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One of the happiest countries in the world, Norway is a stunning place known for its frosty weather, breathtaking fjords, and—of course—the majestic Northern Lights.
Whether you’re there for travel, work, or study, there’s always a good reason to break the ice and start learning Norwegian!
One of the best apps to study a new language is Rosetta Stone, known for its fun, self-paced courses—though sadly, they don’t teach Norwegian as of now. In this article, we’ll explore your possible alternatives:
What is Rosetta Stone and why look for an alternative?
What is Rosetta Stone?
With its bite-sized tutorials and exercises, the Rosetta Stone app is prepared to teach anyone a new language. Instead of relying on memorization, it routinely exposes you to real-life scenarios and helps you learn in context.
In fact, it’s got mobile-exclusive features—such as in-app courses, an extensive phrasebook, engaging stories, live lessons, and an expert audio companion—which are available for offline use, and can be customized into a plan of your liking!
Overall, Rosetta Stone is readily equipped to help users achieve their language learning goals. If you’re the type to curate your lessons for business, travel, or leisure, this app will definitely meet your needs!
Why look for an alternative?
However, while Rosetta Stone is pretty great in itself, it isn’t perfect—just like any other language platform.
On one hand, it only has 25 courses at the moment, which doesn’t include Norwegian. On the other, every language learner has their own preferences, so what works for others might not work for you.
That being said, since Rosetta Stone currently lacks a Norwegian course, you might want to check out some alternative apps instead:
Apps to learn Norwegian other than Rosetta Stone
While you can’t learn Norwegian on Rosetta Stone, there are other, similar courses out there that make up for this! With complete lessons, games, and quizzes in store, these Norwegian learning apps will get you up and about:
1. Babbel
It only takes 10 minutes a day to get started with Babbel! Immersive in approach, what you’ll get is a well-curated, expertly designed platform that will level up your studies.
A holistic language platform, Babbel contains a wide range of learning material—such as in-app courses, games, speech recognition technology, and a handy review manager—that’ll suit any kind of student.
On top of that, its Norwegian audio accompaniments are recorded by native speakers to give you an authentic learning experience. All in all, this app’s a done deal—one that’ll surely get you past the beginner level!
Learn more about Babbel with our in-depth review.
Key features:
- Short and dynamic lessons (lasting between 10-15 minutes)
- Wide array of course content
- Prepares you for intermediate-level study
2. Pimsleur
Study on the go! Like Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur also comes with a hands-free mode for quick and convenient use—the kind that’ll get you speaking on the first day!
Through its daily 30-minute audio lessons, you’ll gradually understand colloquial Norwegian and learn to speak like a local! Based on the acclaimed Pimsleur Method, this app develops your conversation skills through systematic intervals, which helps you recall important words and phrases.
What’s more, it includes digital flashcards, quizzes, and speed round games to drill-in core vocabulary and grammar rules!
Check out our review of Pimsleur to see how this app can help you ace Norwegian.
Key features:
- 30-minute audio lessons (based on the Pimsleur Method)
- Hands-free mode for your convenience
- Builds your speaking and listening skills
3. Mondly
Need an all-in-one platform that’ll teach you how to read, write, and speak Norwegian? Well, Mondly is your guy!
In just 10 minutes a day, its light and interactive lessons will get you through the basics of Norwegian vocabulary and grammar. With courses that span multiple levels, high-quality audio recordings, and a hands-free integration to boot, this app will certainly prepare you for real life!
I suppose, if you’re missing Rosetta Stone’s versatility, then Mondly would make an amazing—if not close—alternative, given its abundance of Norwegian learning resources!
This Mondly review has all the deets, if you want to know more.
Key features:
- Quick, game-like lessons on conversational topics
- Has beginner, intermediate, and advanced-level courses
- Audio recorded by native speakers
Other great resources to learn Norwegian
To study comprehensively, these apps are best paired with other resources. There are plenty of good games, websites, and books to learn Norwegian that will top up your lessons, like these:
Cudoo: Gain new vocabulary, learn how to form sentences, and acquire a better understanding of Norwegian culture with Cudoo’s Norwegian courses. These courses are self-paced and come with certificates!
uTalk: uTalk keeps things simple by focusing on practical, everyday Norwegian through native-speaker audio and interactive games. Instead of heavy grammar, you’ll master essential phrases using visual cues and memory-based challenges designed to get you speaking and listening immediately.
The Mystery of Nils: A popular beginner’s book, The Mystery of Nils tells the story of a doll (named “Nils”) while incorporating key vocabulary, tutorials, and assessments throughout the reading. It’s one of the best places to start!
Glossika: This app skips the grammar drills and focuses on how people actually speak. You’ll practice Norwegian by listening to and repeating thousands of native-spoken sentences, using spaced repetition to help the rhythm and flow stick naturally without boring memorization.
Setti i Gang: This book gets down to business by integrating core lessons with Norwegian culture, giving you a holistic learning experience! Academic in nature, it’s mostly used in classrooms (though you can check out its website for additional content).
LingChat: This innovative app helps you shake off that “fear of speaking” by chatting with quirky AI characters or real language partners. It feels more like a global hangout than a classroom, using real-time feedback and smart tools to make Norwegian conversation feel natural.
italki: italki is a place where you can easily find Norwegian tutors at affordable rates. Upon matching with an instructor, you can frequently schedule 1-on-1 sessions on the italki Virtual Classroom and/or Skype! Alternatively, look for Norwegian teachers on Preply.
Udemy: Udemy is a marketplace where different instructors offer self-paced Norwegian video courses. From absolute beginner basics to advanced grammar, you can pick a teaching style that clicks with you and enjoy lifetime access to learn whenever you want.
Anki: Anki is a flashcard app where you can view and download other users’ pre-made decks. This one, in particular, contains basic Norwegian expressions, as well as 2,000 beginner to advanced-level sentences—complete with audio samples!
Mango Languages: Get talking with Mango Languages! Apart from having a speech-recording feature, it also color-codes its grammar tutorials so that you can observe speech patterns with ease.
Conclusion
Through the years, Rosetta Stone has become a well-renowned language platform. In essence, the app features a broad assortment of lessons, exercises, and resources that motivate you to keep learning.
And yet, despite how popular it is, there is still no Rosetta Stone Norwegian course at this time. So, if you’re itching to start your studies (or are looking for a platform that better meets your needs), then never fear—because you’ve got a lot of alternatives at hand!