If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.
Nelson Mandela
The gap
You learned the words.
They answered too fast.
You memorized “how much?” but the vendor fired back a number, a counter-offer, and a question you didn’t catch. The real problem isn’t finding your words. It’s understanding theirs.
Organized by the moment
Tap the situation.
Know what to say and hear.
Market. Restaurant. Transport. Hotel. Emergency. Social. Each situation shows you what to say, what they’ll say back, and the pronunciation that actually works. No scrolling through alphabetical lists.
Beyond single words
Know what they’ll say back.
Full conversation flows: greet the vendor, ask the price, hear the answer, negotiate, buy. Each turn shows you what the other person will likely say, so you’re never caught off guard. Native script, phonetics, and translation on every line.
Know what you know
Walk in ready,
not hoping for the best.
Browse 300+ words for your destination. Mark what sticks, revisit what doesn’t. You’ll know exactly which conversations you’re ready for before you walk in.
The moments that make the trip
The vendor grins when you haggle back in her language. The waiter brings you the dish locals order, not the tourist menu. The grandmother at the market laughs and teaches you a word you won’t find in any app.
These moments come from knowing both sides of the conversation.
From early travelers
If I asked my friends, they’d just say ‘great app.’ These are from travelers I’ve never met.
Used ‘a-roy’ at a street stall in Chiang Mai. The woman’s face changed completely. She started showing me other dishes, pointing at ingredients. I pulled up the app to figure out what she was saying back.
Sarah M. · Chiang Mai · Thai
Told the phở lady ‘ngon quá’ and she literally came out from behind the counter to talk to me. I barely understood her but I had the restaurant conversation open and could follow along.
Marco L. · Hanoi · Vietnamese
Kept saying ‘sah-bye-dee’ everywhere in Luang Prabang. One morning a woman at the market started teaching me numbers. I already knew them from the app but I let her teach me anyway. Best morning of the trip.
Julie K. · Luang Prabang · Lao
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9 languages · 7 situations · Full conversation flows · Works offline
You landed.
Now go talk to people.
Open the app, tap the situation, and walk in ready for a real conversation. No signup, no lessons, no internet needed.
Try it free
Theo Martin
Solo founder
When I got to Laos, I decided to do every interaction in Lao. Couldn’t say much, most of it probably wrong, but people kept reacting the same way: surprise, then warmth, then an actual conversation. I looked into it and apparently we instinctively trust anyone who tries our language, even badly, because effort signals respect. A market vendor I kept running into eventually invited me home for dinner. I built TalkThere after months of preparing phrases in my notes app before every interaction, thinking there has to be something better.