Frequently Asked Questions

Berlingvo is an online platform for learning German. The service is built for those learning German for life, study or work in Germany — at levels A1 to B2.

Spaced repetition flashcards, multiple training modes, a test builder and study groups — all available in the browser from any device.

• My decks — personal and group flashcard collections.
• Library — public decks from users and the Berlingvo team.
• Training — flashcard review using the SRS algorithm.
• Tests — creating and taking structured tests.
• Groups — study communities for collaborative learning.
• Statistics — XP, streak, level and activity history.
• Profile — personal details, settings, subscription management.

A deck is a collection of cards grouped by one topic — for example, «Professions» or «German verbs of motion». A deck can contain words (with articles and grammatical forms) or phrases (sentences and expressions).

1. Go to My Decks and click «Create deck».
2. Enter a name, description and level (A1–C2).
3. Choose the type: words or phrases.
4. Configure visibility and save.
5. Add cards manually or upload from CSV.

For a word-type card:

• German word and translation
• Article (der / die / das)
• Plural form
• Infinitive, past tense, irregular verb flag
• Example sentence and its translation
• Image and pronunciation audio file

You can add cards one by one or upload several at once via import CSV.

Co-authors are users with card editing permissions. The access level is set in deck settings:

• Owner only — only the creator can edit.
• Co-authors — the owner and added co-authors.
• Group members — all members of the linked group.

1. Open the deck and click «Import from CSV».
2. Select the file on your computer.
3. Review the preview — the system will show new cards and existing duplicates.
4. Confirm the import. Duplicates are skipped automatically.

All six columns are required (order doesn’t matter):

Delimiter: comma, semicolon or tab — the system detects it automatically. Encoding: UTF-8.

For phrases only two columns are required:

• term / фраза / phrase — the phrase itself
• translation / перевод — translation

You can optionally add example_sentence and example_translation.

• «Missing columns» — check the header names in the first row of the file.
• «File is empty» — make sure the first row contains headers and the file is saved as UTF-8.
• «No cards were added» — all rows were duplicates or required fields were not filled in.

• Open — visible to everyone, anyone can join without an invitation.
• Closed — hidden from search, joining by invitation only.
• By invitation — visible in search but joining by invitation only.

Berlingvo uses the SM-2 algorithm. Cards you know well are shown less often; difficult ones more often. After a correct answer the interval grows: 1 day → 6 days → further multiplied by an ease factor. A wrong answer resets the card to 1 day.

Training is an infinite cycle of card review with no grading. A test is a structured set of questions with a final result, score and optional timer. A test is taken once per attempt.

Checked automatically:

• Single correct answer (radio buttons)
• Multiple correct answers (checkboxes)
• Fill in the gaps — type in missing words
• Fill in the gaps — drag & drop from a word bank
• Write a word (free input)
• Assemble a sentence from words (drag & drop)

Manually graded task:

• The student writes a free-form answer
• You can attach a photo, audio, or YouTube/Vimeo video to the task
• The teacher grades it manually

Manually graded tasks are only available in tests with the "Individual review" mode.

Manually graded tasks are only available in tests with the "Individual review" mode.

• Текст — additional text prompt.
• Photo — upload JPEG/PNG/WebP up to 5 MB.
• Видео — paste a YouTube or Vimeo embed code.
• Choose file — upload MP3/OGG/WAV up to 20 MB.

Media is shown to the student above the answer field during the test.

• No Timer — the student answers at their own pace.
• Overall timer — N minutes allocated for the whole test.
• Per-question timer — N seconds allocated per question.
• Both timers — run simultaneously.

1. Go to Tests → Create test.
2. Set a name, timer settings and access.
3. Add questions from the library or create new ones.
4. Open access by link or through a group.

The constructor auto-saves changes with a ~1 sec delay. Wait for the save indicator before closing the tab.

An individually reviewed test contains tasks that cannot be checked automatically: essays, text translation, image description. The student submits answers, and the teacher manually grades each question and leaves comments.

To take this type of test, you must confirm consent: your answers will be sent to the teacher.

After submitting your answers, the result page will show 'Pending review'. Once the teacher completes the review, you will receive a notification. The result page will show your score, per-question comments, and highlighted text annotations.

Yes. In the test settings, the teacher can select 'Only once' — retaking the test is then not possible. If you try to take the test again, you will be redirected to your first result page.

By default, the number of attempts is unlimited.

On the review page, the teacher selects text fragments with the mouse and marks them with a color: red (error), yellow (note), or green (correct). The highlights are saved and displayed to the student on the result page.

1. Go to Groups → Create group.
2. Set a name and privacy mode.
3. Invite members by link or name.
4. Open the desired deck / test / topic → the «Groups» section → select a group.

На странице группы нажмите кнопку «Пожаловаться» (значок флага) в правом верхнем углу шапки. Выберите причину и при необходимости добавьте описание. Жалоба будет рассмотрена командой модерации.

На отдельные материалы (колоды, карточки, топики) можно пожаловаться прямо со страницы материала — там также есть кнопка «Пожаловаться».

XP (experience points) are awarded for completing a training session, passing a test and meeting the daily goal. Total XP determines your level; daily XP is used to calculate the streak and is displayed on the dashboard.

The level is calculated from total XP — the more you study, the higher the level. The daily goal is the amount of XP you want to earn each day; it’s set in your profile. Reaching the goal awards bonus XP.