Best App to Learn Hindi — Tried Out Dozens

Pimsleur

Pimsleur has been around for quite a while, and it’s one of the more popular resources that offers fully fledged courses for language learning. The Hindi course includes 32 hours of audio lessons in addition to some supplementary exercises.

We’ve found that Pimsleur’s courses are exceptionally well-structured and are ideal for aural/verbal learners. You won’t get a lot of reading practice or grammar instruction, but you’ll benefit from clear, quality audio and lessons that encourage active engagement and lots of speaking practice.

See our Super-Detailed Pimsleur Review

Rocket Hindi

This is another resource that’s fairly popular and offers courses in a number of languages. It could be a good option for learners that are looking for a course with an exceptionally good structure and lessons that build on each other nicely.

We’ve tested ten of the Rocket Languages courses and have found that the quality of the course varies by language. We haven’t tested the Hindi course, but we noticed some common themes among the courses: lots of practice opportunities, thorough materials, and highly repetitive activities.

It may not be the most entertaining language app to use, but there’s little doubt you’ll remember what you learn if you can make it through the lessons.

Ling

Ling is a gamified app that has some things in common with Duolingo, but there are some important differences. The most immediately noticeable difference is that Ling is not free, and the $9/month subscription fee feels high when compared to Duolingo’s offer. Some of the major benefits of Ling are that it uses quality native-speaker audio and that the activities are engaging.

The app does have a few bugs, but it’s the best combination of quality audio and gamification that we know of for learning Hindi.

See our Super-Detailed Ling Review

Mango Languages

One of the most notable things about this app is that it teaches over 70 languages, Hindi included. Subscription options include access to one language or, for serious polyglots, all of them. Some strengths of Mango Languages are its slick design and the useful cultural and grammar notes that are included in the lessons.

It’s worth noting that the courses will likely only be useful for beginners, as there is a lack of intermediate and advanced material available. Some learners may also find that grammar explanations are lacking.

See our Super-Detailed Mango Languages Review

HindiPod101

As may be apparent in the name, this resource adopts the format of a podcast to teach Hindi. It’s produced by parent company Innovative Language, which produces very similar courses in more than 20 different languages.

The lessons are presented by two hosts who, between some casual banter, introduce a dialogue and then provide opportunities for listeners to review and practice elements of the dialogue. It’s a useful way to get practice in a variety of skills, especially reading and listening.

There’s a free 7-day trial anyone can use to try out the full course, and a paid subscription unlocks some extra features. You’ll probably need to use HindiPod101 in conjunction with some other resources for complete practice, and it’s worth noting that the platform uses its own transliteration method rather than the standardized IAST.

See our Super-Detailed HindiPod101 Review

Pimsleur

Pimsleur has been around for quite a while, and it’s one of the more popular resources that offers fully fledged courses for language learning. The Hindi course includes 32 hours of audio lessons in addition to some supplementary exercises.

We’ve found that Pimsleur’s courses are exceptionally well-structured and are ideal for aural/verbal learners. You won’t get a lot of reading practice or grammar instruction, but you’ll benefit from clear, quality audio and lessons that encourage active engagement and lots of speaking practice.

See our Super-Detailed Pimsleur Review

Glossika

Glossika offers ample listening practice and gets learners to repeat the language out loud, but it isn’t suitable for absolute beginners, and we found some mistakes in the material.

See our Super-Detailed Glossika Review

LangCorrect

LangCorrect was created specifically to help language learners get practice writing in their target language. It’s a community-powered platform where users can submit their own writing for feedback as well as provide feedback on the writing of others. The collaborative atmosphere is encouraging, and the site is free to use!

The LangCorrect community is still growing, but there are many users actively practicing Hindi. There’s also an option to become a Patreon or volunteer to help translate the site’s UI, both of which grant the ability to practice up to ten languages. There is otherwise a limit of two languages one can practice.

italki

italki is a great option for getting both speaking and writing practice. It’s a massive online tutor marketplace with some additional community features that are available for free in the app. These community features allow users to submit pieces of writing or recordings of themselves speaking in order to get feedback from other users. Getting humans involved in this type of feedback is unbeatable, and so is being able to do it for free.

If you’re not sure what to write or say, there are prompts to help with inspiration. What makes these features of italki especially useful is that the italki community is massive; it’s quite easy to get feedback quickly on anything you produce. If you enjoy the feature, just be sure to help other learners out by providing feedback yourself! Right now get a $10 credit with your first purchase.

See our Super-Detailed italki Review

Scripts

From the makers of the Drops app comes this slick script-teaching app. The mechanics are flashy and smooth, and you’ll get to start tracing Devanagari characters on your device right away. It’s worth noting that there isn’t any background information on the script, which might matter more to some than others.

In addition to individual letters, you’ll also get to practice writing entire words, and the written material is accompanied with audio recordings. Like Drops, Scripts is free to use for up to five minutes each day. 

Clozemaster

Want to incorporate SRS into your practice? Have a penchant for retro game graphics? If so, Clozemaster might be worth checking out. It’s a gamified flashcard app that uses SRS and context sentences to teach words and phrases. Seeing your target language in context can help you develop an understanding of useful language chunks and get accustomed to seeing the language as it appears naturally. Note that there are occasionally mistakes in the sentences and that it’s best for learners who are beyond the absolute beginner stage.

Most of the Clozemaster features are free, though a paid subscription provides access to all 31 languages, the ability to customize SRS settings, and more additional features.

See our Super-Detailed Clozemaster Review

Memrise

As with Duolingo, a lot of the content on Memrise is free to use. There are no official Memrise courses on Hindi, but there are a ton of free courses that have been created by other users.

Memrise makes use of a spaced repetition system (SRS) to help learners efficiently commit new terms to long-term memory. It’s essentially a flashcard app, but it includes a variety of activities and is fun to use. There’s quite a bit of variety in the user-created courses, but you’ll be able to find those that include both images and audio. There’s also a feature that lets you create your own mnemonic images to help you remember certain words or phrases.

See our Super-Detailed Memrise Review

Anki

This flashcard app is notable for how customizable it is. You can create decks with any material you would like to memorize, and Anki employs SRS to provide efficient study time. There is a bit of a learning curve to getting Anki to work just how you want it to, but there are plenty of tutorials online and premade decks that can potentially save you a lot of hassle.

Anki is free to download and use everywhere except the Apple App Store, where it costs $25. 

italki

Although it boasts a number of extra features, italki is best known for being a massive online directory of language tutors. The high number of tutors on the platform is likely its biggest strength: finding a tutor that fits your budget, scheduling constraints, and teaching style is almost always possible with italki.

Many learners also use the app to find language exchange partners. While there’s no dedicated portion of the app for this, it’s easy to message other users, and many people write posts looking for interested language partners. Using the app this way is completely free. Right now get a $10 credit with your first purchase.

See our Super-Detailed italki Review

Preply

This is another huge online tutor directory with even more Hindi tutors than italki. It’s worth keeping in mind that Preply takes a higher commission from its teachers than other platforms and doesn’t compensate them for trial lessons.

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See our Super-Detailed Preply Review

Tandem

Tandem connects language learners with native speakers, which makes finding language partners a breeze. It is mostly similar to HelloTalk in functionality, but they each have their own aesthetic. Tandem is a little bit slicker and might be right for someone looking for an app that’s more serious.

The app also offers a tutoring service apart from its chat capabilities and language tools.

See our Super-Detailed Tandem Review

Drops App

Drops provides a convenient way to get basic vocabulary practice in a visually appealing app. It’s free to use for five minutes each day, but a recurring subscription is required for additional access. Unfortunately, the lesson structure isn’t impressive and you won’t learn multiple verb forms.

See our Super-Detailed Drops App Review

Mondly

Mondly has a lot of content for learners at the beginner and pre-intermediate levels, but isn’t the most thorough course out there. Although we found a few bugs in the program, the price isn’t outrageous and it could be a good way to get some starting vocabulary under your belt. 

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See our Super-Detailed Mondly Review

Rosetta Stone

As massively popular as Rosetta Stone is, it’s not our favorite. The course favors highly repetitive picture-matching exercises over translations or explanations.

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See our Super-Detailed Rosetta Stone Review

Write Me

Comparable to Scripts, Write Me offers some good Devanagari writing practice, but you won’t get a ton of in-depth background information on the script. You’ll have to make a one-time payment for lifetime access to this app, but some people prefer it to Scripts.

Preply

This is another huge online tutor directory with even more Hindi tutors than italki. It’s worth keeping in mind that Preply takes a higher commission from its teachers than other platforms and doesn’t compensate them for trial lessons.

Exclusive 50% discount for ALR readers! Make sure to use our link to receive it.

See our Super-Detailed Preply Review

Speaky

Speaky is a language-exchange app that’s mostly free and easy to use. The community, however, seems less interested in actual language practice than alternatives. 

See our Super-Detailed Speaky Review

Learn Hindi Free

We haven’t tried this one out ourselves, but it’s gained some popularity online. You may be able to learn some useful phrases and listen to native speaker audio, but the app otherwise appears limited.

Optilingo

It’s possible to get some free Hindi practice with Optilingo, but we wouldn’t recommend it. Flashcards are presented in slide-show form, and coming away from the app with any Hindi proficiency is doubtful. 

Quizlet

This app utilizes user-created flashcards to provide practice with vocabulary definitions as well as spelling. Some of the activities are entertaining, and you can sign in with a free account, but the quality varies by course.

Lingbe

This could be a good option for learners looking for immediate, casual speaking practice. Connect with Hindi speakers at the press of a button and answer calls from English learners to earn “lingos,” the currency used for call time. The app was designed with Spanish and English speakers in mind, but the community is growing.

Duolingo

Duolingo has quickly become one of the most well-known language-learning apps in the world. This isn’t surprising, considering the number of languages it teaches and that it’s free to use.

If you’re looking for an entertaining, no-commitment first encounter with Hindi, it’s hard to come up with any reasons you shouldn’t check out Duolingo. It teaches languages through short, engaging, game-like activities and includes extras like points, levels, and leaderboards to keep learners interested.

All that in mind, Duolingo doesn’t have the best audio in its courses, and you won’t get the kind of thorough instruction that other resources offer. In short, you’ll need much more than Duolingo to become fluent in Hindi, but it’s a decent place to start. 

See our Super-Detailed Duolingo Review

Beelinguapp

Beelinguapp is mostly available for free, and it provides some good reading and listening practice. It allows users to read interesting texts in Hindi with the ability to toggle an entire side-by-side English translation on and off. There’s also a karaoke mode that highlights text as it’s read aloud, which can make for quality listening practice.

There are all kinds of reading material on Beelinguapp: news articles, fairy tales, short stories, music, and more. If you want some self-directed practice via content you find interesting, this one might be worth trying out.

FM Radio India

Listening to radio programs in your target language is a great way to increase your input without much effort on your end. In addition to helping you get used to the sounds of Hindi, finding radio stations that you’re genuinely interested in can boost motivation and deepen your relationship with the language.

FM Radio India is a free app that provides access to over 200 different Indian radio stations. You’ll find stations that are in other Indian languages, but there are plenty in Hindi as well. Topics covered by these stations include news, sports, music, comedy, and more.

English Hindi Dictionary

We haven’t had the chance to actually try this app, but it’s hugely popular and has over ten million installs in the Google Play Store. It provides an extensive dictionary with over 500,000 words in English and Hindi, complete with definitions, synonyms, antonyms, example sentences, and pronunciation information. It’s available to download for offline use as well.

Whether you find yourself needing to look up words on the fly while in India or want an easy way to look up words while studying, this free app will likely do the job well.