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Наталя ХандусенкоStartup
24 September 2026, 15:09
2026-09-24
A Ukrainian IT student created a language app that has been downloaded over 18,000 times in over 10 countries. What makes Worder special?
A student of the Faculty of Information Technologies of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv — Dmytro Matsenko — created the iOS application Worder for learning foreign words, which was downloaded by more than 18,000 users in less than two months. The project, which began as a personal tool, broke into the top of the App Store of Ukraine and entered the ratings of 11 countries around the world. The developer told dev.ua about the idea, technical feat and viral success.
A student of the Faculty of Information Technologies of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv — Dmytro Matsenko — created the iOS application Worder for learning foreign words, which was downloaded by more than 18,000 users in less than two months. The project, which began as a personal tool, broke into the top of the App Store of Ukraine and entered the ratings of 11 countries around the world. The developer told dev.ua about the idea, technical feat and viral success.
How the idea for Worder came about
The development story began about a year ago with a private need to improve my English, namely, to expand my vocabulary.
I started looking for different applications that would be best for me. At the same time, I was taking SwiftUI courses, and the idea came to create this application for myself — so that it would be easy to use, without unnecessary settings and an overloaded interface.
The first version was developed exclusively "for my own people", but the reaction of those around me changed the plans.
“When I showed the app to my classmates and friends, they advised me to publish it on the App Store. So over the summer, I refined the app to turn it from an MVP into a product that I wouldn’t be ashamed to release to people,” the author shares.
How Worder works and what are its features
Worder is a spaced repetition vocabulary building app for foreign languages. It currently supports English (with a choice of British or American pronunciation), Spanish, German, French, and Japanese.
Worder works on the principle of flashcards for learning words. The card contains the word itself, translation, transcription, part of speech, example of use and pronunciation. The user goes through the words and, using swipes to the right or left (like in Tinder), chooses whether they know the word or have remembered it.
The main feature of Worder is that the application uses an interval repetition algorithm based on SM-2: if the user remembered the word the first time, it will appear later; if it was repeated several times, it will be repeated faster. This helps not to waste time on words that are already well remembered, and to pay more attention to difficult ones.
The app lets you create your own decks, import lists, track stats, and set daily goals. One of the most popular features is a lock screen widget that shows new or outdated words right on your iPhone's display.
View in Threads
Behind the scenes of development
The project was developed natively for iOS using Swift and SwiftUI. Dmytro admits that he chose this particular platform because he was making a product for his own devices and did not expect such publicity.
"Initially, I created Worder myself, using AI agents as development assistants. Now designer Valeria Nazarenko has joined the work. She helps refine the design: suggests changes to the interface and works to make Worder easier and more convenient to use," the developer notes.
Artificial intelligence in the application itself acts as a personal assistant for the user:
"The application uses artificial intelligence as an additional function: you can generate a selection of words for a specific topic, level or situation - for travel, interview, study or work. AI can also help turn text, file or photo into a ready-made deck of words for study."
As for the financial side, the largest expense item is participation in the Apple Developer Program ($100 per year), subscriptions to ChatGPT and Gemini, as well as costs for server infrastructure and APIs for AI generations and voice acting.
To cover these costs, Worder has an optional premium subscription. The free version gives full access to basic functionality, while the premium version unlocks expanded limits for daily practice, AI generation, and improved voiceovers.
What stage is the project at now?
After publishing on the App Store, Dmytro started talking about Worder on TikTok and Threads to gather his first audience. The first viral videos gave a powerful boost.
"Some publications, especially with a widget, unexpectedly gained a lot of views and brought thousands of downloads. In the first month and a half after the release, Worder received over 18 thousand unique downloads. Thanks to this, it rose to first place in the "Education" category of the Ukrainian App Store and is still among the leaders - as of September 22, it is in the top 2. We are also in the tops of 11 countries around the world, considering that so far the application is designed only for Ukrainian-speaking users," Dmitry shares his success.
Future plans
Currently, the developer's main focus has shifted to support and optimization after a rapid influx of users.
“Now the main goal is to refine what already exists. After a large number of people appeared, it became important to work on the stability of the application and fix things that users notice during daily use. The plans are to add new languages, develop personalization of learning, and reach an international audience. Currently, Worder is focused on Ukrainians, but my goal is to make it useful for people from different countries,” concludes Dmytro Matsenko.
