Word House is a 3D house that opens in the browser, with 10 areas and 84 everyday object words. A child taps the sofa, the kettle or the cow to see phonetics, a definition and an example sentence and to hear it spoken, then checks what stuck with a treasure hunt and a listen-and-pick quiz. It is free, needs no download or sign-up, keeps progress only in the local browser, and is open source under the MIT licence.
I once pointed at the kettle in our kitchen and asked my child for the English word. He thought for a long time — yet he had spelled kettle correctly on a word list the day before. Words on paper and things at home can be two separate worlds for a child. So I built a small 3D house and stuck the words straight onto the objects. That is Word House.
1. Why seeing the object beats seeing a translation
A word list is built as English next to a translation. What the child actually stores is a link between two pieces of text, not a link between the word and a real thing. Faced with the real kettle, they first have to think of the word in their own language and then hunt for the English — one step too many.
Young children learn their first language the other way round: point at the thing, hear the sound, repeat a few times. Word House does one simple job — it moves that process onto a screen, so the object, the sound and the spelling appear together.
2. What is inside
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Scenes | 10 areas: front yard, living room, kitchen, entrance and stairs, bathroom, upstairs hallway, bedroom, study, kids' room and a backyard farm |
| Words | 84 things a child sees every day, such as sofa, kettle and mailbox, plus a cow, a pig and a sheep on the farm |
| Word card | Phonetics, part of speech, a child-friendly English definition and an example sentence; both the word and the sentence can be read aloud |
| Interface languages | Simplified Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, Thai and Traditional Chinese |
| Cost and account | Free, nothing to download, no sign-up; progress stays in the browser on that device |
Drag to look around and tap whatever you see. Each new word earns a star; find every word in a room and you get that room's sticker.
3. Two mini-games that check what stuck
Tapping around is quickly finished, and it tells you little about what was remembered. So the house has two games:
- Treasure hunt. Every label in the room turns into a question mark, the page reads a word aloud, and the child has to find that object. Switch on sound-only mode and even the spelling is hidden.
- Listen and pick. Hear a word and choose one of three pictures. It is easier than the hunt and good for the first days; it does not need 3D, so older devices can run it.
4. How to use it together: one room at a time
- Day one, explore a single room. Let the child tap freely and do not rush. When a card opens, reading the example sentence along with them is enough.
- Day two, start with that room's treasure hunt. Words they can find are learned; for the ones they miss, go back to the card and listen twice more.
- Then walk into the real house. Go to the kitchen, point at the real kettle and ask again. This is the step that matters most: it connects the screen word back to life.
- Keep the streak. The page counts consecutive days. Five minutes a day does more than half an hour at the weekend.
All 84 words are household objects, which fits beginners up to the early primary years. A child with a year or two of English will find it easy and can go straight to the subject vocabulary levels.
5. The limits, up front
- Speech comes from the device's built-in English voice, not a recorded human. On some devices it sounds mechanical; you can pick another voice below the word list.
- There is no account. No sign-up and no data uploaded, but progress starts over on a different device.
- Only 84 words, and the house and furniture are built from code, so everything looks a little boxy.
6. It is open source — swap in your own words
Word House is written with Three.js and plain JavaScript. There is no backend, and the build is a single HTML file that runs on any static host. The code is on GitHub under the MIT licence. Parents who code can replace the words with the ones their child is learning, or turn the house into a supermarket or a zoo.
7. In short
For a young child, vocabulary should not be a list. It should be things they can point at and name. Word House does only that. Open it, play, and afterwards point at the same things in your real home.
Frequently asked questions
What age is Word House for?
Beginners up to the early primary years. All 84 words are household objects, so a child with a year or two of English will find it easy.
Do I need to download anything or sign up?
Neither. It is a web page that opens in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer. It is free and has no accounts.
Is progress kept if I switch devices?
No. Stars, stickers and the daily streak are stored only in the current browser and never uploaded, so a new device or cleared browser data starts over.
Can I replace the words with my own?
Yes. The code is open source on GitHub under the MIT licence, and the README explains how to add words and scenes. Some front-end knowledge is needed.