Bengali is the national language of Bangladesh and an official language in the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura. It is written in its own script, which has a lot of joined letters. Duolingo doesn't teach Bengali, so this page covers the apps that do, along with a textbook that comes with free audio and a few tutor sites.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Bengali. You learn from Bengali you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Say your partner's family speaks Bengali, and you want to ask them how they are. Ask Poppy, your AI tutor, for a lesson on saying আপনি কেমন আছেন? (how are you?) at your level, and she writes it with audio. Poppy explains any line you ask about.
To practice speaking with a person, see Practice With a Person.
- Poppy writes each lesson for your level, on topics you pick.
- Each lesson plays AI audio while you read.
- Tap a word to see what it means, or ask Poppy to explain a whole line.
- The Bengali Alphabet course teaches the letters with pictures and sounds. You can read lessons in Roman letters while you learn them.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, and you can export them to Anki.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Bubblegum teaches standard written Bengali, so it has no lessons in regional dialects.
- You can't turn your own Bengali 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™
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Mango Languages
Mango's Bengali course teaches through short conversations. Your library card may give you access at no cost.
- Lessons are built from conversations, with notes on the culture behind the words.
- Flashcards
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Ling
Ling teaches Bengali in lessons with native audio and game-style challenges.
- Short lessons that start with pronunciation, essential words and greetings.
- Later stages move on to cultural stories, travel guides and news articles, and to practicing conversations.
- Flashcards
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50LANGUAGES
50LANGUAGES shows the Bengali next to your language and plays the audio, so you can read and listen at once.
- 100 lessons with text and MP3 audio, free on the website.
- You can download all the audio in your own language and in Bengali, and listen offline.
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uTalk
uTalk teaches spoken Bengali for everyday situations, from greetings to getting around. Its Bengali page says many people learn Bengali to connect with family in India or Bangladesh.
- More than 2,500 words and phrases, each with audio and a picture.
- You can record yourself and compare your pronunciation.
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italki
italki lists Bengali teachers, and each profile says what the teacher covers, so you can read it before you book.
- Pick a Bengali teacher and book a one-on-one lesson.
- You pay as you go, so you book when it suits you.
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Preply
Preply has Bengali tutors for private online lessons. Compare their profiles, and the trial lesson shows how the tutor teaches.
- Compare Bengali tutors, and book a trial lesson to see whether you like one.
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HelloTalk
HelloTalk is for language exchange. You chat with Bengali speakers, and they practice your language with you.
- Chat with Bengali speakers who want to learn your language, matched by your goals, interests and level.
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Other Apps We Looked At (1)
- MemriseBengali word lists made by other learners, which you can preview before you learn them.
Colloquial Bengali is a textbook for people who have never studied the language. It teaches through dialogues, with grammar explanations and exercises, and the publisher says the recordings of its dialogues and texts are free to download as MP3 files from its Colloquials audio page.
StoryWeaver has free Bengali story books with pictures.
| App | Free? | What's Free |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Free version | 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. |
| Mango Languages | Some lessons free | The first lesson of every language is free, and many public libraries give their members full access at no cost. The paid plans start with a free trial. |
| Ling | Some lessons free | The first two beginner units are free in every language. Ling Pro opens all the lessons, and the yearly plan starts with a 7-day free trial. |
| 50LANGUAGES | Free | The Bengali lessons and the MP3 audio on the 50LANGUAGES website are free. |
| uTalk | Some lessons free | Every language has free starter words, and getting full marks in the games opens one more topic for free. For the rest, you subscribe or buy a language or topic. |
| italki | Paid | You pay for each lesson, and each teacher sets their own price. Practicing with the community and taking the level test are free. |
| Preply | Paid | You pay for each lesson, and each tutor sets their own price. If your first tutor isn't a good fit, you can try two more for free. |
| HelloTalk | Free version | Chatting with language partners is free. HelloTalk VIP removes ads and adds unlimited translations and more new partners each day. |
| Memrise | Not stated | These are word lists made by other learners on Memrise. |
Some of these apps work in your language but explain Bengali in English, so try one lesson before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Supported language pairs |
| Mango | 2 | Full list |
| Ling | 68 | Full list |
| 50LANGUAGES | 67 | Full list |
| uTalk | 140+ | Full list |
| italki | 19 | Full list |
| Preply | 19 | Full list |
| HelloTalk | 16 | Full list |
| Memrise | 22 | Full list |
Which Bengali app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Bengali, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with the textbook Colloquial Bengali and its free audio, or with the free lessons on 50LANGUAGES. The best way to learn Bengali has a plan for each week.
Does Duolingo teach Bengali?
No. Duolingo's course list has no Bengali course, though Duolingo does teach other languages to Bengali speakers. Mango, Ling and uTalk all have beginner Bengali lessons.
Do I need to learn the Bengali letters first?
Yes, if you want to read signs, menus and books. Bengali has its own script, and its letters join into clusters. Bubblegum's Bengali Alphabet course teaches the letters, and you can read your lessons in Roman letters while you learn them.
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: Bengali language (official language of Bangladesh, scheduled language of India, official in West Bengal and Tripura)
- Wikipedia: Bengali alphabet (an abugida with many conjuncts)
- Bubblegum: Bengali
- Duolingo course list (Bengali appears only as a language you can learn from, with no Bengali course)
- Mango Languages: Learn Bengali
- Mango Languages: home page (library access)
- Mango Languages: pricing
- Mango Languages on the App Store (languages you can use it in)
- Ling: Learn Bengali
- Ling: FAQs (free units)
- Ling: what the paid plan adds
- Ling on the App Store (languages you can use it in)
- uTalk: Learn Bengali
- uTalk: the languages you can learn from
- uTalk: what's free
- 50LANGUAGES: Bengali for beginners (100 lessons with MP3, offered from 67 languages)
- StoryWeaver: Bengali story books
- Routledge: Colloquial Bengali (no prior knowledge required, free MP3 audio of the dialogues)
- Routledge: Colloquials audio downloads
- italki: Bengali teachers
- italki: home page (pay as you go, teachers set their own prices)
- italki on the App Store
- Preply: online Bengali tutors (free tutor replacement)
- Preply on the App Store
- HelloTalk: Bengali language partners
- HelloTalk: what the paid plan adds
- HelloTalk on the App Store (languages you can use it in)
- Memrise: Learn Bengali (word lists made by other learners)
- Memrise on the App Store (languages you can use it in)
