Idiom Buddy
The stories behind the sayings
Free · Designed for iPad
1,001 English idioms with the stories behind them. Bilingual English/中文 — real examples, origin notes, and false-friend warnings. All offline, no sign-up.
Idiom Buddy explains English idioms the way you actually want to understand them — not just what they mean, but where they come from and how real people use them.
Every idiom is told in English and 中文, so you never have to choose between a proper explanation and your own language. And the Chinese doesn't just translate the English — it explains it, the way a good teacher would.
WHAT'S INSIDE EACH IDIOM
• Plain-language meaning
• A word-by-word literal breakdown
• The real origin story — best-documented sources, with folklore clearly flagged (no made-up history)
• Several natural example sentences
• "When you'd say it" — how formal, how serious, where it fits
• Natural everyday alternatives
• A short back-and-forth conversation
• A memory hook to make it stick
THE TRAPS OTHER APPS MISS
Many English idioms look like a Chinese 成语 you already know — but mean something different. Idiom Buddy flags these false friends with a clear "Easy to get wrong" warning, so you don't confuse "go with the flow" with 随波逐流, or "wash your hands of it" with 金盆洗手.
BILINGUAL EXAMPLES
In 中文 mode, every example and mini-dialogue shows the English line with the Chinese underneath — so you see exactly how the idiom works in a real sentence, both ways.
PHRASAL VERBS, DONE RIGHT
A separate section for 150+ phrasal verbs — the ones that trip everyone up. Each shows whether it's separable, the more formal single word you already know from reading, and the near-identical neighbours people mix up (put off vs put up with vs put out).
1,001 IDIOMS ACROSS 14 CATEGORIES
Everyday, Work & Business, Animals, Nautical, Biblical, Myth & Legend, Food & Drink, Money, Body, War & Battle, Nature, Stage, Sport, and classic Proverbs.
BUILT TO ACTUALLY USE
• Fully offline — the entire collection lives on your device
• Fast, forgiving search (even if you type the wrong verb form)
• Star your favorites, and copy or share any entry
• Swipe between idioms
• Light and dark mode
• iPhone, iPad, and Mac
OPTIONAL AI LOOKUP
Can't find a phrase? Add your own Anthropic API key and let AI generate it in the same rich format. Completely optional — the app is full and complete without it.
PRIVATE BY DESIGN
No account. No sign-up. No tracking, no analytics, no ads. Your favorites and settings never leave your device.
Whether you're studying for a test, working in an English-speaking country, or just tired of nodding along when someone says "let's play it by ear" — Idiom Buddy helps the language finally make sense.Idiom Buddy does not collect, track, or share your personal data. The app works offline. Your saved idioms and any notes you write are stored on your device and,
if you use iCloud, in your own private iCloud account — we have no access to them.
Optional AI Lookup: if you add your own Anthropic API key, a phrase you look up is sent from your device directly to Anthropic (api.anthropic.com) to generate an
answer, using your key and billed to your account. We do not receive or store that data. Your API key is kept in the device Keychain and is never sent anywhere except
to Anthropic. See Anthropic's privacy policy for how they handle requests. We use no analytics, advertising, or tracking.
《习语伙伴》不会收集、追踪或分享你的个人数据。应用可完全离线使用。你收藏的习语
和你写下的笔记，都保存在你的设备上；若你使用 iCloud，则存放在你自己的私人 iCloud
账户中——我们无法访问这些内容。
可选的「AI 查词」：如果你填入自己的 Anthropic API 密钥，你查询的词句会从你的设备
直接发送给 Anthropic（api.anthropic.com）以生成解释，使用的是你自己的密钥，费用也
计入你的账户。我们不会接收或存储这些数据。你的 API 密钥保存在设备的钥匙串（Keychain）
中，除发送给 Anthropic 外绝不外传。Anthropic 如何处理这些请求，请参见其隐私政策。
我们不使用任何分析、广告或追踪工具。
Ratings & Reviews
- This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
Select & copy — press and hold any text on a card to select and copy it: meanings, examples, origins, anything.
Notes — add your own note to any idiom or phrasal verb. Notes save automatically.
Saved list — star an idiom or add a note, and find them all under Saved, now synced across your devices with iCloud.
8 new idioms (1,009 total), including "just peachy," "the unvarnished truth," "over the top," and "not my jam."
选取与复制——长按卡片上的任意文字即可选中并复制：释义、例句、典故，统统可以。
笔记——给任何习语或动词短语添加你自己的笔记，自动保存。
收藏列表——收藏习语或添加笔记，都会归入"收藏"，并通过 iCloud 在你的设备间同步。
新增 8 条习语（共 1,009 条）
The developer, Bruce Foster, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Bruce Foster
- Size
- 12.3 MB
- Category
- Entertainment
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 16.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 16.0 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 16.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 13.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 2026 Bruce Foster