Stories, audio, and videos can all help you learn Finnish when you can follow what they mean. That is the idea behind comprehensible input: learning from Finnish you can mostly understand. Finland has an easy form of the language, called selkokieli or Easy Finnish, and Yle, the public broadcaster, makes its news in Easy Finnish mainly for people who are studying Finnish. Beyond that, learners on Reddit say Finnish that sits between beginner lessons and real life is hard to find.
These apps help you find Finnish at your level, or add meanings to the Finnish you choose. For courses, speaking practice, and tutors, see our Finnish app comparison.
Custom Lessons Made for You
Bubblegum
Learn Finnish with a path made just for you. Start with your level, what you like, and why you want to learn. Your path grows as you learn, with new lessons that fit you. Bubblegum also has news and stories, so you can read and listen to a mix of Finnish about music, food, family, or everyday life.
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes each lesson for you. If a word with many endings is hard to follow, just ask her to explain it.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum can't help you read or watch Finnish you found yourself. For a show, an article, or a web page you already picked, the apps in Read and Watch Finnish You Choose are the better fit.
- Read and listen to lessons, news, and stories about things you like.
- Each new lesson fits your level, interests, and goals.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, so you review them by reading instead of using flashcards.
- Ask Poppy about a sentence while you read.
- Lesson audio uses AI voices, not recordings of Finnish speakers.
- You cannot bring in your own books, shows, or articles.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so you can ask Poppy for a free one, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
Watch Finnish TV With Finnish Subtitles
Yle Areena
Yle Areena is the streaming app of Yle, Finland's public broadcaster, and Finnish learners on Reddit suggest it often. Its Easy Finnish page collects the news in Easy Finnish and other easy programs in one place. Learners also suggest kids' shows such as Nappulat and Kaapo.
- Watch and hear Yle's news in Easy Finnish, and listen to fairy tales told in Easy Finnish.
- Turn on Finnish subtitles for shows in Finnish.
- Slow down recorded videos when the Finnish goes too fast.
MobileWeb
Read and Watch Finnish Media at Your Level
Lingvis
Lingvis comes from Språkkraft, the Swedish nonprofit that built Yle Kielikoulu together with Yle. Many Finnish learners used Kielikoulu to watch Yle with a dictionary until Yle closed it in May 2025. Lingvis took its place with support from Finland's Ministry of Education and Culture, and old Kielikoulu accounts still work in it. Lingvis is free to use.
- Read articles and books, watch videos, and listen to podcasts and music from Finland, sorted by level from A1 to C2.
- Words you should know are green, words to learn now are yellow, and words to learn later are red.
- Look up words in dictionaries from Finnish to 18 languages.
- Save words and practice them with flashcards.
- Flashcards
Mobile
Borrow Books in Easy Finnish
E-kirjasto
E-kirjasto is the e-library app of the National Library of Finland and Finland's public libraries. Selkokeskus, Finland's center for Easy Finnish, lists more than 600 books in Easy Finnish and says you can borrow the e-book versions from E-kirjasto for free. Search for selkokirja to find them.
- Borrow e-books and audiobooks from Finland's public libraries.
- Find Easy Finnish versions of books such as 1984, Alice in Wonderland, and Pinocchio.
MobileWeb
Read and Watch Finnish You Choose
These tools help you learn from Finnish shows, videos, articles, and web pages you pick yourself. They suit learners who already know what they want to read or watch.
LingQ
LingQ's Finnish library includes lessons made from Yle's news in Easy Finnish and from YouTube channels for learners. You can also bring in a Finnish show, book, or article and read it with the same tools.
- Start with Mini Stories, which practice the basic patterns of Finnish.
- Read and listen to Finnish from its library, or bring in videos, books, and articles.
- New words and words you are learning are highlighted, and words you know are left plain.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Language Reactor
Language Reactor shows Finnish subtitles beside a translation while you watch. Use it with Finnish shows on Netflix and with the YouTube channels below. It is free to install, with paid extras.
- See Finnish subtitles beside a translation on Netflix and YouTube.
- Look up words in a pop-up dictionary.
- Pause and replay one line when it goes too fast.
Browser extension
Readlang
Readlang helps you read Finnish articles and web pages. A learner on Reddit uses it with Yle's news in Easy Finnish, then reviews the new words with flashcards.
- Tap a word or short phrase on a Finnish web page to see what it means.
- Read Finnish texts that other learners share in its public library.
- Review the words you looked up with flashcards.
- Flashcards
WebBrowser extension
Read Two Languages Side by Side
Beelinguapp
Beelinguapp puts Finnish beside a language you know, so you can check what you read. One learner on Reddit at level A2 found its free travel stories good so far.
- Read Finnish beside a language you know.
- Listen to Finnish speakers read the text aloud.
- Choose from stories, news, and songs.
- Flashcards
Mobile
Free Easy Finnish to Read, Hear, and Watch
Yle Uutiset selkosuomeksi, Yle's news in Easy Finnish, comes as text, audio, and video. It is on TV every weekday and on the radio on weekends, and it is one of the resources Finnish learners on Reddit recommend most. Selkosanomat, a newspaper in Easy Finnish, posts new articles every week, and you can listen to each one.
On YouTube, Suomea Jarnon kanssa has Easy Finnish videos, street interviews, comprehensible input videos, and the Pekka and Musti stories. Simple Finnish Stories reads short stories in written and everyday spoken Finnish, for levels A1 to B2. Finnished and KatChats Finnish also make videos for learners, and learners on Reddit often suggest the 1990s Moomins cartoon in Finnish.
For listening, Helppoa suomea is a podcast in easy Finnish with more than 70 episodes and a free transcript for each one. Finnish with Eemeli is made for intermediate learners, all in Finnish, with 100 episodes that are also on YouTube. In Finnish Daily Dialogues, two Finnish teachers talk through the everyday spoken Finnish people use. Kielibuusti, a Finnish site for learners, keeps a longer list of media to follow.
Finnish speakers on Reddit warn that Finnish children's books are often harder than they look, with rare words and tricky grammar. They point learners to TV for kids and to books in Easy Finnish instead.
Learn Finnish in Your Language
These counts cover menu-language choices, including script variants. Other apps’ counts and full lists come from their iPhone listings, except Lingvis (Finland's App Store), Language Reactor (Chrome Web Store), and Readlang (its help forum). Word meanings, lesson explanations, and other platforms may differ.
| App | Supported Display Languages | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Full list
|
| Yle Areena | 2 | Full list |
| Lingvis | 5 | Full list |
| E-kirjasto | 3 | Full list |
| LingQ | 17 | Full list |
| Language Reactor | 27 | Full list |
| Readlang | 1 | Full list |
| Beelinguapp | 22 | Full list |
Other Apps We Looked At (11)
- KieloReal Finnish news simplified to your level, short videos with the words on screen, and speaking practice with AI, made for people who live in Finland. It is new and growing.
- Learn Finnish - Dual SubtitlesA Chrome extension, made by a Finnish learner, that shows Finnish subtitles beside a translation on Yle Areena and Ruutu.
- Suomi: Learn Finnish250 graded texts from A1 to C1, with words you can tap and sentences read aloud, plus everyday spoken forms next to the written ones. It is new and growing.
- RiidShort stories in six languages, including Finnish, where you tap any word to see its meaning. It is new and growing.
- ErlaShort Finnish stories you can read sentence by sentence, listening practice, and conversations with an AI tutor. It is new and growing.
- FabuloEasy Finnish news at levels from A1 to C2, quizzes, and AI tutor chats. It is new and growing.
- Duostories24 Duolingo-style stories translated into Finnish by volunteers, with audio.
- TemboBilingual stories from A1 to C1 in many languages, including Finnish, with audio and quizzes.
- Fluent FictionStories in slowly spoken Finnish, each followed by a retelling line by line in Finnish and English.
- Yle Opi suomeaYle's page for Finnish learners, with short videos, exercises, and the word game Sanapyramidi.
- BookBeatAn audiobook and e-book app that a Finnish speaker on Reddit calls one of the largest audiobook services in Finland.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose Finnish at the right level?
Pick something where you already know almost every word. In one study, readers needed to know about 98 out of 100 words in a text to follow it well. If you stop on almost every line, try Easy Finnish first.
How do I find books in Easy Finnish?
Look for the SELKO symbol, an arrow shaped like the letter S, which marks books in Easy Finnish. Libraries in Finland often keep these books on a shelf of their own, so ask a librarian where to find it.
Why does spoken Finnish sound different from what I read?
Everyday spoken Finnish is a little different from written Finnish in almost every way. For example, minä, sinä, and hän (I, you, and he or she) often become mä, sä, and se. News in Easy Finnish uses written Finnish, while vlogs and many podcasts use spoken Finnish, so try some of both.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so you can ask Poppy for a free one, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Hu and Nation (2000), Unknown vocabulary density and reading comprehension
- Selkokeskus: Easy Language media (Yle news in Easy Finnish is aimed at people studying Finnish)
- Selkokeskus: What Easy Finnish is
- Selkokeskus: Easy Finnish literature and the SELKO symbol
- Selkokeskus: Database of more than 600 books in Easy Finnish
- Selkokeskus: Where to get books in Easy Finnish, including E-kirjasto
- Loimaa City Library: Signing up for the E-library
- Yle: Uutiset selkosuomeksi
- Yle Areena: Programs in Easy Finnish
- Yle: Subtitles on Yle channels and in Yle Areena
- Yle: Using Yle Areena abroad
- Yle: The new Yle Kielikoulu, made with Språkkraft
- Yle: Kielikoulu closed in May 2025
- Lingvis Finland replaces Yle Kielikoulu
- Selkosanomat: news in Easy Finnish
- Uusi kielemme: Typical features of Finnish spoken language
- Kielibuusti: Follow the media and learn Finnish
- r/LearnFinnish: B1-B2 comprehensible input listening resources?
- r/LearnFinnish: Finnish shows to watch outside Finland?
- r/LearnFinnish: Children's books for learning?
- r/LearnFinnish: Struggling to find sources for listening practice
- r/LearnFinnish: Selkouutiset, Readwise, and Anki
- r/LearnFinnish: Has anyone tried Beelinguapp?
- Language Reactor forum: More sites for Finnish
- Helppoa suomea podcast
- Finnish with Eemeli podcast
- Finnish Daily Dialogues podcast
- Suomea Jarnon kanssa on YouTube
- Simple Finnish Stories on YouTube
- Finnished on YouTube
- KatChats Finnish on YouTube
- Bubblegum
- E-kirjasto
- LingQ
- Language Reactor
- Readlang
- Beelinguapp
Checked on October 8, 2026 against each app's own pages.
