Telegram’s mini-app ecosystem has a new entrant aimed at everyday utility rather than games or trading. WORD, built by a team led by entrepreneur Roxman, delivers swipe-based language lessons directly inside Telegram, removing the need for a separate download or account.
The product packages short prompts—vocabulary, characters and phrases—into card-style exercises with XP and streak mechanics. Courses are user-generated but moderated before publication. Approved authors can earn Telegram Stars, the messenger’s in-app currency, creating a built-in incentive for higher-quality content.
Roxman previously created Major, a Telegram project that evolved from a ranking game into a platform with an on-chain marketplace and an account-verification system. As a signal of long-term intent for WORD, the team acquired the @word handle from Telegram founder Pavel Durov for more than $35,000, according to the project.
The launch comes after a 2024 wave of crypto-adjacent mini-apps on Telegram drew tens of millions of monthly users before interest cooled. WORD’s pitch targets a different use case: fitting short study sessions into the gaps of daily chat behavior rather than asking users to commit to a standalone app.
WORD runs as a Telegram mini-app at t.me/word