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Do you want to learn Urdu? That’s exciting news! Having largely contributed to literature, poetry, art, and calligraphy through the years, this language has much to offer for students and travelers alike.
Unfortunately, Urdu isn’t being offered on top platforms like Duolingo, Babbel, and Rosetta Stone at the moment—so, if anything, you might want to look into some alternatives.
The good thing, however, is that you’ve got so many to choose from! Instead of a Duolingo Urdu course, you can get started today with these top-notchers.
Why is there no Urdu on Duolingo?
Despite being the 20th most populous language in the world, Urdu isn’t a featured course on the Duolingo.
Since they haven’t issued an official statement on the matter, we conducted our own investigation to determine why this is the case:
There are similarities between Urdu and Hindi
According to some linguists, Urdu and Hindi are mutually intelligible. Having originated from the Indo-Aryans, both have similar phonologies and grammar rules.
For this reason, Duolingo might have been dissuaded from making a separate Urdu course.
However, Urdu uses a Perso-Arabic script (Nastaliq), while Hindi uses Sanskrit (Devanagari)—so, the two languages could still be differentiated based on their contrasting writing systems, vocabularies, and cultural influences.
It could be hard to teach
The U.S. Foreign Service Institute (FSI) has given Urdu a Category III or “hard” language rating, due to its significant differences from English. This is likely because of its unique writing system, as well as its complex grammar and vocabulary.
That being said, Urdu probably isn’t on Duolingo since it could be difficult for them to teach, let alone adapt to mini-games.
But on the contrary, Duolingo has taught different writing systems before (like Hiragana and Katakana or Hangeul), so teaching Nastaliq shouldn’t be that far off.
There are not enough Urdu contributors on their team
In 2021, Duolingo ended its volunteer contributor program—meaning that they’ll only work with in-house professionals, moving forward.
With that, Urdu Duolingo is possibly on hold because they don’t have native speakers and/or experts on their team at the moment. In order for a good course to come out, I suppose they must first get the right people involved.
Apps to learn Urdu other than Duolingo
Although Duolingo Urdu is currently unavailable, you can still find interactive lessons (and more) on other Urdu learning apps! Check out our top picks:
1. Mondly
Whether it’s grammar, vocabulary, or pronunciation that you want to take up, Mondly’s surely got you covered!
Known for its bite-sized tutorials, high-quality audio, and easy mini-games, this app has an impressive range of Urdu learning materials that you just ought to take advantage of.
Apart from using interactive, multi-level courses to teach the language, it also integrates a competitive leaderboard system that both assesses your skills and boosts your morale.
To top it all off, it has a special hands-free feature that lets you speak into your phone and practice speaking Urdu on the go!
Check out this in-depth Mondly review for more details.
Key features:
- Short and stimulating Urdu lessons
- Includes beginner, intermediate, and advanced-level courses
- Hands-free integration
Also read: Mondly vs Duolingo: A Comparative Guide for Language Learners
2. Pimsleur
Try Pimsleur Urdu absolutely FREE today!
Pimsleur is a well-known app that helps you learn Urdu quickly and effectively. It immerses you in the Urdu language, helping you to speak and understand it with ease.
Pimsleur’s Urdu Level 1 is designed for beginner students and contains 30 daily audio lessons. The course is comprehensive and practical, taking you through day-to-day situations and aiding your comprehension of them. By the end of the course, you’ll have gained basic fluency in Urdu.
In addition to the audio lessons, Pimsleur also offers flashcards and speed round games to help you learn Urdu vocabulary. The app lets you learn grammar in context, and the words and phrases are recorded by a native speaker, allowing you to hear native pronunciation and accent.
Find out more with this comprehensive Pimsleur review. Better yet, try it FREE!
Key features:
- Audio lessons that train your conversational skills
- Learn useful Urdu words and phrases
- Highly useful for learning correct pronunciation and accent
3. uTalk
Ditch the dry textbooks and jump straight into the fun stuff with uTalk!
This app is all about building a massive Urdu word bank through addictive, level-based games. You won’t find any boring grammar lectures here; instead, you’ll tackle over 2,500 essential words and phrases across 60 practical topics, including travel, food, and social phrases.
The experience is incredibly authentic, featuring native speaker audio in both male and female voices for every entry. As the games get progressively harder, you’ll find yourself naturally absorbing vocabulary without the usual study stress. It’s a straightforward, effective way to sharpen your listening and speaking skills while mastering the words you’ll actually use in daily conversation.
Key features:
- Extensive topic library for vocabulary-building
- Native speaker audio featuring male and female voices
- Game-based learning
Other great resources to learn Urdu
Along with an app, combining different Urdu study materials—such as Urdu learning books, websites, and online tutorials—will help improve your skills quickly!
italki: Get talking on italki, an online tutoring website! Here, you can choose between community and professional teachers, arrange classes, and get personal assistance with your lessons.
Preply: With almost 300 Urdu tutors on Preply, you’ll definitely find one who can meet your requirements and fit your schedule as well. Even better, sessions can go for as low as $5! Highly recommended for improving your conversational skills.
Beginning Urdu: This audio-accompanied textbook is designed for first-year
Urdu students. Academic in nature, it’ll teach you the basics of reading, writing, and speaking the language.
Mango Languages: Mango Languages teaches Urdu through “Intuitive Language Construction,” using color-coded patterns to help you grasp vocabulary, grammar, and culture naturally. It breaks down real-world conversations into building blocks, making it easy to understand how sentences are actually put together.
Talkpal: This app uses a GPT-powered AI to teach Urdu through immersive, real-time chats. You’ll practice speaking and listening while getting instant corrections on your grammar and pronunciation, making it feel like a natural conversation.
UrduPod101: UrduPod101 is loaded with audio and video material to keep your studies interesting! Not only does the app let you stream and download media files, but it likewise comes with voice-recording features to help train your speech.
Cudoo: Learn how to introduce yourself, your occupation, interests, and many more in Urdu. Cudoo offers Urdu courses in three learning levels, plus a Business Urdu course, and a bundle that includes all four courses. These self-paced courses also offer lots of cultural insights and come with certificates!
Let’s Study Urdu: Let’s Study Urdu is a two-part series that’s simply a must-read! “An Introduction to the Script” develops your reading and writing skills, while “An Introductory Course” exposes you to technical grammar concepts.
Verbix: Learn grammar on the go! You can use this nifty website to conjugate Urdu verbs.
Forvo: Are you having trouble saying some Urdu words and phrases? Well, this neat online pronunciation dictionary is just the right tool for you! Simply look up the word in question and listen to its corresponding audio.
Simply Learn Urdu: Besides being a handy travel phrasebook, Simply Learn Urdu is also a stellar learning companion! It’s equipped with playful flashcards, enticing review quizzes, and audio support to keep you informed, challenged, and entertained while studying Urdu.
Urdu TED Talks: Love TED Talks? Luckily, this website comes with Urdu transcripts and subtitles to accompany your favorite videos.
Conclusion
It’s a shame that Duolingo doesn’t have an Urdu course to this day.
But, in any case, you can always find resources elsewhere—just like these three best apps to learn Urdu! With their playful activities and features, for certain, you’ll get lessons that resemble the Duolingo experience.
Duolingo alternatives for learning Urdu – Pin it!
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