smisli
Swedish vocabulary · Free online
Stop guessing which Swedish words to learn.
Smisli gives you 20 hand-picked word packs, 200+ easy stories to read them in, and a real dictionary for the words you meet in daily life. Then it brings each word back right before you'd forget it.
No signup needed · works in any browser, on your phone or laptop
What's inside
Words chosen for you. Stories to read them in. A dictionary for everything else.
Hand-picked word packs
No headache picking words.
20 packs, about 1,850 words, from your first hej to a solid A2. We ranked words by how often Swedes actually use them, then grouped them by hand around real situations: the café, the bus, the working day.
Story library
Stories you can read from day one.
Over 200 short texts written for learners: a mystery in the archipelago, a murder at midsommar, a bakery on a corner in Göteborg. Tap any word you don't know and save it.
Mysteriet i SkärgårdenA1–A2 · 5 parts
Bageriet på hörnetA1–A2 · 5 parts
Vargen i skogenA1–A2 · 5 parts
Solsken över koloniområdetA1–A2 · 5 parts
Ett oväntat arvA1–A2 · 5 parts
Sanningens PrisA1–B2 · 50 episodes
NorrskenA1–B1 · 5 parts
MidsommarmordetA2–B1 · 5 parts
Den sista färjanA2–B1 · 5 parts
Flykten från ishotelletA2–B1 · 5 parts
Ny i StockholmA2–B1 · 5 parts
A dictionary, not just a translator
Spot a word in real life? Look it up and keep it.
A sign at the shop, a word on the bus, a note from a colleague. You get a real dictionary entry built on Lexin and Wiktionary: every meaning on its own, word forms, audio and examples. Save the meaning you met, and it becomes a card.
- Translator
- "hörn" → "corner". That's it.
- Smisli
- ett hörn, its forms, audio, examples, idioms and compounds like gathörn. Save any of them.
How it works · try it
Read, save, review. That's the whole method.
Read, and tap what you don't know.
Real sentences at your level. Tap a word for its meaning, then save it with one tap, and it drops into today's words.
Vi tar en fika klockan tre, och pratar om helgen. Det är lagom mörkt ute nu.
Review your saved cards
The memory engine predicts the moment each word is about to slip and shows it right then. Knew it? It waits longer next time. Missed it? It comes back sooner.
The data behind every pack
Not all words are worth the same.
A small core carries most of every conversation. So smisli sequences its lists by frequency: the words you'll actually hear first, then down the long tail. You understand real speech fast, and each new word after that adds a little less.
Drag to see how far a wordlist really takes you. 1,000 words already cover 81% of everyday Swedish.
Cumulative coverage from a subtitle corpus (Zipf's law). Nation (2006) · OpenSubtitles. Illustrative.
Why not just…
Duolingo teaches its sentences. Anki makes you build cards. Smisli keeps your words.
Use whatever you like for grammar and listening. For vocabulary, the words you meet in real text are the ones worth keeping, and keeping them should take zero setup.
| Feature | Duolingo | Anki | Smisli |
|---|---|---|---|
| Learn the words you meet while reading | No | Manual | One tap |
| Cards made for you (audio, example) | n/a | You build them | Automatic |
| FSRS memory scheduling | No | Yes | Yes |
| Hand-picked word packs (A1–A2) | Topic units | Shared decks vary | Yes |
| Easy graded texts for beginners | Stories (own path) | No | Yes |
| Real dictionary, every meaning | No | No | Built in |
| Setup before your first review | Placement + lessons | Decks, note types | None |
Online now · phone apps soon
Your phone for the street. Your laptop for the long reads.
Sign in once and every word you save is kept on all your devices.
The phone app
For the moment a word shows up: on a sign, on the bus, in a message. Coming soon to Android and iOS. Until then, open Smisli in your phone's browser and add it to your home screen: it opens full-screen, like an app.
The online version
Nothing to install, and no account to try it. Read a whole story on a big screen at home or at work.
Questions
Before you start
Is Smisli free?
Yes. Everything in Smisli is free right now, with no signup: all 20 word packs, the story library, the dictionary and reading your own texts.
How does spaced repetition work?
Memory fades on a predictable curve. Reviewing a word just before you would forget it, at widening intervals, flattens that curve a little more each time. Smisli uses an FSRS scheduler that predicts when each word is about to slip and shows it exactly then. A synthesis of 254 experiments found spaced practice reliably outperforms cramming. More on the science.
What is FSRS?
FSRS (Free Spaced Repetition Scheduler) is a modern algorithm that models how likely you are to recall each word and schedules the next review for the moment your memory of it is about to fade. It is more accurate than fixed-interval systems.
How is Smisli different from Duolingo or Anki?
Duolingo teaches a fixed lesson path of its own sentences. Anki gives you a powerful scheduler but you build every card yourself. Smisli combines the two good halves: you learn the words you actually meet while reading, the card is made for you in one tap, and the same FSRS scheduler Anki uses decides when you see it again.
Do I need to install an app?
No. Smisli runs in any browser, on your phone or your computer. Add it to your home screen and it opens full-screen, like an app. Android and iOS apps are coming soon. Sign in once and your words are kept on every device.
Which word packs are there?
20 packs with about 1,850 words, taking you from your very first words to a solid A2. Each one starts from real frequency data, then the words are hand-picked and grouped around everyday situations like the café, getting around and the working day. Add a pack in one tap and learn a few words a day.
How is the dictionary different from a translator?
A translator gives you one guess. Smisli shows a real dictionary entry, built on sources like Lexin and Wiktionary: every meaning listed separately, word forms, pronunciation and example sentences. You save the exact meaning you met, and it becomes its own card.
How long does it take to learn Swedish?
The 1,000 most common words already cover about 81% of everyday speech. At a steady daily pace those words compound quickly. A few new words a day is enough to reach real comprehension in a matter of weeks, not years. How many words you need.
Which languages can I learn?
Swedish is the most complete course. Finnish, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Norwegian and English are also available.
“Remember every Swedish word you see.”
Hej! Let's find your first word.
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