Tap any word
Instant definitions, romanization or pinyin, and the hanja behind Korean words — tap any single character for its own meaning. AI explains what a word means here, in this sentence.
Uninterrupted flow, smart definitions, personalized to you.
Learn
the smart way.
Grow your vocabulary by actually reading — in Korean, and now Chinese. Tap any word for an instant definition, or a smart in-context meaning when the sense bends. Focus mode keeps you in the flow, Listen mode reads the book aloud sentence by sentence, and an OCR overlay brings the same help to anything outside the app. Saved words fade as you learn them, and flashcards wait quietly for the ones that try to slip away.
Download the
Android APK
Coming soon to
Google Play
Android 6.0+ · free download from GitHub · Google Play coming soon · all releases
No streaks. No confetti. Just reading.
Features
A reading lamp, not a casino.
Everything here serves one idea: the more you read, the more Korean you know. The tools stay out of the way.
Words under words
Short translations sit under harder words and pinyin above Chinese ones. Underlines are tuned to your level, and dissolve into pixels once you've read past them.
Listen mode
Your phone reads the book aloud, sentence by sentence — with the screen locked, or from the lock-screen player. Hear translations, pause on underlined words, and set the speed.
Bring your own books — and songs
Public-domain Korean classics are built in — 감자, 날개, 운수 좋은 날. Import any Korean or Chinese EPUB or PDF, or search for a song by title, artist or lyric, and Noeul estimates how much you'll understand before you start.
Watch words being learned
A saved word fades a step each time you read past it without looking it up; once it fades out, it moves to Learned. Flashcards (FSRS) catch the rare ones the story won't repeat.
Read anything on your screen
A floating OCR button reads text in any app — webtoons, subtitles, screenshots — and makes every word tappable, just like in the reader.
How it works
Three steps. Mostly just the first one.
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1
Open a book at your level
Start with a built-in classic, import your own, or pick a song. Each one shows how much of it you'll understand — pick something a little easy. That's the point.
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2
Read; tap for instant help
Hit an unknown word? Tap it. Definition, romanization or pinyin, root characters — then back to the story. Or just press play and listen along.
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3
Review only when you need to
Most saved words fade out on their own as you keep meeting them. The rest wait in a quiet deck that surfaces them right before you'd forget — no sooner.
Under the hood
How Noeul learns your level.
No placement tests, no grades. Noeul keeps a quiet, on-device estimate of which words you know — and every part of the app draws on it.
Tell it where you're starting
On first launch, pick the language you're learning and your own. Then set your level: take a three-minute word check, pick it yourself from rows of the most common words (or an HSK level for Chinese), or start from scratch.
Reading sharpens it
Every word carries a difficulty grade, and every lookup, save, and flashcard review nudges your level estimate up or down. Together they give the odds you know any given word — before you ever tap it.
Every book gets a fit score
Import an EPUB or PDF and Noeul scans its vocabulary against your level: an estimate of how much you'll understand, shown before chapter one — and it keeps sharpening as you read.
Suggestions worth saving
A word is only suggested when Noeul is genuinely unsure you know it and it's too rare in the book for the story to teach it by repetition. Frequent words are left to reading — and new flashcards start on a schedule matched to how well you probably know them.
Try it
The reader, in your hands.
This is the real reading screen. Tap a word, ask what it means here, step through in focus mode, or press play — go ahead, it's live.
Sentence 1 of 9
Tip: tap any underlined word.
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Tap a word
Instant definition, part of speech and romanization. Underlines run green to red by how hard the word is for you.
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Tap a hanja for its roots
Each character in the word has its own meaning — and related words that share it, including ones you already know.
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Ask what it means here
A short AI note on the word's sense in this sentence — figurative uses and all.
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Press and hold to translate
Hold anywhere in a sentence to select all of it — even across a page break — and see the whole line translated.
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Saved words fade as you learn
A saved word starts as a dark block and loses pixels each page you read past it. After six steps it moves to Learned. Turn a page to watch.
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Focus mode, built for one hand
Everything fades except the sentence you're on, held in the lower half of the screen so stepping, looking up and saving all stay within thumb's reach.
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Listen along
The book is read aloud a sentence at a time, even with your screen locked. Add each sentence's translation, or change the speed.
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Your words, one tap away
Tap the cards icon — everything you've saved in this book, a short list of words worth saving, and the ones you've already learned.
FAQ
Questions, answered plainly.
Is Noeul free?
Yes — Noeul is completely free. Download the APK above and install it on any Android 6.0+ phone; Android will ask you to allow installs from your browser, which is normal for apps outside the Play Store.
What level do I need to start?
If you can read hangul or Chinese characters and know a handful of words, you can begin. When you start, a three-minute word check sets your level — or pick it yourself, or start from scratch — and Noeul keeps refining its picture of your level as you read.
Does it work offline?
Partly. Definition lookups — including hanja and root characters — work offline, and focus mode works too. AI in-context meanings and translations need an internet connection, so those parts pause when you're offline.
Which languages can I learn?
Korean and Chinese today. Korean definitions are available in eleven languages, including English, Chinese, Spanish, French and Vietnamese. English learning is on the roadmap; if there's a language you think fits this read-first format, reach out and tell us.
Can I import my own books?
Yes. Noeul reads Korean and Chinese EPUB and PDF files, so you can bring your own books alongside the built-in public-domain classics. You can also add songs by searching for a title, artist or line of lyrics.