About 24 million people speak Romanian. It is the official language of Romania and Moldova, and it has been an official language of the European Union since 2007. Many apps teach beginner Romanian, and fewer give you real Romanian to read and listen to once you know the basics.
Here are the apps and services that teach Romanian, 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
Bubblegum suits learners who want Romanian built around their own lives. 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 Romanian to read about music, food, family, and other things you care about.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum does not replace real Romanian voices. For recorded speakers, Pimsleur and Mango are the better fit. For a fixed course, try Duolingo or Ling, 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 Romanian 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.
- Lesson audio uses AI voices, not recordings of Romanian speakers.
- You cannot import your own books or articles.
- The free plan includes one new custom lesson each day.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
Follow a Romanian Course
If you want someone to choose what comes next, start here. These apps give you an ordered path through Romanian words and sentences.
Duolingo
Duolingo has a Romanian course for English speakers. It is a good way to start learning words and sounds. Add a grammar book or a tutor when you want the rules explained.
- A free course with lessons for reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
- Short, bite-sized lessons you can finish in a few minutes.
MobileWeb
Mango Languages
Mango's Romanian course has three units, 15 chapters, and 84 lessons. Check your local library first, since many libraries include Mango.
- Every lesson opens with a conversation between native speakers.
- Grammar notes with color-coding, plus culture notes.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Ling
Ling has a Romanian course made with native speakers. Its lessons mix vocabulary, dialogues, and speaking practice, with games to review what you learned.
- Realistic dialogues and bite-sized lessons with audio from native speakers.
- Culture and grammar notes, plus games for reviewing vocabulary.
- Flashcards
Mobile
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. Level 1 has 30 lessons, and you answer out loud as you listen.
- 30-minute audio lessons where you answer out loud.
- The course teaches the Romanian spoken in both Romania and Moldova.
MobileWeb
RomanianPod101
RomanianPod101 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
Memrise
Memrise offers Romanian vocabulary practice through community word lists on its website and mobile app. You can look for a topic that fits your goal or collect your own words. This differs from the older Community Courses website.
- Choose Romanian word lists made by other learners.
- Make a list of your own words to practice.
MobileWeb
Drops
Drops teaches the most useful Romanian words through short, game-like sessions.
- More than 40 topics of Romanian words and phrases, from beginner to advanced.
- Each word comes with a picture, in five-minute sessions.
Mobile
Clozemaster
Clozemaster shows you a Romanian sentence with one word missing, and you fill in the word. Each word appears in many sentences, so you see how it changes with different grammar.
- Sentence lists on more than 80 topics, each with audio and an English translation.
- Sentences are sorted by how common the missing word is, so you meet useful words first.
MobileWeb
Read and Listen to Real Romanian
LingQ
LingQ suits learners who want to read and listen to real Romanian. Pick a lesson from its library, or bring in a podcast or article of your own.
- A free library with a 62-lesson Mini Stories series for beginners, plus Radio Romania lessons.
- Import your own Romanian videos and podcasts as lessons.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
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 Romanian tutors who teach online. Read their profiles to find one who fits your level and goals.
- Choose a Romanian tutor and book lessons around your schedule.
- Some tutors hold certificates in teaching Romanian as a second language.
- Lessons are paid, so the cost depends on the tutor you choose.
MobileWeb
Preply
Preply lists Romanian tutors. You can narrow the list by level, such as intermediate or advanced, or to tutors who also speak English.
- Compare tutors by profile and reviews.
- Classes can focus on conversation or on exam preparation, such as the Romanian citizenship language test.
MobileWeb
HelloTalk
HelloTalk has a Romanian page for finding language exchange partners. You help your partner with your language, and they help you with Romanian.
- Chat with Romanian speakers by text, voice message, or video.
- Join voice rooms or timed one-on-one language exchange calls.
Mobile
Tandem
Tandem lists Romanian among its languages. Agree with your partner on how to split time between your two languages.
- Find Romanian speakers in cities such as Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, and Iași.
- Both partners teach each other their native language.
- It can take a few tries to find a partner who matches your interests and time.
MobileWeb
Courses From Romania and Other Resources
Romania's public institutions teach Romanian to foreigners. The Romanian Cultural Institute runs Romanian courses for foreigners, online and in person, and its placement test is free. The Romanian Language Institute teaches Romanian as a foreign language at every level of the European framework, with summer schools for adults and children. The government's resources page for Romanians abroad lists online Romanian resources, including a course from Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca.
For a free course, Live Lingua hosts the Defense Language Institute's Romanian course. To hear Romanian at natural speed, Easy Romanian has street interviews with subtitles in Romanian and English, and the "Romanian Without Tears" program from Radio Romania International teaches phrases for everyday situations. When you can read definitions in Romanian, dexonline is a free dictionary that gathers definitions from many Romanian dictionaries.
Learn Romanian 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
|
| Duolingo | 32 | Full list |
| Mango Languages | 2 | Full list |
| Ling | 67 | Full list |
| Pimsleur | 3 | Full list |
| Drops | 16 | Full list |
| Clozemaster | 37 | Full list |
| LingQ | 17 | Full list |
| italki | 19 | Full list |
| Preply | 19 | Full list |
| HelloTalk | 16 | Full list |
| Tandem | 14 | Full list |
| Mondly | 32 | Full list |
| RomanianPod101 | 1 | Full list |
| Memrise | 22 | Full list |
Other Apps We Looked At (3)
- uTalkMore than 2,500 words and phrases on over 60 topics, with audio from Romanian speakers and games for practice.
- TalkpalAn AI tutor with a Romanian page. You practice by writing or speaking and get feedback on your pronunciation.
- ReadlangClick any word in a Romanian article, book, or web page to see its translation and save it as a flashcard. It also has a public library of Romanian texts.
Common Questions
Which Romanian app should a beginner choose?
Start with Duolingo if you want a free course, or Mango if your library offers it. Add Pimsleur if you want to speak from the start. Bubblegum suits learners who want lessons around their own interests. Romanian comes from Latin and is related to Italian and Spanish, so many words may look familiar, and it also borrowed words from Slavic languages. It uses the Latin alphabet with the extra letters ă, â, î, ș, and ț, so you do not need to learn a new script first.
Can I learn Romanian for free?
Yes. Duolingo's Romanian course is free, and many libraries give free access to Mango. The Defense Language Institute's Romanian course is free on Live Lingua, and dexonline is a free dictionary with more than a million definitions. Bubblegum's lesson library is free to read too.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. You can read the free lesson library and ask Poppy for one new custom lesson each day on iPhone and Android. Become a Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons and to support our team.
Sources
- Ethnologue: Romanian
- Ethnologue: Romania
- Ethnologue: Moldova
- European Union: Romania
- Britannica: Romance languages
- Brigham Young University Linguistics: The History of the Romanian Language
- dexonline: Dicționar explicativ al limbii române
- Live Lingua: Defense Language Institute Romanian course
- Mondly: current iPhone listing
- RomanianPod101: current iPhone listing
- Innovative Language: mobile app study tools
- Reddit: Romanian learner experiences
- Memrise: Community Courses moved to a separate website
- Memrise: Romanian community word lists in the current app
- Memrise: community word lists restored to current website and apps
- Bubblegum
- Duolingo
- Mango Languages
- Ling
- Mondly
- Pimsleur
- RomanianPod101
- Drops
- Clozemaster
- LingQ
- italki
- Preply
- HelloTalk
- Tandem
Checked on October 5, 2026 against each app's own pages.
