Speeku: a Zurich startup teaching languages as they are actually spoken

Most language apps teach the textbook version of a language. Move to Zurich and you find that the city speaks Swiss German, not the High German you studied. Move to Lisbon and the Portuguese around you sounds nothing like the Brazilian Portuguese most courses teach.

That gap is why we started Speeku (https://www.speeku.com), a startup in Zurich.

What we built

Speeku is a gamified app for learning a language as it is actually spoken. Our first two courses are Swiss German and European Portuguese.

- Bite-sized lessons take you from your first words to a real conversation.

- Every word and sentence is spoken aloud by recorded voices, so you hear the real sound of the variety.

- A full dictionary sits behind every word in every lesson.

- Speaking practice checks that you said the right word.

Why offline

We decided early that the whole app should work without a connection. Lessons, recordings, the dictionary and the speaking check all live on the phone. That means:

- it works on a plane, on the train through the Alps, or with no roaming;

- your practice stays on your device.

It also kept the business model simple: one-time payment, no subscription, no ads.

What we learned

A few lessons from the first months:

1. A variety is a product decision. Writing "Portuguese" is not enough; every sentence has to be checked against how people in Portugal actually say it. Swiss German has no standard spelling at all, so we pick one source and stick to it.

2. Recordings beat synthesis for learners. Hearing a real voice matters more than covering every possible sentence.

3. Offline forces focus. When everything has to fit on the phone, you think hard about what a lesson really needs.

Try it

Speeku is available for Android and iOS. You can find both courses at speeku.com (https://www.speeku.com).

We are also hiring a React Native / TypeScript engineer in Zurich. If building something like this sounds fun, get in touch.