Lingolook Flashcards

There are more comprehensive phrase-book apps available, and even apps that use online translation services to provide on-the-spot translations. The Lingolook apps are much more straightforward – they simply include hundreds of ‘flashcards’ listing common words and phrases. You can tap on a phrase to hear it spoken aloud, and if you have trouble with the pronunciation you can just hold the card up for others to read. They’ll never make you fluent, but the Lingolook apps will come in handy if you just want to buy a sandwich at the airport. They’re available in several languages, including French, German, Italian and Japanese.

Lonely Planet Guides

Lonely Planet has one of the biggest ranges of city guides and foreign-language phrasebooks, with more than 100 apps priced between £2.39 and £3.49. They’ve also got a free Travel Guides app, which acts as a mini app store that allows you to browse and buy the complete range at your convenience - though the promised discount for in-app purchases turns out not to exist. When you download the Travel Guides app you also get the full San Francisco guide and Mexican Phrasebook thrown in for free, so you can get an idea of the format and style of the Lonely Planet range before forking out any cash for the other guides.