DuetbookStart without audiobooks of your own
Duetbook plays audio files you own that have no copy protection (DRM), so books from most audiobook stores can’t be added. You don’t need any to try it: podcasts and public-domain recordings are free.
Podcasts in the language you’re learning
Open the Discover tab, choose the language and open a show, then download an episode. Duetbook writes it out and translates it the way it does a book. Follow a show, and its new episodes download by themselves. Shows marked explicit aren’t offered.
A classic, read by a volunteer
LibriVox volunteers record books that are in the public domain. Here is the first chapter of one book in each language that iOS transcribes. To add one, copy its address, then in Duetbook tap + › Add from a Link and paste it. In the player, open the transcript and choose the book’s language.
- Chinese
孔乙己
https://archive.org/download/call_to_arms_jl_librivox/calltoarms_03_lu_64kb.mp3 - English
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
https://archive.org/download/aliceinwonderland_2106_librivox/alicesadventuresinwonderland_01_carroll_64kb.mp3 - French
Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours
https://archive.org/download/tour_du_monde_en_80_jours_librivox/tour_monde_01_verne_64kb.mp3 - German
Der Froschkönig oder der eiserne Heinrich
https://archive.org/download/kinder_und_hausmaerchen_2003_librivox/maerchen_001_grimm_64kb.mp3 - Italian
Le avventure di Pinocchio
https://archive.org/download/avventure_pinocchio_librivox/avventurepinocchio_01_collodi_64kb.mp3 - Japanese
ごん狐
https://archive.org/download/gongitsune_um_librivox/gongitsune_01_niimi_64kb.mp3 - Korean
피아노
https://archive.org/download/short_stories_hyun_1411_librivox/short_stories_01_hyun_64kb.mp3 - Portuguese
Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas
https://archive.org/download/memoriaspostumas_debrascubas_1912_librivox/memoriaspostumas_01_assis_64kb.mp3 - Spanish
Platero y yo
https://archive.org/download/plateroyyo_1505_librivox/plateroyyo_01_jimenez_64kb.mp3
Your own audiobooks
MP3, M4A and M4B files without DRM: from a folder or a zip in Files, by AirDrop, or from a Mac with Finder. A folder of tracks becomes one book with a chapter per file. LibriVox also offers whole books as zip files.