We shipped German localization for MindCards today. Navigation labels, settings, AI flashcard generation, the study assistant -- the whole app is now in German.
This has been one of our most requested features since launch. Germany, Austria, and Switzerland make up a large share of our user base, and plenty of you told us (politely, firmly, repeatedly) that you wanted to study in your own language. Fair enough.
What's included
Every screen in MindCards has been translated into German. That includes:
- All menus, buttons, labels, and error messages
- The AI flashcard generator, including prompt suggestions and output formatting
- The AI study assistant, which now converses in German during review sessions
- Spaced repetition notifications and daily goal reminders
- Quiz mode instructions and feedback
- Premium and subscription screens
If your iPhone or iPad is set to German, MindCards will automatically switch over. No setting to toggle, no restart required.
Why localization matters for learning
There's a practical reason this matters beyond comfort. When the app interface is in your native language, you spend less mental energy parsing menus and more on the actual material. That's especially true for subjects already in a foreign language. If you're using our Hiragana flashcards or Hangul guide, the last thing you need is to also decode the English UI around it.
Research on cognitive load backs this up. A 2011 meta-analysis by Sweller, Ayres, and Kalyuga found that extraneous cognitive load -- mental effort spent on anything other than the learning task itself -- measurably reduces retention. Working memory is limited. If part of it is busy figuring out what a button means, less of it is available for the vocabulary word you're trying to learn.
This is also why spaced repetition pairs well with a native-language interface. When you're not second-guessing menu labels, you can give your full attention to active recall -- the part that actually matters for retention.
The AI features work in German too
When you generate flashcards from a topic, the AI produces German-language prompts and card content if the prompt is written in German. The study assistant also responds in German when you ask it questions during a review session. You can still create flashcards in any language you want (the content language and the interface language are independent), but the app itself now talks to you in German.
Pair that with automated spaced repetition and quiz mode, and the entire study loop runs in German.
Languages we support now
With this update, MindCards is available in four languages:
- English
- Dutch
- Japanese
- German (new)
We're working on more. If there's a language you want to see, use the feedback button on your profile page and let us know. The languages with the most requests get prioritized. Our language learning hub has the full list of study guides available so far.
How to get the update
Update MindCards from the App Store to V1.13.0 or higher. If your device is set to German, the app will switch automatically. If you want to use MindCards in German while keeping your device in another language, you can change the app language in your iPhone's Settings > MindCards > Language.
Danke. This update exists because enough of you asked for it, and we read every one of those messages.