Filipino is the national language of the Philippines. It grew out of Tagalog, and people often use the two names for the same language, so apps teach it under either one. Tagalog is the language spoken at home in 10.5 million Philippine households, about four in ten. Several apps teach it, but fewer give you real Filipino to read and listen to once you know the basics.
Here are the apps and services that teach Filipino, grouped by what they help you do. You can start with one and add another when you need it.
Custom Lessons Made for You
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Filipino. You learn from Filipino you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Bubblegum builds Filipino lessons around your own life. Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, what you want to learn. She writes lessons for your level and helps you understand the words and grammar. You can read and listen, and ask her about anything that is unclear. News and stories give you more Filipino to read about music, food, family, and other things you care about.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum is not a person to talk with. For audio lessons with recorded speakers, Pimsleur and Mango are the better fit, and for conversation, try the apps in Learn With People.
- Lessons fit your level, interests, and goals.
- Read and listen to news and stories in Filipino about things you care about.
- Ask Poppy about a sentence while you read.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, so you review them by reading instead of using flashcards.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- You cannot import your own books or articles.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
Follow a Filipino Course
If you want someone to choose what comes next, start here. These apps give you an ordered path through Filipino words and sentences.
Mango Languages
Mango's Filipino (Tagalog) course has 10 chapters and 65 lessons. Check your local library first, since many libraries include Mango.
- Conversation-first lessons with grammar notes and culture notes.
- Compare your pronunciation with a native speaker's recording.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Ling
New users get two free units to try the Tagalog course before choosing a plan.
- Lessons and audio made with native speakers.
- Teaches grammar rules and what words mean in context.
- Flashcards
Mobile
Rosetta Stone Sapphire
Rosetta Stone directs new learners to Sapphire, its current app and web course. Its lessons use pictures and recorded speakers to teach reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
- Connect pictures with words and phrases through guided lessons.
- Pronunciation feedback from its TruAccent speech tool.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Mondly
Mondly groups short exercises around situations such as shopping, travel, and meeting people. You hear a conversation and practice speaking, reading, and listening.
- Practice words and conversations by topic.
- Speech recognition and verb tables help you practice.
MobileWeb
Practice Speaking and Listening
Pimsleur
Pimsleur suits learners who want to start speaking before they read much. You hear a prompt, answer aloud, and then hear the answer.
- Audio lessons of about 30 minutes where you answer out loud.
- Pimsleur Premium adds reading lessons and Speak Easy conversations.
MobileWeb
Glossika
Glossika starts with a placement test, or you can begin from zero. It offers a free trial with no credit card.
- More than 5,000 Tagalog words and sentences, from A1 to C1.
- You learn from audio sentences with English translations.
MobileWeb
FilipinoPod101
FilipinoPod101 lets you study through short recordings and lesson notes. Choose a lesson pathway and work through it at your own pace.
- Audio and video lessons taught by real teachers.
- Lesson notes explain the words and grammar in each dialogue.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Build Vocabulary
Drops
Drops teaches standard Filipino in sessions of about five minutes. The free version gives you new lessons each day, and Premium adds more content.
- Pictures and short games help you remember words.
- Topics such as food, travel, school, and work.
Mobile
uTalk
uTalk helps you learn words through games and audio. Its topics include greetings and everyday requests, such as ordering a coffee.
- More than 2,500 everyday words and phrases in over 60 topics.
- Audio from real Tagalog speakers, and you can record yourself to compare.
MobileWeb
Read and Listen to Filipino
LingQ
LingQ is a library of lessons to read and listen to, sorted by level. Its Tagalog library includes a beginner course called Tagalog for Beginners and a series about Filipino holidays.
- Thousands of hours of Tagalog audio lessons with matching transcripts.
- Import your own articles, YouTube videos, and songs as lessons.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
For more Filipino you can read, watch, and listen to at your level, see our Filipino comprehensible input comparison.
Learn With People
Choose a tutor if you want teaching and correction. Choose a language exchange if you want a practice partner and are happy to help with English in return.
italki
italki lists Filipino (Tagalog) tutors, and you can read each tutor's profile before you book a lesson.
- Choose a Tagalog tutor and book lessons around your schedule.
- Get feedback while you speak.
MobileWeb
Preply
Preply lists Tagalog teachers. Read profiles and reviews to find a tutor who fits your level and goals.
- Compare tutors by profile, reviews, and price.
- Browse tutor lists for beginners, advanced learners, and adults.
MobileWeb
HelloTalk
HelloTalk has a page for Tagalog learners that connects you with Tagalog speakers. Start with messages, then move on to voice rooms.
- Meet Tagalog speakers who want to practice English.
- Practice with messages, voice rooms, and live streams.
- It is for practice rather than a set course, so pair it with a course or a tutor.
Mobile
More Ways to Learn Filipino
Tagalog.com has a dictionary with more than 20,000 example sentences written by native Tagalog speakers, along with lessons for beginners. Learn Tagalog with Fides is a YouTube channel from Fides Ayuste, a teacher in France, with lessons that have Tagalog, English, and French subtitles. For news in Filipino, GMA's Balitambayan section publishes news stories in Filipino.
For classes, the Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison teaches Filipino in an eight-week summer course with first, second, and third-year levels. The Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, the government's national language commission, keeps a library catalog of dictionaries and other books about Filipino.
Learn Filipino in Your Language
These counts cover menu-language choices, including script variants. Other apps’ counts and full lists come from their iPhone listings. Lesson explanations and other platforms may differ.
| App | Supported Display Languages | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Full list
|
| Mango Languages | 2 | Full list |
| Ling | 67 | Full list |
| Pimsleur | 3 | Full list |
| Glossika | 2 | Full list |
| Drops | 16 | Full list |
| uTalk | 1 | Full list |
| LingQ | 17 | Full list |
| italki | 19 | Full list |
| Preply | 19 | Full list |
| HelloTalk | 16 | Full list |
| FilipinoPod101 | 1 | Full list |
| Rosetta Stone Sapphire | 6 | Full list |
| Mondly | 32 | Full list |
Other Apps We Looked At (6)
- Memrise Community CoursesLearner-made Tagalog word lists live on the separate Community Courses website.
- ClozemasterFill-in-the-blank Tagalog sentences, ordered by how common the missing word is, with review that brings sentences back when you are about to forget them.
- Turong WikaAn iPhone app with lessons made by language experts, practice drills, flashcards, grammar cheat sheets, and offline lessons.
- TalkpalAn AI tutor you can chat with in Tagalog, with feedback on your pronunciation and grammar.
- TandemA language exchange app with members in Manila, Makati, and other Philippine cities who are looking for language partners.
- Learn Tagalog For BeginnersAn iPhone app that works offline with no account, with the Tagalog alphabet and practice in listening, reading, and speaking.
Common Questions
Which Filipino app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Filipino, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Ling or Mango if you want a course, and add Pimsleur if you want to speak from the start. Filipino uses the Latin alphabet, so you do not need to learn a new script first.
Can I learn Filipino for free?
Yes. FilipinoPod101's free lifetime account adds 3 to 5 new audio and video lessons each week. Learn Tagalog with Fides is free on YouTube, and a free Tagalog.com account lets you save words and sentences to your own decks. Bubblegum's lesson library is free to read too.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, Article XIV, Section 6
- Philippine News Agency: Tagalog or Filipino? Experts set record straight on national language
- Philippine Statistics Authority: Tagalog is the Most Widely Spoken Language at Home (2020 Census of Population and Housing)
- Mango Languages for libraries
- FilipinoPod101: Free Lifetime Account
- FilipinoPod101: current iPhone listing
- Rosetta Stone Sapphire: current iPhone listing
- Mondly: current iPhone listing
- Innovative Language: mobile app study tools
- Memrise: Community Courses moved to a separate website
- Bubblegum
- Mango Languages
- Ling
- Rosetta Stone Sapphire
- Mondly
- Pimsleur
- Glossika
- Drops
- uTalk
- LingQ
- italki
- Preply
- HelloTalk
Checked on October 10, 2026 against each app's own pages.
