Sanskrit is one of the 22 languages in the Eighth Schedule of India's constitution, and people learn it to read the Gita, the Upanishads, yoga texts, classical poetry and plays. It is written in Devanagari, though textbooks also print it in Roman letters with marks. Duolingo doesn't teach Sanskrit, so this page covers the apps that do, along with free classes, free reading tools and a few tutor sites.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Sanskrit. You learn from Sanskrit you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Say you want to read yoga texts. Ask Poppy, your AI tutor, for a lesson on the words of a yoga class, 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 around your goal, such as school stories, yoga and chanting, scripture, or a short spoken exchange.
- 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 Sanskrit Letters course teaches the Devanagari letters with pictures and sounds. You can read lessons in Roman letters with marks 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.
- In the early levels, lessons keep each word apart. Real texts join the sounds of neighboring words, which is called sandhi, so Poppy introduces it level by level.
- You can't turn your own Sanskrit 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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uTalk
uTalk teaches Sanskrit words and phrases for everyday situations, from greetings to food and travel.
- More than 2,500 words and phrases across 60+ topics.
- You can practice speaking and compare your pronunciation.
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italki
italki lists Sanskrit teachers, and each profile says what the teacher covers, so you can read it before you book.
- Pick a Sanskrit 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 Sanskrit tutors for private online lessons. Compare their profiles, and the trial lesson shows how the tutor teaches.
- Compare Sanskrit tutors, and book a trial lesson to see whether you like one.
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HelloTalk
HelloTalk is for language exchange. You chat with Sanskrit speakers, and they practice your language with you.
- Chat with Sanskrit speakers who want to learn your language, matched by your goals, interests and level.
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Other Apps We Looked At (1)
- MemriseSanskrit word lists made by other learners, which you can preview before you learn them.
Samskrita Bharati runs spoken Samskrit classes for beginners. Its site describes a free class of 2 hours a day for 10 days, conducted in your locality, plus a correspondence course in four levels and an Android app.
Heritage IITKanpur carries the Bhagavad Gita with classical commentaries, translations and recitations, in eleven scripts. The Sanskrit Heritage Site and the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries are free dictionaries, and Sanskrit Wikisource is a library of Sanskrit texts you can read online.
| 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. |
| 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. |
Check that an app explains Sanskrit in your language by trying one lesson before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Supported language pairs |
| uTalk | 140+ | Full list |
| italki | 19 | Full list |
| Preply | 19 | Full list |
| HelloTalk | 16 | Full list |
| Memrise | 22 | Full list |
Which Sanskrit app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Sanskrit, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or join a free spoken class from Samskrita Bharati, or book a tutor on italki or Preply. The best way to learn Sanskrit shows what to study each week.
Does Duolingo teach Sanskrit?
No. Duolingo's course list has no Sanskrit course. uTalk has beginner Sanskrit lessons, and Bubblegum teaches Sanskrit from Level 1, for learners who know a few words like yoga and karma.
Do I need to learn Devanagari first?
Yes, if you want to read the Gita or any printed Sanskrit text. Sanskrit is written in Devanagari, and Bubblegum's Sanskrit Letters course teaches the letters. You can read your lessons in Roman letters with marks 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
- Wikipedia: Sanskrit (one of the 22 scheduled languages of India; second official language of Uttarakhand since 2010)
- Wikipedia: Sanskrit grammar (sandhi joins the sounds of neighboring words)
- Bubblegum: Sanskrit
- Duolingo course list (no Sanskrit course)
- uTalk: Learn Sanskrit
- uTalk: the languages you can learn from
- uTalk: what's free
- Samskrita Bharati: spoken Samskrit classes, correspondence course and Android app
- Heritage IITKanpur: the Bhagavad Gita with commentaries, translations and recitations
- Sanskrit Heritage Site: a hypertext Sanskrit dictionary with grammatical information
- Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries (Monier-Williams and others)
- Sanskrit Wikisource: a free library of Sanskrit texts
- italki: Sanskrit teachers
- italki: home page (pay as you go, teachers set their own prices)
- italki on the App Store
- Preply: online Sanskrit tutors (free tutor replacement)
- Preply on the App Store
- HelloTalk: Sanskrit language partners
- HelloTalk: what the paid plan adds
- HelloTalk on the App Store (languages you can use it in)
- Memrise: Learn Sanskrit (word lists made by other learners)
- Memrise on the App Store (languages you can use it in)
