Questions people ask about Zaban
Short answers about the reader, the languages, the price and the apps. Every answer describes the product as it is today.
What is Zaban?
Zaban is a bilingual reading app for learning a language from real books. You read a book in the language you are learning with the translation under every line, tap any word for its meaning, and the words you look up become flashcards. It runs on the web at zaban.online, with iOS and Android betas you can join.
Which languages can I learn with Zaban?
Zaban supports 21 languages: French, Farsi, Dari, Spanish, German, Swiss German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Irish, Portuguese, Romanian, Norwegian, Estonian, Polish, Afrikaans, Vietnamese, Arabic, Nepali, Chinese and Cantonese. Each one has a translation overlay that was built and reviewed by hand before the language was offered.
How does the Zaban reader work?
Each page shows the original text with its translation beneath it, and both are set in their own natural word order. The translation layer adapts to your vocabulary, so a beginner and an advanced reader get different help on the same book. Tap a word to see what it means and how it connects to the rest of the sentence.
Does Zaban work for Farsi and Persian?
Yes. Farsi was the first language Zaban was built for, and the other lessons follow the same shape. It has a free lesson at /lessons/farsi, a reviewed translation overlay, and script help that shows how each Persian word sounds. Dari, the Persian of Afghanistan, is supported as its own language with the same script help.
Can Zaban help me read Arabic script, Japanese, Korean or Chinese?
Yes. For nine languages with an unfamiliar or opaque script (Farsi, Dari, Japanese, Korean, Irish, Polish, Arabic, Nepali and Chinese) the reader has a script help toggle that shows a reading or romanisation for each word. Keep it on while the script is new and switch it off once you can read without it.
Is Zaban free?
The lessons and the grammar glossary are free and need no account. Reading books in the app is a paid membership, which starts with a three day trial. A payment method is needed to start the trial, and cancelling before it ends means no charge.
How much does Zaban cost?
There is one membership and it covers everything: the full library, reading help, vocabulary review and the tutor. It is billed monthly or annually in Australian dollars, and the current price is shown at sign up and on the Billing page in the app.
Can I try Zaban before paying?
Yes. The home page has a live demo of the reader and /demo walks through the app on sample text, both without an account. The membership itself starts with a three day trial.
Is Zaban good for complete beginners?
Yes. Start with the free lesson for your language, which covers the script and its sounds, first words, and the grammar patterns you need to begin reading. In the app the translation help adapts to your level, and sign up asks where you are starting from, including brand new.
How is Zaban different from a course app?
A course app teaches through short exercises. Zaban teaches through reading: you spend your time inside a real book, meeting thousands of words and phrases in context, with help one tap away. Reading is the transport and vocabulary is the destination.
Can I read my own books or EPUBs in Zaban?
Today you read from Zaban's library, which concentrates on literature and history in languages where good bilingual material is hard to find. Bringing your own EPUB is on the public roadmap at /roadmap.
Does Zaban have audio or read aloud?
Audio is on the roadmap: pronunciation and read aloud alongside the text are planned and listed at /roadmap. Script help already shows how a word sounds in writing for languages with an unfamiliar script.
Is there an iOS or Android app?
Zaban runs on the web at zaban.online. There is an iOS beta on TestFlight and an Android beta on Google Play, and the pages at /ios and /android explain how to join each one.
What is Hamzaad?
Hamzaad is the AI tutor inside the reader. Ask it about grammar, idiom or the origin of a phrase and it answers from the exact sentence you are on. Every grammar word it uses is explained in plain English in the glossary at /grammar.
Does Zaban have flashcards or spaced repetition?
Yes. Every word you look up while reading becomes a flashcard that keeps the sentence you met it in, with no extra step. Short spaced repetition review sessions between chapters keep the words.
Are the lessons free, and do I need an account?
The lessons are free and open to anyone, with no account. There are thirteen lessons for English speakers, in Farsi, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Irish, Nepali, Norwegian, Estonian, Cantonese and Romanian, at /lessons. Each one covers the script and its sounds, first words, and the grammar you need to start reading.
Who makes Zaban?
Zaban is built by Kevin, its founder. The roadmap is public at /roadmap and early readers steer what gets built next.
See how Zaban compares, or start reading.
The comparison page sets Zaban beside LingQ, Readlang, Beelinguapp and Duolingo. The free lessons need no account.
Kevin, founder of Zaban