Build permanent
vocabulary
16Word makes new words stick — in just 5 minutes a day. Learn 16 words, lock them in with active recall, and play Tetris between answers so they stay with you for good.
Try 16 words free — no account · sign in anytime to keep your progress
Everything you need to actually remember
A learning loop designed around how memory really works — small sets, active recall, and a game that keeps you coming back.
Spaced repetition
Flashcards resurface the words you keep missing on the perfect schedule — so review time is never wasted and words become permanent.
Tetris brain-breaks
Play Tetris between answers — the play-and-recall loop burns each word into long-term memory instead of cramming.
Voice & pronunciation
Speak each word aloud and get an instant pronunciation score powered by speech recognition.
16-word streaks
Prove it in timed 16-word tests and keep your streak alive — show up 5 minutes a day and watch retention compound.
Learn offline
Download your topics and keep practising on a plane, the metro, or anywhere with no signal — your progress syncs the moment you reconnect.
Answer. Earn pieces. Play.
Every correct answer banks 3 Tetris pieces — every 6 words you cash them in. The break between answers is the spacing effect doing its quiet work: that is how words become permanent.
How it works
Three steps, endless levels.
Learn 16 new words
Every session is exactly 16 words — about 5 focused minutes. Small enough to finish, big enough to add up fast.
Lock them in
Active recall plus a Tetris break between answers moves each word from "just saw it" into memory that lasts.
Keep them for good
Missed words come back on a spaced schedule until they’re permanent. Pass a 16-word test to unlock the next set.
We measure what you actually remember
Most apps count lessons completed. We track recall — whether a word is still there 7, 30, and 90 days after you learn it. Here’s how 16Word is doing, live.
Your brain has two memory loops. 16Word trains both.
One loop pulls a word back out of memory; the other locks it in during the game break. Fire both together and the word stays — that’s the whole method.
You retrieve every word instead of re-reading it — and retrieval, not review, is what actually builds memory. So each minute of practice counts for far more.
Words resurface right before you’d forget them, then stretch further apart each time they stick — so more of what you study lands in long-term memory.
Tetris breaks fire your visual-spatial memory alongside verbal recall. Two mental codes for one word means far more to grab it by later.
Recall by time since first learned
Built around a clean, curated vocabulary
Around 6,000 hand-checked words per language, organised into clear topics — no junk, no dead entries.
🏆 Hall of Fame
Climb the ladders — every streak and every game counts.
🦉 Wisdom Heroes
- 1LinguaLion🔥 31
- 2PolyglotPanda🔥 27
- 3VerbViper🔥 24
- 4GrammarGoat🔥 22
- 5SyntaxSamurai🔥 19
- 6VocabViking🔥 18
🎮 Hero Gamers
- 1TetrisTiger14.2k
- 2BlockBaron12.6k
- 3Learner-825712.4k
- 4VerbViper11.8k
- 5NeonNomad10.1k
- 6PixelProphet9.9k
🐐 GOATs
- 1VerbViper🔥24 · 11.8k
- 2TetrisTiger🔥8 · 14.2k
- 3LinguaLion🔥31 · 7.2k
- 4GrammarGoat🔥22 · 8.8k
- 5SyntaxSamurai🔥19 · 9.4k
- 6BlockBaron🔥5 · 12.6k
Ready to remember words for good?
Create a free account and finish your first 16 words in under 5 minutes.