9 Best Apps to Learn Indonesian: Learn Quickly at Home
Chad Emery
Published on October 20, 2021
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Finding ways to learn Indonesian online can be difficult. There are a lot of resources available, but not all of them teach you the language effectively. To help you save time and energy, We’ve compiled a list of the best apps to learn Indonesian. By using the apps on this list, you can go from complete beginner to conversational in no time!
There are a lot of reasons to learn Indonesian (or Bahasa Indonesia). In addition to being one of the most spoken languages in the world, the Indonesian language is important in business, tourism and hospitality, politics, and culture. By learning to speak it, you’ll be able to interact with over 270 million people across Indonesia, as well as other countries like Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore.
What Are The Best Apps To Learn Indonesian?
To choose the apps on this list, I tested several different Indonesian language apps. Each one offers something unique, and the apps on this list stand out from all other language apps for specific reasons. These apps allow you to grow your vocabulary quickly and understand difficult grammar topics. Some have complete courses to guide you and others are more flexible and let you focus on what you want to learn.
The table below shows you the best Indonesian language apps and why they made the list. By using these apps, you can learn Indonesian quickly and effectively.
| Best Overall App to Learn Indonesian | ||||
| Best Indonesian App for Beginners | ||||
| Best Indonesian App for Grammar | ||||
| Best App to Find Indonesian Tutors | ||||
| Best Indonesian App to Practice Pronunciation | ||||
| Best App to Improve Listening Skills | ||||
| Best Indonesian Flashcard App | ||||
| Best Vocabulary App for Indonesian | ||||
| Best Free Indonesian App |
Mondly
Best Overall App to Learn Indonesian
Mondly helps you learn the basics of Indonesian, and that’s what makes it a fantastic choice for beginners. The lessons are short and you can complete them in whatever order you want. This lets you focus on learning the topics that are important to you.
The reason Mondly stands out from other Indonesian apps is the way it tracks your progress. It can be overwhelming when you start learning a language. Mondly helps you stay motivated by showing you how much you’ve learned. Try Mondly for free by clicking the link below or learn more about it in this Mondly review.
Key Features
- Short and simple lessons
- Learn the basics of Indonesian quickly
- Track your progress in the app
- Focus on the topics you want to learn
Pricing
A Mondly subscription costs $9.99 per month. You can also choose a longer subscription to get a discount. If you want to try Mondly before subscribing, you can access the first few lessons of every course for free. This will help you decide if this app is the right choice for you.
Pimsleur
Best Indonesian App for Beginners
If you want to focus on improving your speaking skills in Indonesian, Pimsleur is an excellent option. The course is completly audio-based and each lesson breaks down a conversation between native speakers into bite-sized lessons. You listen to native speakers pronounce the words, and then you repeat what they said
The lessons cover everyday topics like going to the grocery store, small talk, and meeting new people. Pimsleur is one of the most popular language apps around, and that’s because it works. Try Pimsleur for free by clicking the link below or learn more about it in this Pimsleur review.
Key Features
- Audio lessons you can listen to anywhere
- Start speaking in your first lesson
- Build on what you’ve already learned
- Lessons are short (less than 30 minutes)
Pricing
A subscription to the Pimsleur Indonesian course costs $14.99 per month. If you want access to all of Pimsleur’s language courses, you can pay $20.99 per month. If you prefer to pay upfront for the Indonesian course, you can buy it with a one-time payment of $119.95. Pimsleur also lets you try before you buy with a free 7-day trial.
Babbel
Best Indonesian App for Grammar
Babbel is the best overall app to learn Indonesian because it has a complete Indonesian course. It also helps you improve all of your communication skills, like reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
One reason I prefer Babbel is that each course is designed for the individual language. For example, the Spanish course is completely different from the Indonesian course. A lot of language apps create one course and translate it into different languages, which isn’t helpful. Babbel’s method allows you to learn more about Indonesian culture while you learn the language.
Try Babbel for free by clicking the link below or learn more about it in this Babbel review.
Key Features
- In-depth Indonesian course
- Lessons are easy to follow
- Practice communication skills
- Study whenever you want
Pricing
It costs $14.95 for a monthly subscription to Babbel. You can get a discount if you buy a longer subscription. Babbel also offers a 20-day money-back guarantee if you aren’t happy with the course, so it’s worth a try.
italki
Best App to Find Indonesian Tutors
Practicing with a native speaker is the best way to learn a language. And italki helps connect you with over 90 Indonesian tutors who are happy to practice with you. You can filter turtors by languages they speak, availability, price, and more. This helps you find the perfect tutor for you.
I like italki because it’s a reputable platform and it’s safe and secure to use. Your payments are always protected, and italki approves every tutor. Try italki for free by clicking the link below or learn more about it in this italki review.
Key Features
- Safe and secure platform
- Easily find an Indonesian tutor that’s right for you
- Customized lessons
Pricing
The tutors on italki set their own prices for lessons. Indonesian lessons usually range from around $5.00 to $10.00 per hour. You can also take discounted trial lessons with a few different tutors to see which one you like the most. Trial lessons start as low as $1.00 per hour.
Preply
Best Indonesian App to Practice Pronunciation
Preply is an online tutor platform that’s similar to italki. There are over 80 Indonesian tutors available, and you can filter them by different characteristics like price, where they’re from, and availability.
Preply also offers some additional filters. You can choose tutors that specialize in Business Indonesian, Indonesian Literature, and Conversational or Intensive Indonesian. For this reason, Preply may be a better choice than italki if you want to improve specific skills, like pronunciation. Try Preply for free by clicking the link below or learn more about it in this Preply review.
Key Features
- Choose tutors based on their speciality
- Preply guarantees you enjoy you first lesson (or your next one is free)
- The platform is well-known and trustworthy
Pricing
Indonesian tutors set their own prices on Preply, which ranges from $2.00 to $15.00 per hour. The average price for online Indonesian lessons is around $9.00 per hour.
IndonesianPod101
Best App to Improve Listening Skills
If you want to improve your listening skills in Indonesian, it’s worth checking out IndonesianPod101. There are thousands of different audio and video lessons that cover a lot of different topics you’ll encounter in everyday life. There are also new lessons added every week.
IndonesianPod101 is useful because it has so many different lessons. Finding entertaining content in a foreign language can be difficult, but IndonesianPod101 makes it easier.
Key Features
- Thousands of lessons available
- New lessons every week
- Study at your own pace
Pricing
A basic subscription to IndonesianPod101 costs between $4.00 to $8.00 per month. There are also Premium and Premium+ subscriptions available, which include more additional features. If you want to try IndonesianPod101 before subscribing, you can try a 7-day free trial.
Rasa Bahasa
Best Indonesian Flashcard App
Rasa Bahasa is one of the best apps to learn Indonesian if you like studying with flashcards. It has over 30 different categories of words and phrases, and the flashcards have both Indonesian and English translations of the vocabulary.
One reason Rasa Bahasa stands out from other flashcard apps, like Memrise, is the cultural aspect. It includes different cultural contexts for the vocabulary, which will help you communicate more clearly with native Indonesian speakers.
Key Features
- Study over 30 different categories of vocabulary
- Learn Indonesian culture while you practice
- Create your own Indonesian flashcards
- Play different games to help you learn
Pricing
The Rasa Bahasa app is free to use, so it’s worth a try!
Drops
Best Vocabulary App for Indonesian
To become conversational in any language, you need to learn a lot of vocabulary. Most apps offer a little bit of everything (vocabulary, grammar, conversation practice), but Drops focuses exclusively on vocabulary. It’s excellent to help you learn new words and phrases quickly.
I love using Drops to learn vocabulary because each word or phrase has an illustration that helps you remember it. You can also choose if you only want to see Indonesian or if you want to see a translation of the word, as well. To help you remember words long-term, Drops has you play a bunch of different games. They’re easy, fun, and most importantly, they work.
Try Drops for free by clicking the link below or learn more about it in this Drops review.
Key Features
- Fun games help you learn words quickly
- Vocabulary lists are useful
- Great complement to other languages courses
- Track how many words you’ve learned
Pricing
Drops has a free and premium version. The free version lets you study for 5 minutes everyday. The premium version, which costs $13.00 per month, lets you study for as long as you want. You can also access additional features like enhanced review and additional vocabulary lists.
Duolingo
Best Free Indonesian App
If you’re just starting to learn Indonesian, you may not want to invest any money into a language app yet. That’s why Duolingo is a good place to start – it’s completely free!
Duolingo has a complete Indonesian course that helps you practice reading, writing, speaking, and listening. You’ll also pick up quite a bit of vocabulary and some basic grammar, too. It’s not a good app to use if you’re already an intermediate or advanced speaker. It’s best for complete beginners who want to learn the basics.
Try Duolingo for free by clicking the link below or learn more about it in this Duolingo review.
Key Features
- Access the full course for free
- Practice all types of communication
- Learn about everyday topics
- Lessons are short and quick
Pricing
Duolingo is free to use, but it has quite a few ads. If this doesn’t bother you, then you can work your way through the entire course without paying anything. You can also subscribe to Super Duolingo for $12.99 per month to get rid of ads.
Why You Should Use Apps To Learn Indonesian
When you use an app to learn Indonesian, you can study whenever and wherever you want. They provide convenience that traditional classes can’t offer. Language apps are usually more engaging than textbooks or more formal courses. They have different activities and games to help you remember what you’ve learned, and the lessons are usually short and easy to complete in just a few minutes. You can also study the topics that are important to you and get personalized help to improve more quickly.
Best Apps To Learn Indonesian: Final Thoughts
Studying the Indonesian language can open a lot of doors. It can be difficult to learn Indonesian, especially if you’re studying online. Hopefully this list of the best Indonesian learning apps helps you start your learning journey on the right path. Using one or more of these apps will help you learn to communicate in a natural way. With these apps, you can practice reading, writing, speaking, and listening, as well as build your vocabulary and understand Indonesian grammar. Before you know it, you’ll be talking like a native Indonesian speaker!
Best Apps To Learn Indonesian: FAQ
According to the US State Department, Indonesian is a Category 2 language, which means it’s not difficult for English speakers to learn the language. It normally takes around 36 weeks (or 900 class hours) to become conversational in Indonesian. This is a lot less than other languages like Arabic, which can take around 88 weeks or 2,200 class hours to learn.
To see how long it will take you to become conversational in Indonesia, check out our fluency calculator.
Yes, Duolingo has a complete Indonesian course that you can access for free. The topics are helpful for beginners, but not for more intermediate or advanced speakers. While the Duolingo course covers the basics, you’re better off using an app like Babbel or Pimsleur if you actually want to become conversational.
You can learn Indonesian for free by using apps like Duolingo, Drops, or IndonesianPod101. There are also several websites and YouTube channels like Mastering Bahasa that can help you study the language for free.
It’s worth learning Indonesian if you have plans to live, work, study, or travel to an Indonesian-speaking destination. It’s also worth learning Indonesian because it can be a gateway to other languages. Indonesian has many borrowed words from languages like Arabic, Portuguese, Dutch, and Chinese.
Table of Contents
Mondly Pimsleur Babbel italki Preply IndonesianPod101 Rasa Bahasa Drops Duolingo FAQ
1 Comment
Winardi Setiaputra says:
Hallo, thank you for an opportunity DuoLinggo.
Interested to experience in learning other language, such as simplified Chinese too…