--- title: "Learn English by reading real English | ContextCat" description: "Read real English news, books and your own PDFs on iPhone. Tap any word to see what it means in that sentence, explained in your own language." url: https://contextcat.app/languages/english --- [ContextCat](https://contextcat.app/)[Languages](https://contextcat.app/languages) # Learn English by reading real English Most people who use ContextCat are reading English: news, classic novels, papers for school or work. Tap a word and the explanation comes in your own language, whether that is Turkish, Arabic, Portuguese or any of the other 38. [Download on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6737737343?pt=122713589&ct=site_lang_english&mt=8) The meeting **ran** over, so I missed my train. ran _verbo_ duró más de lo previsto Run over, dicho de una reunión, significa que se alargó más de lo planeado. Aquí no tiene nada que ver con correr ni con atropellar. English, explained in Spanish. You choose the language of your explanations. ## What to read in English Today, the daily edition, has headlines from English outlets, including The Conversation, Global Voices, Mongabay, Reasons to be Cheerful and Hacker News. Open one and the article opens in the reader, where every word can be tapped. English has the most to read in ContextCat: more than 30 news outlets on Today and the largest shelf in the Store, with classics such as Peter Pan, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Sherlock Holmes. Phrasal verbs and idioms are where a dictionary fails most often. Run over, put up with, come across: tap the word and the note explains the phrase it belongs to in this sentence. You can also bring your own English: import a PDF, save a link to a web article, or paste text. Whatever you read, it stays in English, and help appears only where you ask for it. ## How a tap helps The word turns bold and a note opens under its sentence with the meaning it has here, in your own language. Word analysis gives the root and the form. Select a few words or a sentence to translate just that part. Every word you tap is saved with its sentence and comes back as a card, at longer and longer gaps, until you know it. Listen reads books, PDFs and your texts aloud in a natural English voice, sentence by sentence. ## Is it right for you? ContextCat works best once you know enough English to follow a simple text and want to read more of it. If you are starting from zero, begin with a course, and come back when short texts feel within reach. The [guides](https://contextcat.app/guides) have ideas on where to start. ## Read next - [How to read books in English as a non-native speaker](https://contextcat.app/guides/how-to-read-books-in-english-as-a-non-native-speaker) - [How to learn a language by reading](https://contextcat.app/guides/how-to-learn-a-language-by-reading) ## Questions ### Can I learn English with ContextCat? ContextCat helps you learn English by reading it. Tap any word in a English text and it explains what the word means in that sentence, in your own language, then brings the word back later for review. It does not replace a course for grammar or speaking. ### What is there to read in English? Today's edition has headlines from English outlets such as The Conversation, Global Voices and Mongabay. The Store has English books and articles to start with, and you can import your own English PDFs, web articles and texts. ### Is ContextCat free for English? Yes, to start. The free plan includes 25 word explanations, 15 sentence translations a day and 3 imports, in every language. ContextCat Pro removes the limits. ## Other languages [Albanian](https://contextcat.app/languages/albanian) · [Arabic](https://contextcat.app/languages/arabic) · [Bulgarian](https://contextcat.app/languages/bulgarian) · [Catalan](https://contextcat.app/languages/catalan) · [Chinese](https://contextcat.app/languages/chinese) · [Chinese (Traditional)](https://contextcat.app/languages/chinese-traditional) · [Croatian](https://contextcat.app/languages/croatian) · [Czech](https://contextcat.app/languages/czech) · [Danish](https://contextcat.app/languages/danish) · [Dutch](https://contextcat.app/languages/dutch) · [Estonian](https://contextcat.app/languages/estonian) · [Finnish](https://contextcat.app/languages/finnish) · [French](https://contextcat.app/languages/french) · [German](https://contextcat.app/languages/german) · [Greek](https://contextcat.app/languages/greek) · [Hebrew](https://contextcat.app/languages/hebrew) · [Hungarian](https://contextcat.app/languages/hungarian) · [Icelandic](https://contextcat.app/languages/icelandic) · [Italian](https://contextcat.app/languages/italian) · [Japanese](https://contextcat.app/languages/japanese) · [Korean](https://contextcat.app/languages/korean) · [Latvian](https://contextcat.app/languages/latvian) · [Lithuanian](https://contextcat.app/languages/lithuanian) · [Maltese](https://contextcat.app/languages/maltese) · [Norwegian](https://contextcat.app/languages/norwegian) · [Polish](https://contextcat.app/languages/polish) · [Portuguese](https://contextcat.app/languages/portuguese) · [Portuguese (Brazil)](https://contextcat.app/languages/brazilian-portuguese) · [Romanian](https://contextcat.app/languages/romanian) · [Russian](https://contextcat.app/languages/russian) · [Serbian](https://contextcat.app/languages/serbian) · [Slovak](https://contextcat.app/languages/slovak) · [Slovenian](https://contextcat.app/languages/slovenian) · [Spanish](https://contextcat.app/languages/spanish) · [Swedish](https://contextcat.app/languages/swedish) · [Thai](https://contextcat.app/languages/thai) · [Turkish](https://contextcat.app/languages/turkish) · [Ukrainian](https://contextcat.app/languages/ukrainian) · [all 39](https://contextcat.app/languages)