How do I add a new word?

Short answer

The field sits on the Words screen, above your list. Type or paste a word, a phrase or a whole sentence and press return. Vokabulo builds the card: translation, gender and an example sentence. You check it and tap Save.

The field is on the Words screen itself, sitting right above your list. There is no button to press first, and you can start typing the moment you open the tab. The same field also sits on Home, under the study card, so a word can be caught from either screen.

You can put almost anything into it. A single word, an expression, or a whole sentence you heard somewhere. Press return and Vokabulo works out what it is looking at. The placeholder says as much: Enter a word, expression, or complete sentence.

A word or expression is completed, translated, and given a fresh example sentence. Nouns come back with their article and a gender pill (m/f/n) in languages that have one.
A stock phrase such as "How are you?" is kept whole, and gets no example sentence, because it already is one.
A full sentence is treated differently. Vokabulo picks the word worth learning out of it and keeps your sentence as the example, so the line you actually heard is the one you study.

Under the field are two controls: a chip reading Input in English, or whichever language you are typing in, and a microphone for dictating instead of typing. Tapping the chip switches to the other side of your pair, which is what you want when you type a word in your own language and would like the translation instead.

Return does not save the word

It opens a sheet called New word, carrying over what you typed, and the lookup starts straight away. What comes back is a preview of the finished card. Read it, then Save. Cancel, top left, throws it away. Tap the preview if you want to change anything before saving.

If you have more than one language pair, the flag at the top of the sheet shows where the word will go. Tap it to pick another pair, and the lookup runs again.

Not convinced by the result? The circular arrow at the top right runs it past a second AI model. Press it again to bring the first one back, so you can compare the two and keep the better one.

When Vokabulo does not know the word

Names, invented words and typos come back as an Unknown word card: “…” isn’t in any of our dictionaries. You can still save it. Save anyway does not save it blind. It opens the edit screen with the side you typed already filled in, so you can supply the other half yourself.

If you already have it

Vokabulo checks your collection while the card is being built and shows up to three possible matches underneath it. See Search & Duplicates.

Adding a word offline

If you have no network connection when you add a new word, Vokabulo saves it straight away with a Translation coming tag. As soon as you are back online, the translation and example sentences are filled in by themselves.

Adding a word from another app

Found a word in Safari, an e-book or a message? Select it, tap Share and choose Vokabulo. If Vokabulo is not in the row of apps, you find it under More. The app opens with the New word sheet and the text already in it. Press return to look it up.

Before you have any words

An empty collection shows the field as usual, with a single card underneath headed Or load a set: "Ready-made word lists are on the Sets tab." Tapping it takes you there. Type in the field to start your own list instead.

Tip

The example sentences run from easy to rather sophisticated, depending on the proficiency you set. If they feel wrong for you, change it in Settings – Languages.

Still stuck?