Frequently asked questions

Palavra is a free website for adults (18+) to find pen pals and language exchange partners from around the world. Members chat in real time, send voice notes, post short "Moments" in the language they're learning that native speakers correct, and send "slow letters" that take real travel time to arrive based on the distance between members.

Yes. Creating an account, searching for partners, messaging, Moments, slow letters, the notebook and flashcards are all free.

You list your native language and the languages you're learning. Palavra matches you with people who speak what you're learning and are learning what you speak, so you can help each other. Each profile shows a match score based on languages and shared interests.

Moments are short public posts written in the language you're learning. Native speakers can correct them directly on the post: the original sentence is shown crossed out, the corrected version beside it, with an optional explanation. You can save any correction to your notebook.

Slow letters are long-form letters (at least 40 characters) that travel at roughly 450 km per hour of real distance between the sender's and recipient's countries, with a minimum of one hour. A letter from the United States to Brazil takes around 16 hours. You can watch it travel and collect a stamp from every letter you receive.

You must be 18 or older. Your date of birth is checked when you sign up and is never shown publicly; only your age is shown, and you can hide it.

Yes. In any conversation you can record a voice note of up to 60 seconds with your microphone. You can also tap the speaker icon on any message or Moment to hear it read aloud in its language.

Yes. Translate buttons use your browser's built-in, on-device translator when it's available, so your message never leaves your device. Otherwise they open the text in Google Translate.

Never send money or financial details to anyone you meet online, keep conversations on Palavra until you trust someone, and don't share your home address. You can block or report any member in one click, and you can limit who can message you to friends only. See the Safety Center for more.

Only signed-in members can see profiles. Logged-out visitors and search engines cannot. Blocked members can't see you at all.

Yes. Go to Settings → Account → Delete account. This permanently deletes your profile, messages, Moments, letters and notebook.

Live voice rooms are coming soon. They'll open language by language once there are enough native speakers for each room.