Comprehensible input is Dari you can mostly follow, whether you read it, listen to it, or watch it. Look for about one new word per sentence, with the meaning still clear.
Dari is harder to find at a beginner's level than most languages. Most of what's written for learners teaches the Persian of Iran, and the Dari made for real Afghan readers is news, which is written in a formal style. This page shows where to start now, and what to move to as it gets easier. Courses, audio lessons and tutors are in our Dari app comparison, and free books are in the best ways to learn Dari.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Persian. You learn from Persian you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Dari lessons. If a sentence is hard to follow, ask Poppy to explain it.
With Regenerative Review™, words you save show up again in new lessons, so that you can review words in new contexts without having to use flashcards.
- Choose a topic and a level, and the Dari is written to fit.
- Read Dari lessons, stories, and news about things you like, in Dari letters or in Roman Dari.
- Tap a word for its meaning, or ask Poppy what a whole line says.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Learn every letter in the free Persian Alphabet course, with a picture to help you remember each one.
- Bubblegum doesn’t focus on speaking. However, when you want to practice, ask Poppy questions about a lesson, or ask her to roleplay a conversation with you.
- You can't turn your own Dari books into lessons. However, you can paste a page in the chat, and Poppy will explain it.
- Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches the Dari Alphabet
Mobile
The International Assistance Mission's Language & Culture Programme offers the LCP News Collection, 13 real news texts for learning to read the news in Dari. Hover over or tap a word to see how it's said and what it means. The texts are interlinear, which means a translation sits under each line, and a 1,273-word Anki deck goes with them.
The pop culture stories are the easiest place to begin. The page warns that much of the difficulty comes from the formal, literary style of news Dari, so read one text twice before you start another.
Radio Azadi has news articles, a live audio stream and a program schedule in Dari. VOA Dari publishes articles and video reports on Afghanistan and the world. Both are news, so they suit you once short texts are comfortable.
SBS Dari is Australia's public broadcaster in Dari. It has articles, a radio program of about 50 minutes and podcasts for Dari speakers in Australia, so you'll meet words for settling in, family and work.
Tolo TV on YouTube has episodes and series from an Afghan channel. Start with a show whose story you can guess, and play a short clip twice.
Few outside sources exist for the first three rows, so Bubblegum fills them. For ears that want Afghan voices at the start, uTalk plays every word spoken by someone from Afghanistan.
| What You Can Follow | Try This | You're Ready to Move On When |
|---|---|---|
| A few words at a time | Bubblegum lessons at Level 1, with the translation showing | You can read a short lesson with the translation hidden |
| Short, simple sentences | Bubblegum lessons at Level 2 | You can tell the lesson again without looking |
| Short stories and messages | Bubblegum lessons at Level 3, and uTalk's topics for the sound of each word | You can follow a whole lesson by ear first |
| Real news with help | The pop culture stories in the LCP News Collection | You can read one story without the glossary for most lines |
| Radio and podcasts | SBS Dari, then Radio Azadi | You can say what a report was about and one detail |
| Afghan news and TV | VOA Dari and Tolo TV | You follow most of a report with the subtitles or text off |
Save the formal news for last, because its style is more formal than everyday talk.
These apps explain Dari in English or another language you know. Check a lesson in your language before paying for any of them.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 76 | Supported language pairs |
| Mango | 2 | Full list |
| Pimsleur | 3 | Full list |
| uTalk | 140+ | Full list |
Which Dari app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Persian, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. If you'd rather hear Afghan voices first, try uTalk. If you'd rather start with a conversation course, try Mango.
Do I need the alphabet before I start reading?
To read the news and stories on this page, yes. Dari uses the same Persian letters as Iran, and Bubblegum's Dari Alphabet course teaches them in 12 short chapters. While you learn them, you can read your Bubblegum lessons in Roman Dari, the Latin letters many Afghans text in.
Will Iranian Persian input help me learn Dari?
Yes, for formal reading. Formal written Persian is nearly the same in Afghanistan and Iran, apart from a few basic words. For everyday listening, choose Afghan sources like the ones above, so the sounds and words match the people you'll talk with.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Dari Persian (Kabul as the standard model; formal written Persian is nearly the same in Afghanistan and Iran)
- Bubblegum: Dari and the Dari Alphabet course
- IAM Afghanistan, Language & Culture Programme: LCP News Collection (13 interlinear news texts with a glossary)
- IAM Afghanistan, Language & Culture Programme: free online resources
- IAM Afghanistan: external resources (Tolo TV on YouTube; Iranian Farsi and Afghan Dari differ, but matter less for formal topics)
- VOA Dari
- Radio Azadi, the Dari site of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
- SBS Dari (Australia): news, stories and podcasts in Dari
- Tolo TV on YouTube
- Pimsleur: Learn Dari Persian
- uTalk: Learn Dari
- Mango Languages: Dari
- Mango: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Pimsleur: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- uTalk: Languages you can learn from
