Getting started

Pinguingo is a flashcard contact that lives inside WhatsApp. You send it the words you want to remember, and it texts them back until they stick. There’s nothing to download and no account to make. You just message the Pinguingo number and it takes it from there. Your phone number is your account.

Say hi

Tap Start on WhatsApp anywhere on the site, or add the Pinguingo number to your contacts and send it any message. That first message opens the chat and starts setup.

Answer a few quick questions

Pinguingo asks a handful of short questions, one at a time. Most are a single tap. A couple you answer in your own words. If you reply with something unexpected, it just asks again.

1. Which language do you want to learn? Type it in your own words, “Spanish” or “I want to learn Japanese”, and Pinguingo maps it to a supported language.
2. Which language should it use with you? Pick the language you’re most comfortable in, your everyday language. Your cards, examples, and answers all come in it. You can change it later by texting “explain things in Dutch”.
3. What’s your level? Pick from the buttons (CEFR, or HSK / JLPT / TOPIK where it applies). For some languages this step is skipped.
4. Why are you learning? Tell it in a sentence, “travelling to Japan this summer”, “pass HSK 3”, “talk to my partner’s family”. It uses this to pick better starter words and examples.
5. How often should flashcards arrive? Pick the pace: every half hour, hourly, every two hours, or every four hours.
6. Where are you based? Name a city or country so your messages arrive at sensible local times.
7. When can it message you? Say it in your own words, “weekday evenings” or “any day except Sunday”, and Pinguingo builds your schedule around it.
8. Want audio? Say yes to get a native voice note with your words, or no to keep it text-only.

Your first cards arrive right away

The moment setup is done, you send your first words: type them, paste a list, or snap a photo. Starting from zero? Pinguingo offers to seed your deck with about 20 words at your level. From then on, flashcards arrive through the day at the pace you picked, each with its translation, an example sentence, and (if you chose it) native audio.

What to do next

• Rate each card. Reply easy, normal, or hard (or tap the button). That’s what tells Pinguingo when to bring the word back.
• Add your own words. Type them, paste a list, or send a photo. See Adding your own vocabulary.
• Change anything by texting. Ask for more or fewer words, pause for a while, or ask a question. See What you can text Pinguingo.