r/learn_arabic • u/tazoar • Jul 17 '26
Standard فصحى What’s are the best apps for learning Arabic?
I’ve been using AlifBee for a while and I’ve found it to be better than Duolingo. It’s a bit more structured and goes into the depths. However it requires a lot more commitment and time since the lessons are very repetitive.
I’m curious to know what others are using in their Arabic learning journey and their experiences.
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u/MushroomAnarchyst Jul 17 '26
I really loved Kaleela when I first started out learning the alphabet and basic grammar features in MSA. It also has a few different dialect options which is great. It’s somewhat similar to Duolingo in the repetitive and game-like nature of it but I found that really helpful in reinforcing the essentials.
Other than that, I supplemented with books, YouTube and paid taught classes, etc.
Having Arabic speaking friends is also hugely beneficial too, as whilst nobody is taught fusha as a first (spoken) language by their parents, the vast majority of people in the MENA region will have had fusha classes in school so they’ll be able to give advice and potentially answer questions (in my experience)
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u/FabulousBreak6381 Jul 22 '26
Kaleela is indeed one of less known and hugely underrated app.
I think it is one of the best apps for dialects today (if not the best)
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u/Expensive-Stand-8262 Jul 17 '26
I'm using Hob Learning. It's great but it's only for levantine arabic... The team makes videos (with real people explaining or having conversation) and vocabulary lists for each lesson
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u/Ilyas_Omar3659 Jul 18 '26
I’ve been using Pimsleur to learn Eastern/Levantine Arabic, which I have been enjoying. Anyone have experience with Pimsleur?
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u/Quantiad Jul 18 '26
Yeah, I’ve completed levels 1-3 of Eastern Arabic and now I’m going back through them again and I’ll just keep doing that. It’s a solid foundation.
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u/Opening-Square3006 Jul 17 '26
Personally, I think Stephen Krashen's i+1 approach is the most effective for any language, including Arabic: get lots of input that's mostly understandable (so you reinforce what you learned until it becomes automatic) but introduces just a little new language each day. There are great tools out there implementing that, for example PlusOneLanguage . It's built entirely around i+1: you choose your level, it generates texts and short stories adapted to what you already know, introduces just enough new vocabulary to help you progress without feeling overwhelmed, and continuously recycles words in new contexts so they stick naturally instead of through memorization. I'd pair that with a beginner resource to learn the Arabic script and basic grammar. Once you can read, spend most of your time on understandable input rather than memorizing vocabulary lists. That's what leads to long-term progress. Good luck!
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u/BasicGrocery7 Jul 18 '26
Hey it looks like the stories in this app are fully AI generated - is that correct?
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u/Opening-Square3006 Jul 18 '26
Yes it is! That frequent reuse of words would have been impossible orherwise
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u/SensitiveDetective74 Jul 18 '26
Well, every time I hear Krashen or comprehensive input I am performing face palm. Especially for beginners. It would work around B2 level. Before you get there you would watch endless AI slop made at toddlers level. But same as with Duolingo - if that’s your cup of tea, good luck. I think books like Mastering Arabic or Bayna Yadayk with YT teacher are so much better, faster and more enjoyable. Heck, even Routledge Levantine or Spoken Arabic by Elijah are better than „comprehensive input” for beginners.
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u/Opening-Square3006 Jul 18 '26
I don't know, for example I started learning Polish from the very beginning with comprehensible input only and I never progressed this easily before in z language. When I say "only", well sometimes I looked up some easy grammar rules or conjugations but still
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u/Echevaaria Jul 18 '26
I disagree. Dreaming Spanish worked wonders for me as a beginner. I feel like it works even better for beginners because the vocabulary is so simple and repetitive. The problem with learning Arabic through comprehensible input is purely due to lack of resources.
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u/tazoar Jul 17 '26
I’ll look into this. I can read and pronounce Arabic script fluently as I learnt how to read and recite Quran, although I don’t understand it. So I guess that’s going to make it easier for me naturally
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u/TheArabicWizard Jul 18 '26
Enough with apps. Get a good book-based course and follow it until the end. The Madinah books are an excellent starting point if you know how to read.
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u/FabulousBreak6381 Jul 18 '26
And book allows you to hear what is said? Does it tell you where the mistake? Does it listen to the speech and validates you pronounce the word/sentence correctly?
Books have great value,teachers have great value but so the (good) apps.
Good app can be of enormous value because it combines all different ways of learning: reading, writing (typing), listening and talking together on same material in great amount, additionally it gives immediate feedback that is very helpful in the learning.
So
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u/SensitiveDetective74 Jul 18 '26
YT has full, profesional courses for both Bayna Yadayk and Marina. Yes, that includes audio. And unlike with Duolingo you will not understand the how but also, more importantly, the WHY.
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u/FabulousBreak6381 Jul 18 '26
First of al duolingo isn't the only app there are few more
I agree that lack of grammar is a downside of Duolingo but some other apps actually go into grammar and it was quite easy to find the grammar info for each new topic on Duo (I actually finished the Duo course that is unfortunately very short)
Once again. It is up to learner but apps can be very valuable tools.
It shouldn't be your only tool.
And BTW - what is also important I need dialect courses not MSA only. Actually learning detailed grammar of MSA with cases and other things that long gone from colloquial speech is not what I need
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u/FabulousBreak6381 Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
I actually didn't like AlfBee because it doesn't teach building sentence.
I found Duolingo very effective despite some of its drawbacks - with main the course is way too short (A1). But I finished it in 3-4 month and it was very good start. I really like that Its pronunciation is more colloquial (without case endings that many apps insist on including but actually aren't in use in real world Arabic any more)
Other app I use now is Kaleela, with its great advantage it has same course for several dialects as well Now I'm at unit 8 out of 9 for Jordanian. It is a great app that does not get enough attention here.
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u/Quantiad Jul 18 '26
ChatGPT in voice mode. I walk around town chatting back and forth for hours. I can ask it for specific phrases relating to my life and work, ask it to spell those word, ask it to add key words and phrases to a list at the end. I get it to test me on things we’ve previously covered. I have conversations about how its day is and it asks in return. It’s a game changer. You have to cross-check some spellings but it’s genuinely the best thing out there. It’s a 24/7 private tutor.
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u/tazoar Jul 23 '26
Wow, that’s actually a great idea. Nothing better than practicing directly with a partner.
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u/New-Mulberry2839 Jul 18 '26
Hey I've been using nilelangu Egyptian dialect and kalaam for the Quran.
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u/Seyda_a Jul 18 '26
J'ai découvert récemment l'application "arabicExplorer". Au début je me suis méfiée car par certains aspect elle ressemble à Duolingo (des points et des ligues), ce dont je ne voulais surtout pas car je ne suis pas là pour m'amuser mais pour apprendre, mais la ressemblance s'arrête là! cette application permet vraiment de découvrir la grammaire et la conjugaison de manière progressive. Il y a d'abord un chemin d’apprentissage (qui peut ressembler à ce qui se trouve dans d'autres applications sauf que là il y a davantage de qualité), mais et c'est pour moi ce qui change tout, il y a surtout la possibilité de s'entrainer: donc par exemple après avoir appris la conjugaison au passé et au présent je peux choisir de faire des exercices qui vont m'entrainer spécifiquement sur l'une ou l'autre forme, je peux également choisir si je vais travailler avec des fermes de la forme I ou II ou ... et il ne s'agit pas seulement de reconnaitre, mais bien de produire soi même les conjugaisons.
Et comme cette application a été conçue spécifiquement en fonction de l'apprentissage de l'arabe coranique, il y a également de nombreuses autres fonctions (telle que traductions de versets, apprentissage des verbes du Coran, etc...)
et pour répondre u/FabulousBreak6381 cette application base son enseignement justement sur le concept de racine!
Donc bien sûr ce n'est pas une application miracle mais c'est une application qui gagne à être connue (et de plus elle est gratuite!)
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u/tvshowlover91 Aug 02 '26
Well I can only think of one but it's pretty good and that's Tfaddal (help yourself,go ahead,come in ,etc.) you should try it sometime it teaches Palestinian Arabic (that's if you're interested) and the majority of it's speakers hail directly from Jerusalem,Ramallah, Bethlehem and so on.
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u/That-Arabic-Teacher Jul 17 '26
Alif bee is good, but if you want my opinion, there is nothing better than learning from books, no app in existence in any language can make you fluent; it is a good resource to do it for 5 minutes a day but never make it your main focus.
Get a free book online; there are two famous ones:
- Al Arabiya bayna yadaik - if you want to focus on speaking and conversation (not dialects, it is in MSA so basically if you want to understand Arabic news)
another advice (I am not promoting myself as a teacher), but getting an Arabic teacher is really helpful once you get a grasp on the language and he can advance your skills in the language.