Palabra: Spanish words instead of doom scrolling

Translated from the Turkish original. I fixed typos and simplified a sentence or two; otherwise it’s as I wrote it.

Here’s an idea I have. To learn more words while I’m learning Spanish, I want to build a vocab app, something simple I can open on my phone. My goal is learning words instead of doom scrolling.

Features I want in the app:

1. A counter that shows how many words I’ve learned. Let’s calculate it like this: if I get a word’s meaning right twice a day on 5 different days, count that word as learned.
2. The words should be for someone just starting Spanish, so A1/A2 level. At least when I start using the app, these are the words that should come up first; there’s no point learning C2 level at the start.
3. The word is written in the middle in a slightly larger font. Below it, 4 boxes with rounded corners in 2 columns and 2 rows. When I pick one, if it’s right, the box I picked turns green; if it’s wrong, the box turns red and the correct one turns green for a very short moment, then it moves straight on to the next word.
4. I’m torn on whether plurals should be separate words; I need your input here. For example, el libro is one word. Should los libros be a separate word? We’ll decide this.
5. Words must always come with their articles: el libro, la casa, el profesor. Not just casa or libro.
6. Should conjugated forms also be separate words, or should we see them in a separate section when we want to study conjugations? I’m torn on this too.
7. Every time someone opens the app, show a small pop-up with a fun fact about Spain at the bottom, with the first word slightly blurred behind it. They should be general-knowledge facts that catch people’s interest, the kind you can bring up in company. For example, that Basque, spoken in the Basque Country, belongs to no language family and its origin is unknown, phrased like this: “Basque, spoken in the Basque Country, belongs to no language in the world, and its origin is still unsolved.” Sentences should be short and to the point and land the emphasis we want (the detail of “still unsolved” rather than just “unsolved”).
8. A configuration menu that sits on the left on the website and as an expandable menu on the left on mobile. There we could pick the level and the word category, e.g. directions, numbers, fruit, food, objects, verbs. But the default mode should be all words. A light and dark mode setting. A fun fact generator: when people tap it, a fun fact box drops onto the screen with a nice, playful animation; that could be fun. That’s enough for the config menu for now; empty space is fine, we’ll fill it as ideas come. Splits like verb, adjective, noun, pronoun too.
9. I want to do English–Spanish, for example, but for people who’d rather do Turkish–Spanish there should be an EN-ES or TR-ES option with flags in the configuration menu.
10. Tune the words to everyday life in Spain. So the words someone going to Spain would use most, at A1 and A2 level. Say, places and directions, words for a café or a shop, words for chatting with a local about simple things, like where I’m from or what I do.

For colours I want lively Mediterranean colours. Muted tones and a minimalist design. Not AI slop: rather than a lot of information at a glance, I want an aesthetic, minimalist layout that gives the information it needs to without drifting from the purpose.

I made a template for the design idea. Look at the image I sent: where the word goes, where the meaning goes, where the fun fact goes, it’s all there. The number at the top right is the count of learned words; the progress on the left shows what percentage of the words I’ve learned. Under el libro is the Turkish meaning with a flag emoji, and the options are in English. If I tap the Turkish, i.e. the word kitap, that line should switch to English and the options to Turkish. The reverse of each other. Next to the meaning there should be a Turkish or American flag to mark which language it is.

The fun fact won’t show on every word; only when opening the app or when tapped in the config menu on the left.

Where the fun fact was, while looking at words, there should be a “Use it in the sentence” section. Let’s show the sentence in Spanish first, with English underneath in a fainter colour. Sentences must never be longer than one line. Tapping it should slide up a card from the bottom without covering the 4 options. Let’s dim the background a little so the card stands out, and the card should come in smoothly. Put the flag of the sentence’s language at the start of each sentence.

Every transition, effect, colour change and so on should feel smooth and premium.