The 9 Best Apps to Learn Urdu Quickly from Anywhere
Chad Emery
Last updated on January 14, 2023
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Learning Urdu can open a lot of doors to a lot of 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 has a lot of vocabulary from languages like Turkish, Hindi, and Sanskrit. Finding ways to learn Urdu online can be difficult though. And that’s why I compiled this list of the 7 best apps to learn Urdu.
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!
How Long Will It Take You To Learn Urdu?
What Are The Best Apps To Learn Urdu?
To help you make the most of your study time, I took a look at a bunch of 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 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 | ||||
| Best | ||||
| Best App for Urdu Tutors | ||||
| Best App to Find Native Speakers | ||||
| Best App to Practice Listening | ||||
| Best Urdu Vocabulary App | ||||
| Best App to Learn Urdu for Free | ||||
| Best Urdu App with a Structured Course | ||||
| Best App to Learn Urdu Writing |
Pimsleur
Overall Best App to Learn Urdu
Pimsleur Overview
If you want to become conversational in Urdu quickly, Pimsleur can help you. It’s an audio-only course that teaches you to speak starting 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. You won’t learn to read or write Urdu, unfortunately. 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 to study at home, in the car…anywhere!
- 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 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 help you learn the basics
- 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 discounts if you choose a longer subscription, too.
italki
Best App for Urdu Tutors
italki Overview
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. A lot of tutors offer discounted trial lessons! To learn more about italki, you can read this review.
Key Features
- Safe and secure platform to use
- 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 range from $5.00 to $15.00 per hour on italki. 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 similar to italki. It helps you find native Urdu speakers who can teach you their language in one-on-one lessons. There are over 400 Urdu tutors on Preply right now.
I like Preply because it’s easy to use the platform 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
- The “Happiness Guarantee"
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 free trial lesson to see if you like the platform.
UrduPod101
Best App to Practice Listening
UrduPod101 Overview
Finding Urdu content to practice listening can be really difficult, especially if you’re just starting to learn the language. UrduPod101 makes it a lot easier. It has a bunch of audio and video lessons to help you improve your comprehension skills. There are also quizzes and flashcards you can use to review what you learned.
I like UrduPod101 because they add new lessons every week. That means you have a huge library of lessons to choose from. The only downside is that you won’t really practice reading and writing with UrduPod101. There’s also no speaking practice.
Key Features
- New Urdu lessons every week
- Learn up to 2,000 Urdu words
- It has an 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 between $4.00 and $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.
Memrise
Best Urdu Vocabulary App
Memrise Overview
Memrise uses flashcards that helps you learn (and remember!) new words and phrases quickly. It offers some “official” courses, but unfortunately, there’s not one available for Urdu. However, there are a lot of user-created flashcard sets available. They're available on the website only, not on the app. These can help you learn new vocabulary about a lot of different topics.
Some of the flashcard sets available include the Urdu alphabet, colors, food, adjectives, and essential verbs. There are even some more advanced topics like Urdu poetry and Pakistani music. You can read through this Memrise review to learn more about the app.
Key Features
- Thousands of flashcards to learn new vocabulary
- Choose what you want to study
- Easy to use and navigate
- Spaced-repetition helps you remember words long-term
Pricing
You can use Memrise to learn Urdu completely free. The app charges for its official courses, but since the Memrise community created all of the Urdu content, it’s available without a subscription. It’s definitely worth a try!
Learn Urdu Free
Best App to Learn Urdu for Free
Learn Urdu Free Overview
The Learn Urdu Free app can help you start learning the language without paying anything. It’s pretty basic but you’ll learn some important words and phrases in the app.
It doesn’t teach writing at all, 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 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 salutations and small talk, places and directions, and transportation and payments. It’s definitely 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 $7.99 per month for access to one language or $17.99 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!
Learn To Write Urdu Alphabet
Best App to Learn Urdu Writing
Learn to Write Urdu Alphabet Overview
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 solid 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. Unfortunately, for now, the app is only available on Android devices.
Key Features
- See and hear the different 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, it 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 more 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. Unlike textbooks, apps will tell you when your answers are correct or incorrect, too!
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 Memrise can teach you new vocabulary quickly. 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
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 Urdu vocabulary with an app like Memrise.
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.
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. Memrise can also help you learn to read Urdu because it has alphabet flashcards.
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.
Urdu is not available on Duolingo. However, there are other popular language apps that can teach you Urdu, like Pimsleur, Mondly, and Mango Languages.
1 Comment
Junaid alam says:
Good hai