For anyone who freezes halfway through a sentence
Say it here first.
A private space to rehearse Japanese, Spanish, or English out loud before the real conversation happens. No judgment. No chatbot. Just you and a mic.
Free to download. Your first five conversations in each language are free, and so is the first one you ask us to write.
How a conversation works
Teaches through conversations, not lessons.
Pick a real moment
Ordering coffee. Checking in at a hotel. Asking for directions. Twenty everyday moments in Japanese, Spanish, and English, from your first words up to more advanced ones.
Say it out loud
Try it from memory first. Peeking is always allowed. Your phone does the listening on its own, so your voice never leaves it.
Continue the conversation
Kind feedback shows what worked first, then one small thing to try. They reply, you answer again, and it keeps going until the conversation is done.
The conversation, right here
Watch one play out.
The café conversation, exactly as it plays out in Zonlo. You speak first.
コーヒーを一つお願いします。
Kōhī o hitotsu onegai shimasu · One coffee, please.
かしこまりました。店内でお召し上がりですか？
Kashikomarimashita. Tennai de omeshiagari desu ka? · Of course. Will you be having it here?
Every conversation keeps going like this, reply after reply, until it is done.
When it isn't one of the twenty
Ask for the conversation you actually need.
An izakaya where you'd rather not just point. Your partner's mother. The interview on Thursday. Describe it in a sentence and Zonlo writes that conversation, then you rehearse it out loud like any other.
Ordering drinks at an izakaya with some salarymen
- The moment itself, and the first thing they say to you
- What a good reply has to actually do
- A model answer, with the furigana and romaji in Japanese
- Five follow-ups, so it keeps going like a real conversation
Your first one is free. After that it is part of Pro, up to ten a day and two hundred in all. If something goes wrong on our side, that one doesn't count against you.
These are written by AI. The twenty that come with each language were written by a person, model answers and all. The ones you ask for are not, and nobody reads them before they reach you, so the wording can be off in a way the built-in ones aren't. We set out exactly which part is which in our AI disclosure.
They're yours. They stay on your account in the language you asked in, and you can delete any of them for good whenever you like.
Audio never leaves your phone.
Your phone turns your speech into text by itself. Only those words go anywhere, and only to be checked. No ads, no tracking, nothing sold.
Why it works
Built for the moment your mind goes blank.
Hold whole conversations, reply after reply.
Every conversation keeps going past the first line, the way real ones do.
Feedback that hears how polite you sounded.
Zonlo knows the difference between casual Japanese and です/ます, and tells you which one fit.
Walk in calm. Stop freezing halfway through a sentence.
Rehearse the moment before it happens, as many times as you need.
Your first 5 conversations stay free.
So does the first one you ask us to write. No ads, no streaks, no pressure. Zonlo is independent and private.
One line you'll rehearse on day one
コーヒーを一つお願いします。
Kōhī o hitotsu onegai shimasu · One coffee, please.
A note from the founder
Hey there,
I built Zonlo because I was tired of freezing up.
I studied Japanese for years, but the second I actually stepped into the country, my mind would go blank. I'd get stuck, panic, and completely freeze. It's incredibly frustrating to know the words in your head but fail to say them in the moment.
I wanted something that didn't just teach me vocabulary, but made real situations feel human again, instead of one more stressful test.
Zonlo is independent and private, and it has no ads. It exists because people like us support it.
Thanks for being here, and let's finally beat the freeze.
Corbyn Ledbetter
Questions
Common questions about Zonlo
What is Zonlo?
Zonlo is a private space to rehearse a real conversation out loud before it happens, in Japanese, Spanish, or English. You pick a moment, say your reply, and get kind feedback that opens with what you got right. It is not a chatbot, an AI tutor, or a game.
Is Zonlo free?
Zonlo is free to download. Your first five conversations in each language are free, and so is the first conversation you ask Zonlo to write for something you have coming up. Everything else comes with Pro: $9.99 a month, or $39.99 a year, which starts with a free week.
Which languages does Zonlo support?
Japanese, Spanish, and English. Japanese replies also get checked for politeness, so you know whether you sounded too casual or too stiff for the moment you are in.
Does Zonlo have streaks or a chatbot?
No. There are no streaks, points, or leaderboards, no AI character to perform for, and feedback never shows a red mark. It is built to stay calm for people who freeze when they speak.
Can I rehearse a specific conversation, like a job interview?
Yes, and you do not have to hope it is already in the app. Describe what you have coming up in a sentence and Zonlo writes that conversation for you: the opening line, what a good reply does, and five follow-ups. Then you rehearse it out loud like any other. The first one is free. Those conversations are written by AI, unlike the twenty that ship with the app, which a person wrote.
Who writes the conversations?
The twenty that come with each language were written by a person, including the model answers and what counts as a good reply. A conversation you ask for is written by AI instead, and nobody reads it before it reaches you, so its wording can be off in a way the built-in ones are not. Our AI disclosure page sets out exactly which part is which.
Does my voice leave my phone?
No. Your iPhone turns your speech into text by itself, and only that text is sent to be checked. Your audio never leaves your phone. The accuracy page explains how the checking works.
Let's finally beat the freeze.
Zonlo is on the App Store now. Questions? support@zonlo.app