a dedicated plugin, built to the specific grammar of that language rather than a generic template.

Russian

Full pymorphy2 morphology bundled as a compiled SQLite database on device. Every word you encounter can be analysed into its lemma, case, number, gender, aspect, tense, and person. Decline a noun, conjugate a verb, check a participle, instantly, offline, without a server round trip.

Spanish

Conjugation tables, gender and number agreement, mood and aspect analysis, and a full dictionary lookup integrated into the card reviewer.

Japanese

Tokenisation, reading and pitch information, and conjugation analysis for verbs and adjectives.

All three plugins share the same feature set: card enrichment, grammar checking, dictionary lookup, and deep sentence analysis. You are not building cards in a vacuum. The app meets you with context.

Pricing, plainly stated

The core app is free. Each language plugin is 19.99 GBP per month as an auto-renewable subscription, with a seven-day free trial. You subscribe only to the languages you are actually studying.

This is not a cheap app. It is not trying to be. It is priced at the level of a serious tool for people who spend real hours on their language and want the time to count. If you are a casual learner, there are excellent free alternatives and we will recommend them.

Who this is for

Polyglots. Literary translators. Language teachers. Graduate students in Slavic, Romance, or East Asian studies. Diplomats, interpreters, and professionals who need working command of a language, not a score. Adult learners who have outgrown the beginner tier and want an instrument rather than a game.