I’ve been learning foreign languages on and off for the past 5 years — mainly Chinese and Korean — but always had one big problem:
I kept forgetting the words.

Like, I would learn a bunch of vocab today, feel great, and then a week later… 80% of them gone.

I tried:

• Random word lists
• Memrise, Quizlet
• Even handwriting everything over and over again

What finally worked for me was spaced repetition + learning vocabulary in context.

I found that:

• Learning vocabulary by topic (e.g., food, travel, emotions) helped me remember them better because I could imagine real-life use.
• Reviewing a little bit every day was way better than cramming once a week.
• Having a tool that focused only on vocabulary (not full grammar lessons) actually helped me stay consistent.

🔗 Mini tip for anyone curious:

Lately, I’ve been using a tool called Gurulango — it’s a vocab-focused platform that supports multiple languages, and it’s helped me build a consistent habit with daily practice. It’s clean and lightweight — no fluff.

Would love to hear what methods/apps worked best for you when it comes to retaining vocabulary. I’m still trying to improve and open to new ideas.