Start with phrases I actually use
I used my everyday translation requests as the basis for the content, with a focus on conversational southern Vietnamese. During development, I reduced the first release to 20 everyday phrases and cleared the other categories. Their navigation remains visible, so this is still an early version.
Find, open, copy
The main flow starts with search in Russian or Vietnamese. Vietnamese queries also work without diacritics. Favorites keep useful phrases close, and recent history provides a way back to phrases already opened.
I made the phrase card more compact and kept the two main actions together: copy the translation or show it full screen. The calm cream and green palette keeps attention on the text.
Turn the screen toward the other person
In full screen, the translation is meant for the other person. I gave the Vietnamese text as much space as possible and removed the visible close control. A downward swipe returns to the phrase card. I dropped forced landscape orientation so the phone does not need to be rotated.
Testing on my phone revealed a broken return path: closing full screen also dismissed the phrase card. We fixed it so the selected phrase remains open.
One reference table instead of many cards
Vietnamese forms of address depend on relative age and relationships. At first, separate cards overloaded the phrase list. I replaced them with a compact reference table: who the person is, which word to use, and how to call them. Age groups are guidance rather than strict numerical boundaries.
Check the details on a real phone
Work followed short cycles: working version, use, observation, change. We moved copy feedback above the modal and blur, set the search font to 16 px to prevent Safari auto-zoom, and refined offline caching after a Safari opening error.
Nói is a PWA: it opens from a link, can be added to an iPhone home screen and needs no ChatGPT account. After the first successful load and caching, the interface and phrases are available offline.
A published tool, with an honest scope
The result is a published personal phrasebook with search, favorites, recent phrases, copying and full-screen display. Decisions were refined through my own use on a phone. I have not collected quantitative research or effectiveness metrics, so the result is a working product rather than a claim of proven impact.
