Capture from the app or widget.
The Diary add button and the small home-screen widget both open the same capture screen. Type the foreign word; lookup can prefill a meaning, but you can always enter your own.
Quiet vocabulary notebook for iPhone
Word by Word
A journal for the words you actually meet.
Pick one learning language, then add the words you meet in real life. Type the word, review the backend dictionary suggestion when there is a match, or write your own meaning when there is not. Save writes to the device immediately and never waits on lookup, sync, or practice features.
The app is built around a small loop: capture a word, keep the meaning that makes sense to you, let local clustering and search enrichment run after save, then rediscover the word by day, group, map, search, widget, or weekly practice.
How it works
A small loop for every word worth keeping.
Save first, enrich around it.
Once a word and meaning are present, Save writes to SwiftData immediately. Dictionary fields, examples, forms, senses, POS, IPA, and related words appear only when backend data exists.
Return through the diary.
Diary starts as a day-by-day list, with Group and Map modes for clusters. Today's Word can suggest one backend word per day and mirror it to the widget.
Inside the app
Diary, Search, Practice, and Settings. Add is a floating action, not a tab.
Capture
A debounced backend lookup runs as you type. It can show a suggested meaning, definition, forms, other senses, examples, related words, pronunciation, and an optional source prompt.
Search and views
Search looks across saved words, meanings, and source notes, then blends in on-device semantic matches. Diary can switch between List, Group, and Map for the current learning language.
Practice without pressure
Practice is local and weekly: Word of the Week, Try Using It, and a five-word self-rated recall sheet. Ratings move the session along; no score, streak, or notification requirement.
Learning languages
Eight source languages, English meanings.
Swedish
Svenska
Spanish
Español
German
Deutsch
French
Français
Italian
Italiano
Dutch
Nederlands
Portuguese
Português
Japanese
日本語
Privacy posture
Your word diary belongs to you.
Word by Word is anonymous-first. User-submitted words are never sent to third-party AI services at runtime. The iOS app talks only to the Word by Word backend for lookup, related words, Today's Word, optional account backup, sync, and account deletion; local clustering and semantic search vectors are created on device.
Anonymous by default
No account is required. After the 20th saved word, the app may ask if you want Sign in with Apple for backup and sync.
Local capture path
Saving a word writes to the device first. Lookup, sync, widgets, and practice never block the act of keeping a word.
No marketing trackers
No third-party analytics, advertising identifiers, contacts, location, phone number, or email collection. Sign in with Apple keeps your email hidden.
Coming soon to the App Store.
For learners who want a personal word diary with lookup and quiet recall, not another course, quiz engine, or streak loop.