VocaBox
Manual

Exercises

The four exercise forms and the two test forms at a glance — how to train and check your vocabulary.

The four exercise forms

The exercise is your training mode: it mixes four task forms, from quick recognition to active recall — so you meet every word in several different ways.

Set it up first

Quick tip: the four status tiles — New · Bad · Ok · Good — are also filters: tap one to practise only those words. See Quick tips & shortcuts.

Before you start, tap the gear (top right) to open the exercise settings. There you decide:

  • Learn direction — native → foreign or the other way round.
  • Number of words — set separately for each exercise form.
  • Exercise forms — which of the four come up at all.

For the vocabulary test you also pick the test form: flashcards (grade yourself) or writing (type the answer).

Tap the gear (top right) on the exercise screen to open the settings.

1. Choose translation

The app shows you a word (with its image, if it has one) and several possible answers — tap the right translation. The gentlest form: you only have to recognize the word, not produce it.

Choose translation — the right answer turns green.

2. Match pairs

Several words from both languages are shuffled on screen — tap the matching pairs one after another until the board is empty. Trains fast association within a set of words.

Match pairs — tap the words that belong together.

3. Choose first letter

The app asks the word and offers four letters for every word of the answer — pick the correct first letter. The middle ground: you actively recall the start of the word, the rest is revealed.

Choose first letter — pick the right starting letter.

4. Sort letters

All the letters of the answer are jumbled — tap them in the right order and build the word yourself. The most demanding form before free writing.

Sort letters — build the word letter by letter.

Repeat rounds

Wrong answers don’t just disappear. The app collects your mistakes and asks them again in a repeat round at the end — until you have answered every word correctly once. You never finish an exercise with open gaps.

Help during an exercise

Two small helpers work in every exercise:

  • Tap to hear it — tap the word card to have the word spoken in its own language.
  • Stuck? Press and hold — can’t recall it? Press and hold the card to peek: a blurred note or the hidden side becomes visible while you hold, and disappears again when you let go.

Filter: practise on purpose

With the filter (funnel icon) you practise exactly the words you want — instead of always the whole box.

Combine several criteria

  • Learn progress — from 0 (not mastered yet) to 100 (perfect). Drill just the weak words, for example.
  • Repetitions — how often a word has come up in exercises.
  • Wrong answers — how often a word has been wrong so far: ideal for drilling your mistakes.
  • Status — e.g. only unlearned or only locked words.
The filter — here by learn progress 20–80 and status (184 of 320).

You’ll find the filter in the word list and before starting an exercise. Reset filters takes you back to the whole box anytime.

The vocabulary test

The vocabulary test puts your knowledge on the line. Unlike the exercise there is no repeat round: at the end you get a score, and the result feeds into your statistics. Two forms to choose from:

Pick the test form

Switch to the Vocabulary test tab and tap the gear (top right). In the test settings you choose the test formwritten or flash cards — plus the learn direction and the number of words asked.

On the Vocabulary test tab, tap the gear (top right) — that's where you pick the test form.

Written

You type the answer yourself — the most honest check of whether a word really sticks. Perfect for preparing written tests at school.

Written test — type the answer and submit.

With flash cards

The app shows the question, you reveal the answer and grade yourself with right or wrong — quick, and ideal for oral practice.

Flash-card test — reveal, then grade yourself.

Repeat a round

Repeat your last rounds

Every finished test lands in the history at the bottom of the vocabulary-test screen. The two icons next to a round repeat it straight away:

  • ↺ Whole round — the same words again.
  • ↻ Only the wrong ones (red) — just the words you missed in that round. Perfect for closing the gaps.
Repeat any past round with one tap — the whole round or only the words you got wrong.

How a flash card works

Whether in the flash-card test or in the flashcard box — you handle a card the same way:

  1. Reveal: swipe the card aside to turn it over and see the answer.
  2. Grade: swipe the revealed card aside to grade yourself. As you drag, the button your motion is heading for grows, so you always see whether it’s Correct (green) or Wrong (red). Prefer tapping? Use the two buttons at the bottom.
Swipe the bottom card aside to turn it and reveal the answer — then right for Correct (green) or left for Wrong (red).

Tap to hear it

Tap the card to have the word read aloud, in its own language. The front reads the question, the revealed back reads the answer. Whether it reads automatically and whether the note is read too is set in the exercise settings.

Want a longer look? Press and hold

After you grade a card, the next one slides in automatically. Need another moment on the current one? Press and hold it — it stays put while you hold, and moves on to the next word as soon as you let go.

And the flashcard box?

The flashcard box is the third learning mode — for long-term retention with a system. It has its own article: The flashcard box.

Which mode for what?

  • Getting to know new words → a few rounds of exercise first
  • Before a test at school → vocabulary test
  • Long-term retention → flashcard box, a few minutes every day