Marathi is the language of official business in the Indian state of Maharashtra, and India's 2011 census counted about 83 million people who grew up speaking it. It is written in Devanagari, the same script as Hindi, plus a letter Hindi almost never uses, ळ. Duolingo, Mango, Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone don't list Marathi, so this page covers the apps that do, along with a free course and a few tutor sites.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Marathi. You learn from Marathi you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Say your partner's family speaks Marathi, and you want to greet them at the door. Ask Poppy, your AI tutor, for a lesson on saying नमस्कार (hello) and asking how everyone is, and she writes it at your level, 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 Marathi Letters 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 Marathi, as spoken in Pune and Mumbai, so it has no lessons in regional varieties.
- You can't turn your own Marathi 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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Ling
Ling teaches Marathi in lessons with native audio and game-style challenges. Its Marathi page shows sample sentences with English translations.
- 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 Marathi 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 Marathi, and listen offline.
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uTalk
uTalk teaches Marathi words and phrases for everyday situations, and says its course takes you to an A1 to A2 level.
- More than 2,500 words and phrases in 63 categories, each with audio recorded by native Marathi speakers and a picture.
- Reviews focus on the words you find hardest, and you can record yourself and compare your pronunciation.
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italki
italki lists Marathi teachers, and each profile says what the teacher covers, so you can read it before you book.
- Pick a Marathi 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 Marathi tutors for private online lessons. Compare their profiles, and the trial lesson shows how the tutor teaches.
- Compare Marathi tutors, and book a trial lesson to see whether you like one.
MobileWeb
HelloTalk
HelloTalk is for language exchange. You chat with Marathi speakers, and they practice your language with you.
- Chat with Marathi speakers who want to learn your language, matched by your goals, interests and level.
MobileWeb
Other Apps We Looked At (3)
- MemriseMarathi word lists made by other learners, which you can preview before you learn them.
- Marathi 101: Learn to WriteAn app for tracing the Marathi letters and numbers, with a quiz. You try some letters free, and an in-app purchase opens the rest.
- Bhasha SangamAn app from India's Ministry of Education and MyGov that teaches basic everyday sentences in all 22 official languages of India, Marathi among them.
Learn Marathi With Kaushik is a free self-study course in English. It begins with the Devanagari letters and how they sound, then moves through grammar and sentence structures, phrases, vocabulary and conversation practice, and the site says each lesson has a video.
Marathi Everyday is a podcast of short scenes, like a taxi ride, a bank visit and a doctor's appointment, and each episode includes a Hindi summary.
| 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. |
| 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 Marathi 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. |
| Marathi 101: Learn to Write | Some lessons free | You try some letters and numbers free, and an in-app purchase opens the rest. |
| Bhasha Sangam | Free | Its App Store page says you can learn all 22 official languages of India from the app for free. |
Menus in your language don't always mean Marathi explained in your language, so try one lesson before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Supported language pairs |
| Ling | 68 | Full list |
| 50LANGUAGES | 52 | Full list |
| uTalk | 140+ | Full list |
| italki | 19 | Full list |
| Preply | 19 | Full list |
| HelloTalk | 16 | Full list |
| Memrise | 22 | Full list |
| Marathi 101: Learn to Write | 1 | Full list |
| Bhasha Sangam | 1 | Full list |
Which Marathi app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Marathi, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with the free lessons on 50LANGUAGES, which come with MP3 audio, or with Learn Marathi With Kaushik. The best way to learn Marathi has a plan for each week.
Does Duolingo teach Marathi?
No. Duolingo's course list has no Marathi course. Ling and uTalk both have beginner Marathi lessons.
Do I need to learn the Marathi letters first?
Yes, if you want to read signs, forms and books. Marathi is written in Devanagari, and the letter ळ is one Hindi readers rarely see. Bubblegum's Marathi Letters 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
- Census of India 2011, Language (Paper 1 of 2018), Statement 4: Marathi, 83,026,680 speakers, 6.86% of the population
- The Maharashtra Official Languages Act, 1964: Marathi in Devanagari script is the language for official purposes of the state
- Wiktionary: the letter ळ, used in modern Marathi and almost completely absent from Hindi
- Bubblegum: Marathi
- Duolingo course list (no Marathi course)
- Mango Languages: available languages
- Pimsleur: language programs
- Rosetta Stone: languages
- Ling: Learn Marathi
- Ling: FAQs (free units)
- Ling on the App Store (languages you can use it in)
- uTalk: Learn Marathi
- uTalk: the languages you can learn from
- 50LANGUAGES: Marathi for beginners (100 lessons with MP3)
- Learn Marathi With Kaushik: Learn Marathi From English
- Learn Marathi With Kaushik: home page (a video for each lesson, free)
- italki: Marathi teachers
- italki: home page (pay as you go, teachers set their own prices)
- italki on the App Store
- Preply: online Marathi tutors (free tutor replacement)
- Preply on the App Store
- HelloTalk: Marathi language partners
- HelloTalk: what the paid plan adds
- HelloTalk on the App Store (languages you can use it in)
- Memrise: Learn Marathi (word lists made by other learners)
- Memrise on the App Store (languages you can use it in)
- Marathi 101: Learn to Write on the App Store
- Bhasha Sangam on the App Store (22 official languages of India, from the Ministry of Education and MyGov)
- Marathi Everyday: podcast on Apple Podcasts
- Wiktionary: Marathi verb forms for I go, जातो (a man speaking) and जाते (a woman speaking)
- Ling: what the paid plan adds
- uTalk: what's free
