Gave up on flashcards? Learn words by playing
Roots is a vocabulary game. English word tiles fall from the top of the screen, and you clear them by picking the right answer out of four.
Each stage is 10 words and takes two or three minutes. Play one on the train or before bed.
Clear falling words before they land
Tap the matching meaning (later in the stage, the matching word) before the tile hits the bottom.
- Get it right and the tile pops. Answer in a row to build a combo and multiply your score up to 4x
- Miss or run out of time and the tile joins the pile. Five in the pile ends the stage
- Every 3-combo knocks a row off the pile
- Tiles fall faster as the stage goes on
You're answering to keep the pile down, not to memorize — and you end up recalling the same words again and again.
Five worlds, from A1 to C1
The worlds are named after a seedling growing into a tree.
| World | Level | Stages |
|---|---|---|
| Seed | A1 (everyday basics) | 8 |
| Sprout | A2 | 8 |
| Leaf | B1 | 8 |
| Branch | B2 | 8 |
| Canopy | C1 (advanced) | 8 |
| TOEIC | 600 common TOEIC words | 60 |
Clear a stage to unlock the next one. The TOEIC world is open from the start, and the home screen takes you straight to your next TOEIC stage.
Ask Rooty, your AI coach, about missed words
The results screen lists the words you missed. Ask Rooty, the mascot, about any of them right there.
- Tap "How can I remember this?", "Give me another example", "Quiz me", or "Does it have a word root?" — or type your own question
- When roots help, Rooty explains them (in = "into," ject = "throw" in inject)
The word you keep forgetting becomes a word you know how to remember.
Review right before you'd forget
Every word you meet in a stage goes into your wordbook automatically, along with whether you got it right.
- Reviews are scheduled along the forgetting curve
- Practice due words with flashcards or Word Match, a pair-matching game
- A contribution-style graph shows how many words you've learned each day
A little every day
- You have 5 hearts, and one comes back every 30 minutes. Retrying a failed stage costs one
- Three daily quests earn you extra XP
- Play a stage each day to keep your streak going
- Rooty grows from a seed into a big tree as you level up
Add your own words
Handwrite an English word, and AI builds a card with its meaning, roots, and an example sentence, then adds it to your wordbook. You can listen to the examples.
Your handwriting is recognized on your device. Only the recognized word is sent to the AI.
Why you can trust it
- No account needed
- Your wordbook, review history, and game progress are stored on your device
- Game word cards are built into the app, so playing sends nothing to AI
- Only when you ask Rooty a question or make a card for your own word is your question or word sent through the developer's server to an AI service. See the privacy policy linked below for details
- The free version may show an ad between stages — never during play or review
AI-generated explanations and examples can contain mistakes. Use Roots as a learning aid, not a dictionary.
Great for
- Studying for TOEIC or another exam when you can't face a word list
- Picking vocabulary back up after quitting a flashcard app
- Turning a two-minute wait into something useful
- Finally pinning down the word you keep forgetting
Pricing
Free to start.
| Free | Roots Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Worlds | Every stage of Seed and Sprout; first 3 stages of every other world (including TOEIC) | Every stage of every world |
| Hearts | 5 (one back every 30 minutes) | Unlimited |
| Questions to Rooty | 5 a day | Unlimited |
| Cards for your own words | 10 a day | Unlimited |
| Wordbook | Up to 50 words (words from games don't count) | Unlimited |
| Ads | Yes | No |
| Audio | Device voice | High-quality AI voice too |
| Review timing | Choose from 3 presets | Set your own |
Flashcards and Word Match are free.
Roots Pro is an auto-renewing subscription, monthly or yearly. The yearly plan comes with a 7-day free trial for eligible users. The price for your country is shown in the app before you buy. Cancel anytime in your App Store or Google Play account settings.
