How do I import a word list from Excel or CSV?

Already keeping vocabulary in a spreadsheet, or moving over from another app? Import brings the whole list in at once. It is part of Pro. On a free account the row shows a lock and opens the upgrade screen.

You find it in Settings – Languages, under Import & Export: Import words. The words go into the language pair that is currently selected, so switch pairs first if you need to.

Preparing the file

This is what a file looks like:

09:41 100 %

Spanish.xlsx

A1fxSpanish

ABCDEF1SpanishEnglishSpanish ContextEnglish ContextTags2la direcciónthe addressNecesito su dirección para enviar la ambulancia.I need your address to send the ambulance.Medical Emergency3el pechothe chestSiente un fuerte dolor en el pecho.He feels a strong pain in his chest.Medical Emergency4la alergiathe allergy¿Tiene alguna alergia conocida?Do you have any known allergies?Medical Emergency5la cabezaMedical Emergency6los primeros auxiliosfirst aidMedical Emergency7la recetathe prescriptionNecesito una receta para este medicamento.I need a prescription for this medicine.Medical Emergency89

Vokabulo reads .csv and .xlsx files, and Numbers and Google Sheets can save as either. Only the first sheet of an Excel workbook is read. A CSV must be saved as UTF-8, and it can use commas or semicolons as separators.

The first row holds the column headers. The headers tell Vokabulo which column is which, so the order doesn’t matter. Name the two word columns after the languages, like Spanish and English in the example. The name can be in any language (Spanisch, Español) or be the language code (es). Word and Translation work too. A title line or two above the headers is fine, because Vokabulo checks the first three rows.

Two more columns are optional:

• Example sentences: the language name followed by Context, as in Spanish Context and English Context.
• Tags: a column called Tags, with several tags in one cell separated by commas. If one of them is only a number or longer than 60 characters, that row’s tags are ignored.

Vokabulo ignores any other column, so you don’t need to tidy the file first. A row needs at least one of the two words; a row with neither is left out.

Before anything is imported

Vokabulo reminds you what the header row must contain, then lets you pick the file. It reads the file and shows a summary before it saves anything: how many new words it found, how many you already have, and how many are missing a word or a translation.

You can also give the whole batch one or more tags here, for example "Chapter 5". Tap Import Words to start.

Duplicates

A row counts as a duplicate when the pair already has the same word with the same translation, ignoring capital letters. Duplicates are skipped, and so is a row that appears twice in the file. That makes it safe to import the same file again after adding rows to it.

Where the words end up

Every imported word starts at Level 0, like a word you have just added. Vokabulo then takes you to Words and tells you how many words were imported and how many duplicates were skipped.

If you chose no tag, the batch gets a dated tag such as Imported (260930) so you can find it again. If you chose a tag, the words get yours instead. Tags from the file’s Tags column are added on top.

Rows with a gap

If a row has only one side, the AI fills in the other, like row 5 in the example. The word appears straight away with a Translation coming tag. The missing side is then filled in the background, along with example sentences if your file had none. Sentences you supplied are never replaced. The word you did supply may come back slightly corrected, see What the AI changes on its way. This needs a connection. If you’re offline, it waits until you’re back online.

If the AI still has nothing after several attempts, the tag changes to Translation Failed and you can finish the word yourself on the edit screen.

A complete row is imported exactly as it is. If a row has both words but no example sentences, like row 6, it stays without them.

When the file is rejected

• No recognizable header row found: the headers don’t name the languages of the selected pair. Check the spelling, or check that the right pair is selected.
• Failed to read the file: usually a CSV that isn’t UTF-8. Save it again as "CSV UTF-8".