The big lie of language apps
Most language apps make you feel productive. You tap, repeat, match words to pictures. You level up.
But then someone asks you a simple question in German - and you freeze.
You know the words. You just can’t use them.
That’s the gap we wanted to close with Upwordo.
Learning to tell your own story
We started with Micro Stories - short, uplifting, quirky little tales designed to teach you words in real context.
But something was missing. Users told us:
“I understand the story. But I still can’t say it myself.”
So we flipped the script.
Now, after each Micro Story, you go one step further.
You write your own version of the story - with AI guiding you.
How it works
After familiarizing yourself with the story and practice flow comes the writing exercise:
You answer a few open questions about the story.
AI rates your answer, gives feedback, and helps you shape it.
Step by step, you build your own version - in your own words.
And suddenly you can tell a story - in German.
Even if your level is basic. Even if you only know a few words.
Imagine. Already as an A1 learners can tell stories - and speak!
You’re not memorizing. You’re speaking through storytelling.
What our user said
“The AI beta works really well to get me to express in writing what I had just learned using some of the new vocabulary.”
Exactly. That’s the moment when vocabulary turns into expression.
Behind the curtain
When we first started exploring how to let users write with AI, we had no idea how deep the rabbit hole would go.
Raffa, our lead engineer dove in headfirst - testing nearly every AI framework on earth. Langdock, CrewAI, OpenAI SDKs, Zapier, n8n... you name it.
There were weeks of chaos. Frameworks breaking. Models changing overnight.
The tech was racing ahead faster than any roadmap could keep up.
So we stripped everything back to what mattered:
Speed. Simplicity. Flexibility. Collaboration.
That’s how we landed on n8n - a system that lets us move fast, keep logic visible, and keep iterating without burning out.
Big thanks to Ipek Kahraman and Raffaele Farinaro for pushing this from idea to reality.
The real goal
We’re not building another flashcard app.
We’re building confidence - the kind that lets you tell a story, not just translate one.
Because language isn’t about knowing the right words.
It’s about being brave enough to use them.