Luigi Riccardi, 1840 (public domain)
Free Italian reading, level B2-C1
Learn Italian with I Promessi Sposi, Manzoni's masterpiece
The most famous opening sentence in Italian literature runs nearly a hundred words before its first verb. Most readers stop there.
Learn Italian with this book for freeI Promessi Sposi opens with one of the most famous sentences in Italian literature: a single, sweeping description of Lake Como that runs on for nearly a hundred words before it even reaches its main verb. It's the sentence every Italian schoolchild groans about, and the reason most learners never make it past the first page. Lira keeps the original text exactly as Manzoni wrote it, but every unfamiliar word is one tap away from a translation, and every word you look up gets scheduled for review so it actually sticks. You get through the sentence that makes native speakers wince, and keep going.
Key vocabulary from I Promessi Sposi
A preview of the words you'll run into early on, with pronunciation. Every one of them, and every other word you tap while reading, gets saved to your review deck automatically.
ramo
branch, arm (of a lake)
riva
shore, bank
sposare
to marry
monaca
nun
peste
plague
promessa
promise
What actually happens while you read
One tap to translate
Click any unfamiliar word for its contextual translation, right inside the page. No dictionary tab, no losing your place in the story.
Every word saved with its sentence
The word you looked up keeps the exact sentence you found it in, not an isolated flashcard, so the meaning stays anchored to real context.
FSRS brings it back before you forget
Spaced repetition schedules each word's next review right before you'd naturally lose it, so vocabulary from this book actually stays with you.
Quel del lago di Como, che volge a mezzogiorno, tra due catene non interrotte di monti, tutte a seni e a golfi, a seconda dello e del rientrare di quelli, vien, quasi a un tratto, a ristringersi, e a prender corso e figura di fiume, tra un promontorio a destra, e un'ampia dall'altra parte.
TRANSLATION
branch, arm (of a lake)
CONTEXT
Quel ramo del lago di Como, che volge a mezzogiorno, tra due catene non interrotte di monti, tutte a seni e a golfi, a seconda dello sporgere e del rientrare di quelli, vien, quasi a un tratto, a ristringersi, e a prender corso e figura di fiume, tra un promontorio a destra, e un'ampia costiera dall'altra parte.
Start reading free →The science
Recognizing a word isn't the same as remembering it
According to Stephen Krashen's comprehensible input hypothesis, a language is acquired durably through exposure to content you mostly already understand, not through isolated word lists. Reading a real book supplies exactly that kind of exposure. Spaced repetition on top of it is what turns a word you translated once into one you actually remember weeks later.
Learning approach
Retention with Lira
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