About Forvo
Forvo: The Ultimate Pronunciation Dictionary for Language Learners
Forvo is the largest pronunciation dictionary in the world, offering a comprehensive collection of words and phrases pronounced by native speakers from all over the globe. With its user-friendly interface and extensive database, Forvo has become an indispensable tool for language learners, teachers, translators, and anyone who wants to improve their pronunciation skills.
Founded in 2008 by Spanish entrepreneur Félix Vela, Forvo started as a small project aimed at helping people learn Spanish. However, it quickly grew into a global platform that now covers more than 400 languages and dialects. Today, Forvo boasts over 20 million pronunciations recorded by its community of users.
One of the key features that sets Forvo apart from other language learning resources is its focus on authentic pronunciation. Unlike computer-generated voices or non-native speakers who may have an accent or mispronounce certain words, Forvo relies on recordings made by native speakers themselves. This ensures that learners get accurate and natural-sounding pronunciations that reflect real-life usage.
Another advantage of using Forvo is its versatility. Whether you're studying a popular language like English or Mandarin Chinese or a less commonly spoken one like Basque or Swahili, you can find thousands of entries on Forvo's website or mobile app. You can search for specific words or phrases using keywords or browse through categories such as animals, food & drink, sports & leisure etc.
In addition to providing audio recordings of individual words and phrases, Forvo also offers useful tools for language learners such as flashcards and quizzes to help reinforce vocabulary acquisition. Teachers can create custom lists for their students based on their curriculum needs while translators can use Forvo to check how certain terms are pronounced in different languages.
For those who want to contribute to the community effort behind Forvo's success story there are several ways they can do so: they can record their own pronunciations, rate and comment on existing recordings, or join the Forvo Ambassador program which rewards active users with perks such as premium accounts and merchandise.
From its humble beginnings as a Spanish language learning tool to its current status as the world's largest pronunciation dictionary, Forvo has come a long way in just over a decade. Its commitment to authenticity, diversity, and user engagement has made it an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to improve their language skills. Whether you're a beginner or an advanced learner, Forvo is here to help you speak like a native!