Learn any language while reading any book in parallel translation. For free
This means you can safely get it on your phone without Google Play or App Store
And use offline like a regular app
If not installed check this instruction
Reviews
I've been using the Candelibra app for about a month. During this time, I've increased my reading time in French from half an hour to one hour a day. It's a good alternative to bilingual paper books, which are quite hard to find in French.
Parallel translation is a great thing. I studied English using several books (and one course). What I liked the most was when each page had a sentence in English and its translation in Russian, allowing me to practice translating back and forth. It's a surrogate language environment. If you just read with parallel translation, it's a decent way to get familiar with a language. But can you fully learn a language this way? That's a different question. At some point, I read a couple of books in German (several times, with and without a dictionary). Well, I read them. And that's it. Yes, I understood everything in the book. But words by themselves (outside the book’s context) don’t stick, even if you encounter them 15 times in the text.
I read *The Gadfly* using a similar system. It was interesting to see the omissions in the Soviet edition! It's a great idea to let users choose books for language learning. Yes, it would be amazing if you could integrate AI to search for examples for each topic. By the way, for *The Lord of the Rings*, I manually wrote down all the specific vocabulary from the first volume and added it to a spaced repetition database.
The motto of parallel reading is interest, enjoyment, and volume! First: The text must be *very* interesting. The thought of continuing to read should be tempting—the reader should look forward to finishing their tasks so they can dive back into the story. There's nothing worse than forcing yourself to do something just because you "have to." That’s why the best books for reading are in genres you truly enjoy—whether it’s orcs and elves, blasters roaming the universe, or romantic intrigues. Some people even find excitement in reading about the specifications of the TCP/IP protocol—I’ve met such folks. Second: The text in the foreign language should be perceived with admiration and reverence, as a manifestation of something you *want* to master. Have you ever been fascinated by how beautifully a thought can be expressed? Well, in parallel reading, that’s how you should view every sentence in the target language—every phrase, even every word. ...
"...I’ve been passionately engaged for three weeks—you won’t guess in what? Greek. I’ve reached the point where I can read Xenophon almost without a dictionary. In a month, I hope to read Homer and Plato the same way." At the time, Tolstoy was 42 years old and seriously ill, as we learn from his letter to his brother Sergey on February 1, 1871: "...A kind of fever, toothache, and pain in my knee. A terrible rheumatic pain that won’t let me sleep." But Tolstoy kept studying Greek—and reading, reading, reading the ancient classics. On January 1-6, 1871, still fascinated with Greek, he wrote to A. A. Fet: "I received your letter a week ago but didn’t reply because I’ve been studying Greek from morning till night... I write nothing, I only study... It’s unbelievable and unlike anything else, but I read Xenophon and now I can read him à livre ouvert (at sight). For Homer, I only need a dictionary and a bit of effort. I can’t wait to show this trick to someone. But how happy I am that God has sent me this madness. First, I enjoy it immensely. Second, I’ve realized that of all the truly beautiful and simple things ever written by humankind, I knew nothing until now—just like everyone else (except for professors, who may know but don’t understand). And third, because I am no longer writing, I will never again write long-winded nonsense like *War and Peace*. I was guilty of it, but I swear, I never will be again."
Reading authentic texts is often challenging for learners due to a lack of vocabulary and the presence of complex expressions that exceed the standard lexical-grammatical minimum required in language education. Additionally, texts may contain idiomatic expressions that require cultural and historical context for proper interpretation. Using a dictionary does not always facilitate reading progress, as words can have contextual meanings not reflected in dictionary definitions, or they may appear in figurative senses. Parallel translation helps with understanding words in context. For example, in Anton Chekhov’s story *The Chameleon*, the verb *глядят* ("The open doors of the taverns and shops *глядят* at the world gloomily") means "look" or "seem." At the same time, it is used metaphorically (personification), creating a certain artistic image. Naturally, these semantic nuances are not covered in dictionary entries. Another example is Lewis Carroll’s *Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland*, which is full of wordplay based on phonetic similarities of English words—something that cannot be conveyed through literal translation into Russian.
Open two eBooks simultaneously and work with them in parallel
- On iOS and Android
- Supports EPUB, FB2, MOBI
- Any languages
- Synchronized scrolling
- Flashcards
- Reading notes
- Any translator app: configure native translation on your device
How to use Candelibra?
- Preparation
- If you are already comfortable reading with a dictionary, Candelibra will only slow you down. Start learning the next language.
- Download an interesting book that you would read anyway from the internet in two versions: the original and a translation. The app provides a list of links to free libraries in different languages.
- Open them in Candelibra: the original will be on the left, and the translation on the right.
- Books always have different formatting—scroll both books to the beginning of the first chapter. The text on the right scrolls along with the left (original), but not vice versa.
- Reading
- You will get tired. Take breaks by reading less attentively.
- With Candelibra, you can read difficult books. All books are unevenly structured, usually containing easy-to-follow dialogues and more complex descriptions. I skim through difficult parts and only read the translation.
- Useful Features
- You can save words for spaced repetition using flashcards. Keep in mind that if a word is frequently used, you will learn it naturally by the end of the book.
- Set up an external translation app. On iOS and Android, you can select text and translate it using, for example, Google Translate. This can be configured on your device.
- Listen to machine-generated audio. If you tap a word in the original text and press the Speaker button, you will hear the pronunciation of the entire paragraph.
Candelibra helps you when you don't know the language well or don't know it at all
You always have a professional translation near you. It's better because it's in context. And it's more convenient than using a translator app
Choose books that you are interested in. Ignore the recommended language level. You learn better when you're engrossed
Word fishing! Expand vocabulary
Flashcards are a popular method for testing and improving memory
With Candelibra flashcards are created in a few taps: select a sentence in the original book and its translation in the parallel book