Hacker News: mparas

New comment by mparas in "Ask HN: What are you working on? (April 2026) (Non AI)"

mparas — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:32:36 +0000

I am building Sensonym (https://sensonym.com), a vocabulary learning app that uses phone sensors (gyroscope, camera, mic, accelerometer) to tie physical interactions to words. For example, you tilt your phone like a glass to learn "drink", shake your phone to learn "earthquake", charge it to learn "eat". The idea is that these associations help improve recall.

I've just launched it on iOS and Android in Germany with support for 10 languages. Happy to receive any feedback

New comment by mparas in "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (April 2026)"

mparas — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 15:59:24 +0000

Thanks! I agree!

New comment by mparas in "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (April 2026)"

mparas — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 14:11:58 +0000

Building Sensonym (https://sensonym.com), a vocabulary learning app that uses phone sensors (gyroscope, camera, mic, accelerometer) to create physical interactions tied to word meanings. Based on embodied cognition research. I've just launched it on iOS and Android in Germany with support for 10 languages.

New comment by mparas in "Ask HN: Please restrict new accounts from posting"

mparas — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 12:19:35 +0000

I understand that something needed to be done. Still can't help but say that it's a pity. A blanket ban on new users posting doesn't seem right. There are many people like me who "followed" HN for a long time, but then decided to create an account recently to post and ask for feedback, only to see the submission get blocked.

New comment by mparas in "What's your biggest challenge as a founder?"

mparas — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 08:22:40 +0000

1. Distribution 2. Splitting time between family, day job, and building the product.

New comment by mparas in "Ask HN: What career will you switch to when AI replaces developers?"

mparas — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 17:05:48 +0000

What my parents always wanted - work for the government

New comment by mparas in "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (March 2026)"

mparas — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 11:48:54 +0000

Working on Sensonym (https://sensonym.com), a language learning app that teaches vocabulary through physical phone interactions. Shake your phone to learn "earthquake," blow on it for "wind," smile for "happiness." Nearly 40 different interaction types using accelerometer, gyroscope, camera face detection, microphone, etc.

Built with React Native/Expo. The hardest part hasn't been the sensor code, but rather designing interactions that feel natural rather than gimmicky. Each word needs to map to a physical action that actually reinforces the meaning. Solo dev, live in German app stores now. Previously co-founded another language learning startup (Sylby, partnered with Goethe Institute), so this is take two with a very different approach.