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Explore Copycat Cafe

Learn languages by copying everyday conversations.

For anyone with a 500-day streak who still freezes when spoken to

The copy-first method that gets you speaking from day one.

You learned your first language by copying, then speaking. Copycat Cafe brings that same process to your next language: hear a line from an everyday conversation, copy it out loud with a 0–100 score on every word, then use it with Copy, your AI conversation partner.

Start copying — 7 days free

Cancel in one click. We email you before your trial ends.

Can you follow this?

One lesson’s opening lines, at normal speed. No subtitles.

Lower intermediate (A2) · Lesson 23 · Going to the restaurant

Missed half of it? In real life, there are no subtitles either. One 15-minute lesson, and you’ll be saying lines like these yourself.

See how the lesson gets you there

Your native language is the one you speak best.

So why are you learning a foreign language any other way?

You learned your native language by copying. You copied your parents, your caretakers, and the other adults around you.

Then you tried speaking. You said a few sounds at first, then a few words, then your first phrase. Along the way, adults corrected you, gently fixed how you said things, and sometimes asked you to repeat.

Somewhere along the way with a foreign language, you got lost. You started memorizing grammar rules. You did drills and exercises. You started tapping cards on your phone.

What you didn’t do—and it’s not your fault, because that’s how school and most apps taught you—is copy first, then speak.

Copycat Cafe is here to change that.

Instead of tapping word tiles in silence or getting dropped into a blank AI chat with nothing to say, you learn the way you learned your first language: hear a real line, copy it out loud until it sounds right, then use it in conversation.

“Copying isn’t cheating. It’s how you learned your first language.” — Rule #1 of Copycat Cafe® →

Watch. Copy. Chat. 200 everyday conversations in three steps.

Every course uses 200 lessons built around the conversations you actually have in real life: buying a ticket at the train station, chatting with someone you just met in a café, talking about your favorite movie with friends, or going to the doctor.

  1. Watch. Listen first to train your ears.

    Hear each line of the conversation at normal or slow speed with no text hints, then rebuild it from what you heard. Your ears start catching where one word ends and the next begins before you ever see the spelling.

    Rule #2: Your ears come before your brain →

    Try it: press Listen to phrase, then tap the words in order.

    Watch · Step 1 of 3

    Phrase 3 of 9

    .

    Listen, then rebuild the line.

  2. Copy. Say it just like you heard it.

    Hear a phrase spoken naturally, then shadow it—trying to say it just like they said it. Your pronunciation is scored word by word from 0 to 100, showing what you pronounced well, what missed, and how to improve. You repeat until you get a great score, just like you did as a child.

    Rule #3: Say it wrong until you say it right →

    Try it: press Hear it for the whole line, or Hear word for just “métro”.

    Copy · Step 2 of 3

    Phrase 3 of 9

    Nice work — one word to polish.

    métro: tongue tip down, light r in the back.

    76

    Use the score as a guide, not a grade. It may change a little between tries.

    Your copy

    Le métro est là-bas.

    The subway is over there.

    Word feedback

    Le 91 métro 58 est 84 là-bas 80

    Your next move

    Focus on “métro”

    métro: tongue tip down, light r in the back.

    Record your own take with a 7-day free trial.

    Say the line, hear yours next to the original, and get word-by-word feedback on the spot.

    Start copying — 7 days free

    Cancel anytime.

  3. Chat. Practice the conversation with Copy.

    Finally, practice the conversation with Copy, your AI conversation partner. Copy gently corrects you, adjusts to your level, and encourages you to speak. No judgment, just progress.

    Rule #7: Conversation is the destination →

    Try it: press Play reply to hear Copy, and tap Tiny upgrade under your last line.

    Where is the subway?

    tourist

    Excusez-moi, où est le métro ?

    Excuse me, where is the subway?

    Le métro est là-bas.

    tourist

    Ah, merci ! C’est loin ?

    Oh, thank you! Is it far?

    Non, c’est cinq minutes.

    Tiny upgrade

    Try: Non, c’est à cinq minutes à pied.

    For how far away something is, French says c’est à cinq minutes — that small à is the piece English leaves out. Adding à pied (“on foot”) makes it clear you mean a five-minute walk.

    Answer Copy with a 7-day free trial.

    Speak or type your reply, hear Copy answer, and get a tiny upgrade whenever one helps.

    Start copying — 7 days free

    Cancel anytime.

Then keep talking with Copy, your AI conversation partner.

Outside lessons, Free Chat is open anytime for whatever you want to practise—a trip, your day, or phrases from your lessons.

Normal chat
Speak or type one turn at a time, with translations, ideas when you’re stuck, and corrections as you go.
Call mode
Talk with Copy like a phone call. Interrupt anytime, or ask Copy to speak slower.
Start copying — 7 days free

Cancel in one click. We email you before your trial ends.

They were stuck too. Then they started copying.

Chris passed his B1 oral exam in Switzerland. Stephanie’s neighbours in Paris noticed. Rebecca was speaking up after seven weeks.

“Had to take a FIDE test here in Switzerland to renew my resident permit and passed B1 oral A1 written with 92 and 95 percent pass rates. No way would have achieved that without this course.”

Chris Horler

Switzerland

“I'd been having a hard time with aural comprehension, but thanks to this course, that has improved dramatically. I live in Paris, and since I started, people I interact with regularly have been commenting on how much my French has improved.”
Stephanie Argy

Stephanie Argy

Paris, France

“Before, I would never have tried speaking even though I knew what to say. This course has given me more confidence in my pronunciation and usage. I really only had about 7 weeks and already felt more confident speaking.”
Rebecca Spears

Rebecca Spears

United States

“I tried everything to gain confidence in speaking French… courses in France, one to one conversation with native speakers. Nothing worked! Actually hearing myself speak French and being able to correct my pronunciation has finally given me a huge boost of confidence!”

Christine

“I tried others like Babbel and wasn't getting anywhere. With Copycat Cafe, I'm finally getting conversational. It's great.”
A. M. Steiner

A. M. Steiner

Fantasy author

“I had a chance to speak to a French person - I traveled to Normandy and dared to start a conversation with our guide. I was thrilled that he understood me and I - him. He was very surprised that I had studied French only for a few months.”
Irene Belyakov-Goodman

Irene Belyakov-Goodman

United States

Built for people who understand more than they can say.

Copycat is built for you if:

  • You’ve built vocabulary on Duolingo or flashcards, but freeze when someone speaks to you
  • You’ve opened an AI chat app, stared at the blank screen, and had nothing to say
  • You’re tired of translating from English in your head before you can reply
  • You want to rehearse real lines out loud in private before anyone is waiting on you

You may prefer something else if:

  • You only want to read or collect streak badges, not speak out loud
  • You’re already an advanced speaker who only wants unguided debate
  • You want isolated conjugation drills rather than everyday conversation
  • You’d rather pay $40–$60 an hour for a human tutor for every practice session
Benjamin Houy Nur Houy

We’re Benjamin and Nur. Benjamin taught French in South Korea. Nur is learning Spanish and French with Copycat right now. Two people, self-funded, and we read every email.

What people ask us before they start

Do I need a card for the free trial?

Yes. We’re two people running a small business, and asking for a card stops fraud and fake accounts from eating into what we can give real learners. We email you before your trial ends, and you can cancel in one click before then and pay nothing. Paddle handles the payment, so we never see your card number.

What happens when the trial ends?

You pay for the plan you picked when you started: monthly, or yearly in one payment. Changed your mind after paying? Email Benjamin within 30 days of your first payment for a full refund.

I have a long Duolingo streak. Why do I still freeze when someone speaks to me?

Duolingo is good at building vocabulary and reading recognition, where the words are already on screen. Speaking uses a different skill: catching fast speech by ear and shaping the words out loud while someone waits. Copycat trains that missing step.

How is this different from AI conversation apps?

Most AI chat starts from a blank conversation and asks what you want to talk about. Copycat starts from lines you have already heard and said out loud with a 0–100 score on every word, so when you talk with Copy you have the words ready.

Which languages do you teach?

French, Spanish (Latin America), Spanish (Spain), Italian and German, with 200 everyday conversations each from A1 to B2. One subscription includes all five.

How much time does it take?

About 15 minutes a lesson. One a day is plenty.

Do I have to use my microphone?

No. You can listen, read and type in chat without it. Pronunciation scores and spoken chat need your microphone, because we can't score speech you don't send.

Do you sell my recordings?

No. We don’t sell your recordings, chats or transcripts, and the companies that run our speech and AI features may not train on them. The privacy policy has the details.

“Copying isn’t cheating. It’s how you learned your first language.”

You learned one language by copying. Start copying your next.

Five courses. One subscription. 7 days free.

Start copying — 7 days free

Cancel in one click. We email you before your trial ends.