Burmese is the official language of Myanmar, and it is written in a round script of its own. Duolingo doesn't teach Burmese, and neither do Babbel, Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone or Mango. The apps below do, along with a free course and a few tutor sites.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Burmese. You learn from Burmese you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Your partner's grandmother lives in Yangon, and you meet her next month. Ask Poppy, your AI tutor, for a lesson on greeting her with မင်္ဂလာပါ (hello) and thanking her for lunch with ကျေးဇူးတင်ပါတယ် (thank you), and she writes it at your level, with audio. Poppy shapes a journey around your interests and level, and she explains any line you ask about.
To practice speaking with a person, see Practice With a Person.
- Poppy writes each lesson around your level and the topics you choose.
- Lessons play AI audio while you read.
- Tap a word to see what it means, or ask Poppy to explain a whole line.
- Lessons use everyday spoken Burmese, and the written style comes in for reading from Level 4.
- The Burmese Letters course teaches the letters and tones, and a second part covers numerals and rare letters.
- 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 the Burmese of Yangon and Mandalay, so it has no lessons in the regional varieties.
- You can't turn your own Burmese 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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Loecsen
Loecsen's Burmese course starts with the first words you say when you meet someone. Later levels cover directions, taxis, restaurants, hotels, family and trouble.
- A course for complete beginners, planned around the A1 level, with 17 chapters in 6 levels.
- You hear each expression, repeat it out loud, and then test yourself by listening, reordering sentences and typing the missing word.
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Ling
Ling is a course app that gets you speaking Burmese first. Lessons come with Burmese audio, and you practice conversations in the dialog feature.
- An introduction lesson with everyday survival sentences.
- A dialog feature for practicing conversations, and flashcards for new words.
- The Burmese script is split into small steps.
- Flashcards
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uTalk
uTalk teaches Burmese words and phrases for everyday situations, like getting around and eating out.
- More than 2,500 words and phrases in over 60 topics.
- Games and recordings let you compare your pronunciation with the voice you hear.
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italki
italki has Burmese tutors for one-on-one video lessons.
- Pick a Burmese tutor and book a video lesson.
- Each profile shows the languages a tutor speaks, so you can choose someone who explains in English.
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Preply
Preply has Burmese tutors for private online lessons. Book a trial lesson to see whether the tutor suits you.
- Compare reviews and prices before you book a Burmese tutor.
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Other Apps We Looked At (4)
- MemriseBurmese word lists made by other learners, filtered by level, and you can pick a list for your goal.
- HelloTalkA language exchange app where you chat with partners. Its page for Burmese partners is called Myanmar.
- TalkpalAn AI conversation coach with a Burmese page, instant feedback on pronunciation and grammar, and 51 app languages.
- Learn Burmese HandwritingShows how to write each Burmese letter stroke by stroke, with a human voice for the alphabet and vowels and English meanings for common words.
Northern Illinois University's SEAsite has Burmese lessons online. Its script lessons come first, with drills and quizzes on consonants, vowels and stacked letters. The beginning lessons follow with greetings and questions, and the intermediate lessons add topics about Myanmar and its culture.
On YouTube, Burmese Lesson has videos on the consonants and on greetings, and Cherry's Myanmar Lab has videos on reading and writing.
| 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. |
| Loecsen | Free version | The core course is free. Paid options add more content and advanced features. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Memrise | Not stated | These are word lists made by other learners on Memrise. |
| HelloTalk | Free version | Chatting with language partners is free. HelloTalk VIP removes ads and adds unlimited translations and more new partners each day. |
| Talkpal | Free version | Talkpal's free Basic Plan lets you chat with the AI for a short time each day. Talkpal Premium removes the limit and starts with a free trial. |
| Learn Burmese Handwriting | Paid | It costs $1.99 on the App Store. |
Check which language an app uses to explain Burmese before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Supported language pairs |
| Loecsen | 40 | Full list |
| Ling | 68 | Full list |
| uTalk | 140+ | Full list |
| italki | 19 | Full list |
| Preply | 19 | Full list |
| Memrise | 22 | Full list |
| HelloTalk | 16 | Full list |
| Talkpal | 51 | Full list |
| Learn Burmese Handwriting | 1 | Full list |
Which Burmese app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Burmese, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Loecsen, a free course for complete beginners. The best way to learn Burmese lays out what to do each week.
Does Duolingo teach Burmese?
No. Duolingo has no Burmese course. Loecsen and Ling both offer beginner courses.
Do I need to learn the Burmese script first?
Yes, if you want to read signs and menus. Burmese has its own round letters, and each consonant carries a built-in vowel that other signs can change. Bubblegum's Burmese Letters course teaches the letters, and SEAsite has script drills. Ling starts with speaking, so you can hear Burmese first and meet the letters a little later.
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
- Constitution of Myanmar (2008): Myanmar language is the official language
- The Unicode Standard 16.0, section 16.3: the Myanmar script
- Bubblegum: Burmese
- Duolingo course list (no Burmese course)
- Babbel: language courses
- Pimsleur: language programs
- Rosetta Stone: languages
- Mango Languages: available languages
- Ling: Learn Burmese
- Ling: FAQs (free units)
- Ling: pricing
- Ling on the App Store (languages you can use it in)
- Loecsen: How to learn Burmese (free course, 17 chapters, 6 levels)
- Loecsen: home page (free core course, paid options, 40 site languages)
- uTalk: Learn Burmese
- uTalk on the App Store (free starter words)
- uTalk: the languages you can learn from
- italki: Burmese teachers
- italki: home page (what is free)
- italki on the App Store
- Preply: online Burmese tutors (try 2 more tutors for free)
- Preply on the App Store
- Memrise: Learn Burmese (word lists made by other learners)
- Memrise on the App Store (languages you can use it in)
- HelloTalk: language partners
- HelloTalk: what's free
- HelloTalk: what the paid plan adds
- HelloTalk on the App Store (languages you can use it in)
- Talkpal: Learn Burmese with AI
- Talkpal: pricing
- Talkpal on the App Store (languages you can use it in)
- Learn Burmese Handwriting on the App Store ($1.99)
- SEAsite (Northern Illinois University): Burmese language lessons
- SEAsite: Burmese script lessons (40 lessons)
- SEAsite: Beginning Burmese lessons (23 lessons)
- SEAsite: Intermediate Burmese lessons (16 lessons)
- Burmese Lesson: video lessons on YouTube
- Cherry's Myanmar Lab: Burmese reading and writing videos on YouTube
