About Lira

It all started with internship applications abroad that required Spanish. In middle school, a great teacher had genuinely made me want to learn. In high school, the method changed, the subject barely counted toward the final exam, so I put in less effort, and after graduating, I didn't speak a word of Spanish for years.

When I wanted to get back into it, I tried what was out there. Duolingo kept me going with a good daily streak and fun goals, but I wasn't really learning anything concrete. Busuu, tried more than once, I could never stick with: just the thought of opening it made it feel like a time commitment, and the brand didn't click with me. Rediscovering Anki is what actually got me back in, to the point where I started adding podcasts, crosswords, and blog articles on the side to build vocabulary and expressions.

Then we came across Lute (v3): a good idea, but an outdated interface, a server you had to run yourself, and no mobile use. We saw the opportunity: Anki's algorithms were genuinely impressive (friends in intensive prep classes used them and it really worked for them), but the alternatives at the time were expensive and incomplete. We shipped a first working version, it worked well, then the project sat on pause while we focused on other things.

In the meantime, during my studies, I'd worked on a fictional app for learning a language differently. The idea stuck with me. With some free time back, Lira came out of all of that.

Lira is run day to day by two people, with occasional help from friends around the project. Something of that very first version is still in there: it was built by two people originally, before a multi-year pause.

The product is made in Lille, France. The method behind the app isn't invented: it's built on published, sourced research, detailed on the science page.