The best Urdu vocabulary app depends on where you want your words to come from. uTalk and BolNama give you ready-made Urdu word lists, Lafz teaches words through their roots, Bubblegum saves words from lessons you read, and Anki and Quizlet hold cards you collect yourself. Urdu is written right to left, so this page also notes how each app handles Urdu script. For courses and tutors, see our Urdu app comparison. For reading and listening, see our Urdu comprehensible input comparison.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Urdu. You learn from Urdu you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Urdu 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.
- An Urdu Alphabet course of 12 short chapters teaches each letter with its sound, so you can read the words you save.
- Poppy explains hard Urdu sentences in English.
- Saved words come back in new lessons through Regenerative Review™, and you can send them to Anki too.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Learn every letter in the free Urdu Alphabet course, with a picture to help you remember each one.
- You can't turn an Urdu book or video you own into a lesson. But Poppy will explain a page you screenshot or paste.
- 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 Urdu Alphabet
Mobile
uTalk
uTalk suits learners who want to hear an Urdu word before they say it.
- Urdu topics with recorded native-speaker words and phrases, and picture games that bring hard words back more often.
- Replay a word slowly and compare your own recording with it by ear.
MobileWeb
Other Apps We Looked At (4)
- BolNamaAn Urdu course for English speakers that runs in the browser. It has searchable words, a Saved section, flashcards with spaced repetition, stories and poetry, and a guide to reading Nastaliq script. The alphabet, vocabulary and first lessons are free without an account.
- LafzAn iPhone app that teaches Urdu words through their roots, poetry couplets and example sentences. Save words you like to a garden and revisit them in word games. Its release notes list audio for words and couplets, and English meanings. The download is free, with an auto-renewing subscription.
- AnkiMake cards with an Urdu word, its meaning and your own sentence or sound. Anki does not come with an Urdu deck, so you supply the words, and its templates can set right-to-left text and a font.
- QuizletType or paste Urdu words into your own sets and study them as flashcards. Look over a shared set before you rely on it.
| App | Word source | Review | Sentence and audio | English help | Free boundary | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Lessons Poppy writes | Saved words return in new lessons | Words appear in new sentences, with audio | Partly | Library lessons are free to read; unlimited custom lessons need Pro | iPhone, iPad, Android |
| uTalk | Topics made by uTalk | Picture games | Native-speaker audio | Yes | Starter words free; one more topic at 100%; the rest paid | iPhone, iPad, Android, computer |
| BolNama | Words inside lessons | Flashcards with spaced repetition | Word audio, stories and poetry | Yes | Alphabet, vocabulary and first lessons free | Web |
| Lafz | Word roots and poetry | Word games and a saved garden | Meanings, couplets and examples; audio for words and couplets | Yes | Free download; paid subscription | iPhone, iPad |
| Anki | Cards you make | SM-2 or FSRS | Only if you add them to the card | Your own cards | Desktop and AnkiWeb free; AnkiMobile paid once | iPhone, iPad, Android, computer |
| Quizlet | Sets you make or pick | Flashcards with spaced repetition | Depends on the set | Your own sets | Free download with a subscription | iPhone, iPad, web |
Which Urdu vocabulary app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Urdu, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with BolNama if you want a free browser course in English that includes a guide to reading Nastaliq.
Do I need to read Urdu script to learn Urdu words?
Urdu words are written in Urdu script, so knowing the letters helps you save and find them. BolNama's free alphabet lessons and Bubblegum's Urdu Alphabet course both teach the letters.
Can I set a Nastaliq font?
Anki can. Its card templates set right-to-left text and a font you install, such as a Nastaliq font. Lafz advertises Nastaliq lettering.
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.
