For JCL · NJCL · Regional Certamen

Master Latin.
Win Certamen.

700+ questions spanning Mythology, History, Language, Literature, and Culture — three difficulty levels, instant feedback, and the occasional etymology revelation that makes you say "wait, THAT'S where that word comes from?!"

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⚡ Sample Question · Language · Novice

What Latin verb, meaning "to roll," lives on in the name of a famous Swedish car brand? (Hint: you drive one, or at least you know someone who does.)

VOLVŌ  ·  "I roll"
In Your Pocket

Built for the way you actually study.

On the bus. Between classes. Five minutes before practice. Ubicumque, quandōcumque.

CertamenApp question screen

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One tap. No paywall. No ads pretending to be questions.

Download on the App Store FREE · grātīs
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Tolle, lege. — Take it, read it.

Certamen 101

A 2,000-year-old language.
A very competitive quiz bowl.

Certamen (Latin for "contest") is a fast-paced, Jeopardy-style academic competition where teams race to answer questions about Latin language, Roman history, mythology, and classical culture.

Organized by the Junior Classical League, it's played at school, regional, state, and national levels — with three divisions: Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced.

The problem? Preparing is hard. Flashcards get boring. Textbooks don't simulate the pressure of a tossup question flying at you at 200 words per minute. CertamenApp does.

"When Admetus forgot to make offerings to Artemis on his wedding night, he found his bridal chamber filled with — wait, is that going to be on the test? Yes. Yes it is." — The kind of question CertamenApp will absolutely ask you
Features

Everything you need.
Nothing you don't.

Built by Certamen players, for Certamen players.

📚

711 Questions & Growing

Six categories — Mythology, History, Language, Literature, Culture, and Living Latin — drawn from real tournament banks and original questions written to JCL standards.

Mythologia · Historia · Lingua · more
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Three Difficulty Levels

Novice, Intermediate, Advanced — each with carefully non-overlapping question pools. No easy question sneaking into your Advanced round. Promise.

Novice · Intermedius · Provectus
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Tossup-Style Pressure

Questions reveal word by word, just like a real moderator reading. Buzz in early for a bonus — hesitate and your opponent scores. Real competition feel, zero travel required.

Vēnī, vīdī, vīcī
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Etymology Surprises

Every language question comes with a "did you know?" moment. Discover that salary comes from sal (salt), that disaster means "bad star," and that you've been speaking Latin your whole life without knowing it.

Origō verbōrum
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Track Your Progress

See your accuracy by category, difficulty, and question type. Know exactly whether you need to grind more mythology tossups or finally learn your Roman emperors in order.

Prōgressus tuus
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Tournament-Ready Modes

Simulate a full Certamen round with timed tossups and bonus questions. Solo study or team practice — the app adapts. Show up on tournament day knowing you've already seen worse.

Fortis et parātus
Try It

A taste of what's inside

No sign-up required. Just you and a question.

Language Novice 1 / 5

Answer

711
Questions in bank
6
Categories
3
Difficulty levels
∞
Aha! moments

From the trenches of Certamen practice

I finally understand why 'pecuniary' is about money — it's from pecus, cattle. Latin is the reason half the English dictionary makes sense.

— JCL State qualifier, Virginia

Our whole team uses it before tournaments. The tossup format actually makes you read faster — and buzz at the right moment, not a second too early.

— Advanced team captain, Ohio

I went from blanking on mythology tossups to placing second at regionals. The bonus questions are what really got me — you can't just know the hero, you have to know their whole family tree.

— NJCL national competitor

Ready to discere?

Discere means "to learn" in Latin. It also gave us "discipline," "disciple," and the fact that you're already learning just by reading this sentence.

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