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Best Apps to Learn a New Language

Effective communication is an important life skill that enables us to better understand and connect with the people around us. Don't let language barriers stand in your way.

Best Apps to Learn Any Language

Have fun while you learn with these apps offering multiple languages. The most complete, educational, and enjoyable apps for learners of all levels from beginner to advanced.

Duolingo - Language Lessons

Duolingo

For those who want a fun method of learning a new language.

Duolingo teaches you Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and more in a fun learning environment. In a game setting, you can level up and compete with friends as you learn a new language. The app has a casual yet upbeat feel to it and is top tier choice.

Why we love it

If you are interested in learning a new language, look no further than the colorful and fun Duolingo.

Busuu: Language Learning

Busuu Limited

For those who want a language teaching app with practice lessons and support for Apple Watch.

With over 10 languages to choose from, learn a new dialect with Busuu. The app offers lessons to practice what you learn with speaking and pronunciation, grammar and spelling, and listening and memory. You can learn offline, test yourself with quizzes and games, and use the app on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

Why we love it

Learn a new language at your own pace and then test your knowledge with practice lessons and quizzes with Busuu.

Drops: Language Learning Games

PLANB LABS OU

For those who want a language teaching app with visual learning and game-like practice lessons.

Drops helps you learn a new language in just minutes a day. If you enjoy a visual experience, gamified practice lessons, and are ready to swipe your way into learning to speak a different language, check out Drops.

Why we love it

Drops gives you words and topics you will use every day as you learn that new language.

Save the Alliance and learn a new language

Memrise Easy Language Learning

Learn a new language and play a game at the same time

With the Memrise: Learn Languages app, you can choose from a wide range of languages including French, Spanish, German, Chinese, and Italian. In the introduction, you learn about a tyrant force that wants to overthrow the Alliance and enforce uniformity throughout the galaxy. You can stop them, but only by learning a new language. That's where the fun behind language learning comes in, as the app turns a task that many find onerous and boring into a fun game. As you embark on your language-learning adventure, you'll take on education in bite-sized chunks. Each day, you'll have a goal to complete. Memrise is more like a game than an educational app for adults. It turns your learning into an adventure. Uncover missions, reach goals, and earn rewards. As you progress, you'll find the words of your new language sticking in your head better than you ever thought they would.

Why we love it

Memrise has a great selection of languages to choose from. In total, here are 77 languages you can choose from, ranging from Afrikaans to Zulu (and plenty in between). I decided to take on Japanese and Polish. You begin with simple phrases like hello, yes, no, please, and thank you. From there, you'll move on to other essential phrases. The topics include general greetings and responses, emotions, food, places and things, and handy phrases. While the Memrise app is free, it does have its limitations. You can only complete so many topics before the recruits get tired and go to sleep. Then you have to wait a few hours to continue your language-learning journey. If you want a more personalized learning experience, you can purchase Memrise Pro to get native speakers helping you learn, the ability to target difficult words so you'll always remember them, and a speed review game mode to hone your reflexes. The only real problem with this app is that it asks you to spell words without focusing at all on the alphabet. Understanding why a word is spelled the way it is can make a huge difference in learning that spelling, especially for languages that use diacritics (accent marks and so forth) in their alphabet.

Rosetta Stone: Learn Languages

Rosetta Stone, Ltd.

For those interested in learning a new language with a trusted tool.

Learn Language with Rosetta Stone is a popular and reliable method for learning a new language. Choose from over 24 dialects from Spanish to German to Chinese. You will listen, read, and speak your way through the training with lessons based on everyday scenarios. You can sync with your devices to stay on top of lessons from anywhere and use the app offline when you are without internet.

Why we love it

When you are ready to learn a new language or brush up on one, check out Learn Language with Rosetta Stone.

Translator Apps

If you need something translated, these apps do the work for you, so they are handy to have while traveling.

Dictionary and Reference Apps

Use these apps as a handy reference tool and translator or as a fun way to learn new words.

SpanishDictionary.com Learning

Curiosity Media

For those looking for a Spanish to English dictionary and translation app.

Spanish Translator and Dictionary is a handy tool with great features for auto-suggestions, audio pronunciations, and offline word lookups. You can easily keep track of favorite words, learn a new one each day, and enjoy the text translation option as well.

Why we love it

Spanish Translator and Dictionary is a terrific Spanish to English dictionary and translation app for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

Instantly know what that Asian sign says

Waygo - Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Translator

For anyone who needs to translate a sign or page with Chinese, Japanese, or Korean characters on it.

Have you ever come across something in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean on something and you just have to know what it says? With Waygo, you just snap a photo and the app will translate it for you! It couldn't be any easier. It also has an offline database so that you don't even need an internet connection when you need a translation. It's perfect for those times when you go to an Asian market or restaurant, or even overseas.

Why we love it

There are plenty of times when we come across Asian characters and we just must know what it says. This app is perfect for those times, and it's invaluable to have.

For those who want to speak Bulgarian

Bulgarian Dictionary +

If you're traveling to Bulgaria or have to converse with a Bulgarian, this app makes it easy.

Bulgarian Dictionary + is a handy reference when you need to know Bulgarian. Translate Bulgarian to English and vice versa with this app and the extensive database of vocabulary.

Why we love it

This app makes it super easy to look up a word in Bulgarian and understand what it means in English and vice versa.

For those times you need to speak Italian

Italian Dictionary +

For anyone who wants to speak Italian or is traveling to Italy.

Italian Dictionary + lets users translate Italian to English and vice versa. Never be lost again when traveling to Italy or speaking with an Italian speaker. There is an extensive database of words.

Why we love it

Italian is a beautiful language and this app makes learning it easy.

Translate Free - Language Translator & Dictionary

myLanguage

For those who want a dictionary and translation app for a variety of languages.

Translate Free offers a dictionary in addition to translation features for an all-encompassing tool. The app supports over 50 languages, works offline, and lets you search your translation history. Available for both iPhone and iPad, the app is clean and intuitive.

Why we love it

Translate Free is a terrific app that works offline, so when you are traveling abroad, conversations in another language can happen instantly.