A good Finnish listening app lets you hear a line, read what was said, and hear it again. Apps differ in who made the audio, when you see the text, how you replay one sentence, and whether you can listen offline. This page compares seven options on those points. For all the ways to learn, see our Finnish apps comparison, and for TV, news and books, see our Finnish comprehensible input apps.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Finnish. You learn from Finnish you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Finnish 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 you review them in new contexts without flashcards.
- Finnish lessons are written at your level, with English explanations.
- The lesson text sits next to the read-aloud audio, so it works as the transcript.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- The audio comes from the read-aloud voices, and Bubblegum plays no shows or videos.
- 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™
Mobile
LingQ
LingQ is a fit when you want Finnish audio and a transcript in one place, and a place to save the words you do not know yet.
- The Finnish library and your own imports play with matching text.
- Sentence mode plays the current sentence with a speed control, and Premium adds offline study.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Language Reactor
Language Reactor lets you watch Finnish speakers talk at their own pace, with the text beside them.
- Shows two subtitle lines and a dictionary over Netflix or YouTube videos.
- Playback controls let you go back over a line you missed.
Browser extension
Other Apps We Looked At (4)
- Suomi: Learn FinnishAn iPhone app with graded Finnish texts. Tap a word for its meaning or a sentence to hear it read aloud. The developer says it works fully offline, and the first three texts are free.
- KieloAn iPhone app with short Finnish videos, podcasts, news and lessons, and English word and grammar explanations. It uses in-app purchases.
- Yle AreenaThe Finnish broadcaster's app, free to download, with programs and podcasts in Finnish. Its Selkouutiset page has easy Finnish news with text and video. The menus are in Finnish and Swedish, and rights for some programs differ outside Finland.
- ErlaAn Android app with everyday Finnish scenes where the text stays hidden while you listen. You can reveal the transcript and tap a sentence for its translation, and the app has a slow-audio control.
| App | Audio From | Text | Replay | Offline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | The read-aloud voices | The lesson text | – | – |
| LingQ | Library audio and your imports | Matching lesson text | Sentence mode, with speed control | Premium |
| Language Reactor | The video you pick | Dual subtitles and a dictionary | Playback controls | – |
| Suomi | Sentences read aloud | Graded Finnish texts | Tap a sentence to hear it | Works offline |
| Kielo | Videos and podcasts | – | – | – |
| Yle Areena | Finnish broadcasts | Selkouutiset easy news text | Normal streaming controls | – |
| Erla | Everyday scenes | Hidden until you reveal it | – | – |
A dash means no information is listed for that feature.
Which Finnish listening app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Finnish, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. To follow easy Finnish news, add Yle's Selkouutiset, which gives you the news as text and video.
Which app lets me replay one Finnish sentence?
LingQ's sentence mode plays one sentence at a time, and in Suomi you tap a sentence to hear it. Language Reactor adds playback controls to the video, so you can go back over a line.
Can I hide the Finnish text while I listen?
Erla hides the text during its scenes and lets you reveal the transcript afterward. LingQ and Suomi show the text beside the audio.
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
- LingQ: Learn Finnish
- LingQ: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Language Reactor: Chrome Web Store
- Suomi: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Kielo: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Yle Areena: iPhone App Store listing
- Yle: Selkouutiset
- Erla: Learn Finnish with AI on Google Play
- Bubblegum
- Language Reactor
