How to Use
What is this tool?
Words to Readlang converts vocabulary exports from language learning apps into the CSV format that Readlang accepts for word import. Currently supported sources are Pod101 (FinnishPod101, SpanishPod101, etc.), Language Reactor (Netflix/YouTube vocabulary), and LingQ (lingq.com vocabulary exports).
Getting started
- Export your vocabulary from your learning app (see instructions below).
- Click Upload Vocabulary File on the home page.
- Choose your file, select the source language and format, then upload.
- Review the preview, fix any invalid entries, then export to Readlang.
Exporting from Pod101
(JapanesePod101, FinnishPod101, SpanishPod101, etc. — all use the same platform.) Requires a Premium subscription.
- Log in and open Reference Materials → My Word Bank in the top navigation, or go directly to
/learningcenter/account/wordbankon your Pod101 site. - Click the Export button at the top of the page.
- Choose CSV and download the file.
The export contains only words you have saved to your Word Bank — no example sentences. Every entry will show "No Example" after upload; use Fetch Missing Examples on the preview page to fill them in automatically.
Exporting from Language Reactor
Language Reactor saves words you look up while watching Netflix or YouTube. Requires a Pro subscription to export.
- Go to languagereactor.com/saved-items.
- Click the Export button in the top-right corner.
- Select CSV from the options.
- Make sure "Only new items since last export" is unchecked if you want your full vocabulary list.
- Extract the downloaded ZIP file and upload the CSV file inside it here.
Example sentences come from the subtitle line where you saved the word, so they are already present for most entries. The word column uses the base/dictionary form.
Exporting from LingQ
- Log in at lingq.com and select your active language.
- Go to your vocabulary list, it's under Library → Vocabulary (next to lessons and playlist). The URL looks like:
lingq.com/en/learn/<lang>/web/library/vocabulary/all(e.g./learn/fi/web/library/vocabulary/allfor Finnish). - Select the words you want to export (or select all).
- Click More Actions in the top-right corner.
- Select Export Selected — the CSV downloads immediately.
The export covers words you have actively saved with a hint (LingQ status). The translation quality depends on the hints you typed when saving each word.
Search
Use the Search Words button in the navigation bar to find a word across all your uploads. If the same word appears in multiple uploads with different translations, you'll see an amber "Translations differ" warning. You can delete the entry from any individual upload you don't want it in, then export each file separately.
Sessions
Your uploads are tied to a session, identified by a
memorable four-word magic phrase (e.g. silver-forest-apple-jump).
The phrase is set the first time you upload a file and stored in a cookie.
Write down your phrase! If you clear your browser cookies or visit from a different device, you can re-enter the phrase on the home page to recover access to all your uploads. Sessions are kept for one year from last use.
Validation
Readlang requires that the example sentence contains the exact vocabulary word. After upload, each entry is checked:
- Valid — example exists and contains the word.
- No Example — no example sentence was found in the source file.
- Word Missing — an example exists but does not contain the word.
Use Fetch Missing Examples on the preview page to automatically search Tatoeba and the Leipzig Corpora Collection for suitable sentences. You can also edit any entry inline. Entries that are still invalid at export time are excluded automatically.
Export
Click Export to Readlang on the preview page. The tool
generates one or more CSV files, each containing at most 200 valid entries.
If an upload has more than 200 valid entries the files are named
output (part 1).csv, output (part 2).csv, etc.
Upload them one by one to Readlang's word import page.