Show HN: Glossarie – a new, immersive way to learn a language

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Availability & Platform Limits

  • Many users cannot install the app due to country restrictions on both iOS and Android; Play Store links often 404 or say “not available in your country.”
  • Developer says restrictions are due to public-domain book copyright differences across countries, with plans to gradually expand regions.
  • iOS app currently requires iOS 17; some users with older OS versions or older phones are excluded. Developer attributes this to SwiftData / newer APIs and may revisit.
  • Some request a visionOS version, Android confirmation, and broader region support (Europe, India, etc.).

Content, Formats & Language Coverage

  • Built‑in library uses Project Gutenberg titles; some users find these unappealing and want modern, higher‑rated books, ideally filterable by reviews.
  • App allows DRM‑free EPUB uploads; questions raised about where to buy modern DRM‑free fiction and whether files are stored server‑side (developer: deleted after 24 hours).
  • Current direction: English ebooks as source; target languages: French, Italian, Spanish, with German under consideration. Requests for many others (Korean, Chinese, Tagalog, Farsi, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese–Portugal, Russian, etc.).

Learning Approach: Strengths & Critiques

  • Many like the immersive inline replacement of words, LLM‑generated explanations, and the idea of learning through normal reading rather than gamified drills.
  • Several argue this mainly trains vocabulary, not grammar; with similar languages (FR/ES/IT) it works reasonably, but with different grammar (German, Japanese, Tagalog, etc.) it may mislead or only serve as vocab reinforcement.
  • Some want the opposite direction: start with target‑language text and selectively translate back to English to preserve native grammar.
  • Others note ambiguity issues (e.g., gendered pronouns in French) and worry about “teaching bad grammar.”

UX & Feature Requests

  • Requested improvements: scroll/search in library, persistent scrollbars, easier tap‑to‑close popups, text size controls, hiding UI chrome, no‑animation / paginated mode for e‑readers, chapter retention, built‑in web page handling.
  • Strong demand for browser extensions (for news/HN), KOReader integration, and Kindle/EPUB export.

Business Model & AI Use

  • Users criticize lack of visible pricing or model explanation; some hesitate to invest time.
  • Developer frames current release as MVP, no charges for existing features, and emphasizes pre‑computed AI processing rather than constant API calls. Some are wary of any AI use; others see LLM explanations as the app’s most valuable aspect.