To practice Romanian listening, pick an app where you hear a clip, reveal the text or type what you heard, and play it again. The Romanian options range from phrasebook audio to video dialogues and dictation.
The 7 apps below follow that path. Bubblegum explains part of what you study in English. For stories, news and video, see the Romanian comprehensible input comparison, and for courses, see the Romanian app comparison. The table at the end puts the answers side by side.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Romanian. You learn from Romanian you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Romanian 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.
Open a Romanian lesson, play it and read along. Bubblegum has no shows or videos.
- A read-aloud voice plays each Romanian lesson while the text stays on screen.
- All 204 Romanian grammar explanations are in English, and Poppy explains any sentence you ask about.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- You can't turn a Romanian article you found into a lesson. However, you can paste a few lines in the chat, and Poppy will explain them.
- 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 suits learners who have Romanian audio of their own and want the text beside it.
- The Romanian library and your own imports play as audio playlists with the matching text, and you can look up words.
- The voice depends on the source you choose.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
50LANGUAGES
The phrasebook on the 50languages website is free to use, which makes it an easy place to start.
- The Romanian phrasebook is sorted by topic, with text and audio for each phrase.
- The website lets you download MP3 files to listen offline.
MobileWeb
Other Apps We Looked At (4)
- Open DictationYou listen to Romanian clips from real speakers and type what you hear, then see the answer and a translation right away. Free accounts get 1,000 unique sentences per language, and Pro adds more.
- ErlaA Romanian app with a listening mode that advertises native recordings. Its reading mode has sentence translation, and the app has adjustable audio speed and downloadable content for offline use.
- RomanianPod101Romanian audio and video lessons from teachers, with speed and skip controls and lesson downloads. The free level has weekly lessons, line-by-line dialogue is Premium, and a trial lasts seven days.
- Romanian - Listening SpeakingRomanian video dialogues with tap-word meanings, from speakers advertised as native.
A dash means the detail is not listed here.
| App | App in English | Teaches in English | Audio and text | Speed and replay | Offline | Voices | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Yes | Partly | Text and audio in each lesson | — | — | Read-aloud voices | Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free to read; unlimited custom lessons need Pro |
| LingQ | Yes | Partly | Audio playlists with matching text | — | Premium | Depends on the source | Free plan with limits; Premium paid |
| 50languages | Yes | Yes | Phrase text with audio | — | MP3 download from the website | Native speakers | Free phrasebook website |
| Open Dictation | Yes | — | Type what you hear, then see the answer | — | — | Real speakers | 1,000 sentences per language; Pro adds more |
| Erla | Yes | — | Listening mode; sentence translation in reading mode | Adjustable speed | Downloadable content | Native recordings, advertised | — |
| RomanianPod101 | Yes | — | Teacher audio and video; line-by-line dialogue in Premium | Speed and skip controls | Lesson downloads | Teachers | Weekly lessons free; 7-day trial |
| Romanian - Listening Speaking | Yes | — | Video dialogues with tap-word meanings | — | — | Native speakers, advertised | — |
Each number is how many languages you can use the app in. Bubblegum's number comes from its own list, and the others come from each app's US iPhone listing.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 76 | Full list
|
| LingQ | 17 | Full list |
| 50languages | 58 | Full list |
| Open Dictation | 1 | Full list |
| Erla | 1 | Full list |
| RomanianPod101 | 1 | Full list |
| Romanian - Listening Speaking | 1 | Full list |
Which Romanian listening app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Romanian, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. For free phrases with audio, use the 50languages phrasebook. To train your ear, try Open Dictation, where you type what you hear.
What is dictation, and why use it for listening?
In dictation, you hear a Romanian clip and type it, and the app then shows the correct text. Open Dictation does this with clips from real speakers and gives its answer right away, so you see which words you missed.
Which Romanian apps work offline?
The 50languages website lets you download MP3 files, LingQ offers offline listening in Premium, and RomanianPod101 has lesson downloads. Erla advertises downloadable content.
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
- Bubblegum: Romanian and English language pair
- LingQ: learn Romanian online
- LingQ: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- 50languages: Romanian phrasebook
- 50languages: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Erla: iPhone App Store listing
- Open Dictation: iPhone App Store listing
- RomanianPod101: iPhone App Store listing
- Romanian - Listening Speaking: iPhone App Store listing
- Bubblegum
- LingQ
- 50LANGUAGES
