Only two apps we found teach the English spoken in India: Bubblegum and uTalk. Most other English apps teach American or British English, so for the rest of your Indian English you pair one of them with a tutor from India. This page compares the apps and says how each one sounds. For podcasts, news, and radio from India, read our Best Ways to Learn Indian English.
Most of Indian English grammar is the same as in other English. It has British-style spelling, like colour and centre, and some words of its own, like , which means to move something earlier, and , which means 100,000.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Indian English. You learn from Indian English you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Indian English 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.
Ask Poppy what a word like prepone means and when people use it.
Bubblegum focuses on reading and listening more than speaking, so for speaking practice, try a tutor in Practice With a Tutor From India.
- Lessons are in Indian English, read aloud in Indian English accents.
- Lessons use Indian English words like flat, lift and petrol, and British-style spellings like colour and centre.
- 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.
- Local words like prepone turn up when they suit the lesson, so not every lesson has one.
- 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
uTalk
uTalk sells Indian English as its own course, next to its American, British, Australian, Canadian, Cockney, and Scottish English courses. The course starts with greetings and common words, then moves to travel, work, and everyday life, and it includes expressions used in India.
- uTalk has a separate Indian English course, recorded by native speakers of Indian English.
- Download it and practice offline.
MobileWeb
Preply
Preply is a tutor marketplace, so the accent you learn is your tutor's. Pick a tutor from India, and practice the conversations you'll have at work, like a stand-up meeting or a call with a client.
- Use the country of birth filter to look for English tutors born in India.
- Watch a tutor's intro video before you book.
MobileWeb
italki
italki also lets you choose a teacher by where they're from. Tell your teacher where you'll live or work, so the examples fit.
- Filter English teachers by where they're from.
- Book one-to-one lessons over video.
MobileWeb
Rosetta Stone sells English (American) and English (British) as separate courses, and its page says it teaches clear, standard English. Drops and Memrise both have British English courses. None of the three mentions Indian English on those pages, so use them for general English and add Bubblegum or uTalk for the Indian words and accent.
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
Try one lesson in your language before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 76 | Supported language pairs |
| uTalk | 140+ | Full list |
| Preply | 19 | App Store |
| italki | 19 | App Store |
Which Indian English app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Indian English, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with uTalk if you'd like to learn everyday Indian English words first.
Which accent will I learn from an app?
With Bubblegum, an Indian English voice reads each lesson, and uTalk's Indian English course is recorded by speakers of Indian English. With Rosetta Stone, Drops, or Memrise you learn American or British English, so add a tutor from India to hear the accent you'll meet there.
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: English (India)
- uTalk: Learn Indian English (recorded by native speakers)
- Preply: English tutors (country of birth filter)
- italki: English teachers (Teachers from filter)
- Rosetta Stone: Learn English (American and British English courses)
- Drops: Learn British English
- Memrise: British English course
- Cambridge Dictionary: prepone (Indian English)
- Cambridge Dictionary: lakh (Indian English)
- uTalk: what's free
- italki: what's free
- uTalk: Languages you can learn from
- italki: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Preply: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
