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The 8 Best Apps to Learn Urdu Quickly from Anywhere

Chad Emery Published on October 11, 2021
Urdu app guide

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Learning Urdu can open a lot of doors to different opportunities. It’s one of the most spoken languages in the world and speaking Urdu can be a gateway to other languages. It shares an alphabet with languages like Arabic, Persian, and Punjabi. It also shares vocabulary with languages like Turkish, Hindi, and Sanskrit. Finding ways to learn Urdu online can be difficult, so we compiled this list of the 8 best apps to learn Urdu.

Best Overall App

pimsleur logo
Try Pimsleur

Best for Beginners

Mondly logo
Try Mondly

Best for Listening

UrduPod101 logo
Try UrduPod101

Urdu might be a complicated language to learn, but finding ways to learn Urdu online shouldn’t have to be. Keep reading to find the app that can help you become conversational in no time!

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Fastest Way to Learn Urdu: Pimsleur
Or visit our Urdu Hub to learn more about the language.

What Are The Best Apps To Learn Urdu?

To help you make the most of your study time, I took a look at different Urdu learning apps. While there are a few helpful ones, there are a lot that simply waste your time. The apps on this list are high-quality and help you develop your communication skills quickly and effectively. Some of them teach you to read and write in Urdu, and others focus on improving your speaking and listening skills.

The table below shows the best apps to learn Urdu.

Overall Best App to Learn Urdu
Pimsleur
Best Beginner Urdu App
Mondly
Best App to Practice Listening
UrduPod101
Best App for Urdu Tutors
italki
Best App to Find Native Speakers
Preply
Best Urdu Vocabulary App
Memrise
Best App to Learn Urdu for Free
Learn Urdu Free
Best Urdu App with a Structured Course
Mango Languages
Best App to Learn Urdu Writing
Learn To Write Urdu

Pimsleur

Overall Best App to Learn Urdu

Pimsleur Overview
Pimsleur focuses on pronunciation and speaking. Listen to conversations between native speakers to become conversational quickly.
pimsleur logo
Best for Overall Learning
Price $14.95/month
Free trial 7 days
Try Pimsleur

If you want to become conversational in Urdu quickly, Pimsleur can help you. It’s an audio-only course that teaches you to speak in your first lesson. I like Pimsleur because it teaches you to talk like native Urdu speakers. It doesn’t waste your time teaching you useless vocabulary like some other apps do.

It’s important to remember that Pimsleur focuses only on speaking and listening. Unfortunatley, you won’t learn to read or write Urdu. Because of this, it’s a good idea to use Pimsleur along with an Urdu writing app. To learn more about what you’ll learn with Pimsleur, check out this review.

Key Features

  • Audio lessons teach you to speak in your first lesson
  • Convenient audio lessons
  • Learn to pronounce words like a native speaker
  • Course follows a logical order

Pricing

Pimsleur offers a free 7-day trial to all of its courses. This is the best way to see if it’s a good option for you. If you like it, you can subscribe to the Pimsleur app for $14.99 per month. If you’re learning multiple languages, you can access all of Pimsleur’s language courses for $20.99 per month.

Mondly

Best Beginner Urdu App

Mondly Overview
Mondly has short lessons that are fun to complete. It’s perfect for learning the basics of Urdu and some new vocabulary and grammar.
Mondly logo
Best for Beginners
Price $9.99/month
Free trial 7 days
Try Mondly

Mondly is a popular language app that helps you learn vocabulary and grammar quickly. It’s a good choice for beginners because the lessons are short and easy to follow. You can also complete the lessons in any order, which helps you focus on what you want to learn.

I enjoy using Mondly because it tracks everything you learn. You can see your progress and how many words you’ve learned over time. Mondly also tells you when you need to review words and phrases from your lessons to remember them long-term. You can read this Mondly review to learn more about the app.

Key Features

  • Interactive lessons
  • Choose which lessons you want to study
  • Learn useful words and phrases
  • Easily track your progress

Pricing

You can access the first few lessons in Mondly for free. This is the best way to see if it’s a good choice for you. If you like it, you can subscribe to the app for $9.99 per month. There are also discounts if you choose a longer subscription.

UrduPod101

Best App to Practice Listening

UrduPod101 Overview
UrduPod101 offers podcast-style lessons so you can hear how Urdu is really spoken. The platform has tons of lessons and other content available so you’ll never run out of new things to learn.
UrduPod101 logo
Best for Listening Practice
Price $8/month
Free trial 7 days
Try UrduPod101

Finding Urdu content to practice listening can be difficult, especially if you’re just starting to learn the language. UrduPod101 makes it a lot easier. It has hundreds of audio and video lessons that help you improve your listening and comprehension skills. There are also quizzes and flashcards you can use to review what you learned.

UrduPod101 adds new lessons every week. That means you have a huge library of lessons to choose from and there’s always new material. The only downside is that you won’t really practice reading and writing with UrduPod101.

Key Features

  • New Urdu lessons every week
  • Learn up to 2,000 Urdu words
  • Urdu audio dictionary
  • Create a personalized learning plan

Pricing

You can access UrduPod101 for free for your first 7 days. You can also sign up for free weekly lessons. To access additional features, you can subscribe to UrduPod101 for $4.00 to $47.00 per month. Subscriptions run from one month to two years and include a variety of features, so you can choose which one is best for you.

italki

Best App for Urdu Tutors

italki Overview
italki is a language tutoring platform that can connect you with an Urdu tutor. Teachers design individual lessons to fit your learning needs. The app is safe and secure.
italki logo
Best for Finding Tutors
Price Varies
Free trial N/A
Try italki

The italki app connects language learners and tutors around the world. There are over 80 Urdu teachers available on italki. To find which tutor is best for you, you can filter them by their native languages, other languages they speak, their prices, availability, and more.

You can also read past student reviews. This is helpful because you can learn about what lessons are like with each tutor. Most tutors offer discounted trial lessons so you can see if they are a good fit for you. To learn more about italki, you can read this review.

Key Features

  • Safe and secure platform
  • Easy to find Urdu teachers who meet your needs
  • Read past student reviews
  • Tutors offer discounted trial lessons

Pricing

Tutors set their own prices on italki, so you can always find one that fits your budget. Urdu lessons usually cost from $5.00 to $15.00 per hour. You can also find discounted trial lessons for as low as $2.00 per hour.

Preply

Best App to Find Native Speakers

Preply Overview
Preply is a language tutoring website similar to italki. Find native Urdu teachers and take affordable classes when it fits your schedule.
Preply logo
Best for Finding Native Speakers
Price Varies
Free trial N/A
Try Preply

Preply is similar to italki. It helps you find native Urdu speakers who can teach you their language in one-on-one online lessons. There are over 400 Urdu tutors on Preply right now.

The Preply platform is easy to use and the tutors are generally helpful. Preply also guarantees that you’ll be happy with your trial lesson. If you’re not, the company arranges another one for you free of charge. You can read this Preply review to learn more about the platform.

Key Features

  • Over 400 native Urdu tutors
  • Book multiple lessons at once
  • Take class when it fits your schedule

Pricing

Preply lets Urdu tutors set their own prices, which usually range from $4.00 to $8.00 per hour. Some tutors offer lessons as low as $2.00 per hour and others charge up to $20.00 per hour. Best of all, you can try a discounted trial lesson to see if you like the platform.

Learn Urdu Free

Best App to Learn Urdu for Free

Learn Urdu Free Overview
If you are just beginning to learn Urdu, you can see if you like it with this free app. It’s simple and doesn’t offer as much content as the others, but you don’t lose anything – it’s free!
learn urdu free logo
Best for Free Lessons
Price Free
Free trial N/A
Try Learn Urdu Free

The Learn Urdu Free app can help you start learning the language without paying anything. It’s a basic app, but you’ll learn some important words and phrases.

It doesn’t teach writing so it’s best to use this one with the Learn To Write Urdu app. Between the two apps, you can learn quite a bit for free!

Key Features

  • Learn 3,000 Urdu words and phrases
  • Covers different topics from everyday life
  • Includes audio from native speakers

Pricing

The app is completely free to use!

Mango Languages

Best Urdu App with a Structured Course

Mango Languages Overview
Mango Languages has interactive lessons that cover all skills necessary to learn a new language. You also learn interesting cultural notes as you study, and can set specific goals.
Mango Languages logo
Best for Structured Learning
Price $11.99/month
Free trial 14 days
Try Mango Languages

Mango Languages is the best option on this list if you’re looking for a more traditional and structured Urdu course. It includes features like grammar and culture notes, vocabulary lessons, and pronunciation practice.

The course also covers a lot of everyday topics like greetings and small talk, places and directions, and transportation and payments. It’s the most helpful for beginners, but may not be a good choice if you’re already at an intermediate or advanced level. Read more about Mango Languages in this review.

Key Features

  • Grammar notes clearly explain difficult topics
  • Learn about the culture while you study the language
  • Compare your pronunciation with native speakers
  • Communicate in everyday situations

Pricing

A Mango Languages subscription costs $11.99 per month for access to one language or $19.99 per month for access to all languages. You can get a discount if you pay for a yearly subscription. Mango Languages also partners with schools and libraries around the world, so you may be able to access the app without paying through your university or local library.

Learn To Write Urdu Alphabet

Best App to Learn Urdu Writing

Learn to Write Urdu Alphabet Overview
This app teaches you how to write the Urdu alphabet, which is challenging for newbies. Learn the proper strokes so you can write clearly and correctly.
learn to write urdu alphabet logo
Best for Writing Practice
Price $10.00
Free trial 8 letters
Try Learn to Write Urdu Alphabet

Learning to write Urdu is one of the most difficult aspects of learning the language. It’s also difficult to teach, which is why a lot of language apps don’t include any writing practice. There is one excellent option, and that’s Learn To Write Urdu.

It’s a free app that teaches you, stroke by stroke, how to write in Urdu. There are also additional activities to help you learn, like fill-in-the-blank questions and flashcards. For now, the app is only available for Android devices.

Key Features

  • Learn the stroke order of the letters
  • Practice writing directly in the app
  • Easy to follow

Pricing

The Learn To Write Urdu app lets you access the first 8 Urdu letters for free. To learn the entire alphabet, the app costs $10.00.

How Apps Can Help You Learn Urdu

There are a lot of different ways to learn Urdu. Apps are one of the best ways to study the language because they’re convenient, efficient, and interactive. When you use an app to learn Urdu, you can choose when you study and for how long. You can also complete practice activities and quizzes to help you remember what you’ve learned.

Best Apps To Learn Urdu: Final Thoughts

Learning Urdu can be difficult if you don’t know where to start. The apps on this list can help you begin your language-learning journey on the right foot. An app like Pimsleur can help you become conversational quickly and Learn to Write Urdu Alphabet can teach you to write as you go. You can even connect with native Urdu speakers through apps like italki and Preply. Using a combination of these apps will have you speaking Urdu in no time

Best Apps To Learn Urdu: FAQ

Are there apps to learn Urdu?

There are some high-quality apps to learn Urdu like Pimsleur, Mondly, and Mango Languages. Apps like these can help you improve your reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills in Urdu. You can also learn to write the Urdu alphabet with an app like Learn to Write Urdu Alphabet.

Which app is best for Urdu?

The best app to learn Urdu is Pimsleur because it teaches you to become conversational quickly. The lessons follow a logical order and all of the audio uses native Urdu speakers. This aspect of Pimsleur makes it stand out from other Urdu apps.

How can I read Urdu words?

You can learn to read Urdu words by using an app like Learn To Write Urdu. It’s important to learn the Urdu alphabet if you want to learn to read the language, and this is the best app to do it. Mango Languages can also help you get used to sentence structure and explain tricky grammar.

Is Urdu an easy language to learn?

According to the US State Department, Urdu is a hard language to learn because it has significant linguistic and cultural differences from English. It takes about 44 weeks or 1,100 hours of Urdu classes to speak the language fluently.

If you want to see how long it will take you to reach your Turkish goals, check out our fluency calculator.

Is Urdu on Duolingo?

Urdu is not available on Duolingo. However, there are other popular language apps that can teach you Urdu, like Pimsleur, Mondly, and Mango Languages.

Chad Emery

Chad is the founder and editor of Langoly. He was a TEFL-certified English teacher for many years and has been an active language learner for many more. His articles have been featured around the web by organizations like the Government of Canada's Translation Bureau and Simon & Schuster. In his free time, Chad is an avid traveler and loves running in new places. Connect with Chad on LinkedIn.

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