Belgian French is the one to learn if you're moving to Brussels or Wallonia, or talking with friends from Belgium. About 40% of Belgians speak French as their first language, and it's close to the French of France, so French lessons help you here, though many don't say whether they teach Belgian words. Our French app comparison covers apps for any kind of French.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn French. You learn from French you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, that you're starting a job in Brussels. She writes you a lesson at your level about your first week at the office. Ask her what any line means, like why a coworker says septante for 70.
Bubblegum focuses on reading and listening more than speaking, so for speaking practice, try a tutor or partner in Practice With People From Belgium.
- Lessons are in Belgian French, with Belgian words and places, like a kot, a student room, or septante and nonante for 70 and 90.
- 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.
- Lessons are read aloud in standard French, not a Belgian accent, so listen to Belgian radio and TV too.
- Lessons teach standard Belgian French and don't cover regional speech, like Walloon.
- 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
Preply
Ask a tutor from Belgium to role-play a visit to a Brussels bakery or a talk with your new landlord. You'll hear the words people use there.
- Filter French tutors by country of birth, and look for Belgium.
- Book one-to-one lessons over video.
MobileWeb
italki
Tell your teacher you want Belgian French, so the examples fit the people you'll talk to.
- Use the Teachers from filter to look for French teachers from Belgium.
- Pick a lesson time that suits you both.
MobileWeb
Tandem
On Tandem, you help someone with your language while they help you with French. Search for partners in Belgium, and trade a voice note in French for one in your language.
- Tandem lists members in Brussels, Liège, Ghent, and Antwerp.
- Trade voice notes, or talk over video.
MobileWeb
RTBF Auvio, from Belgium's French-language public broadcaster, has live channels, podcasts, and a Kids section. Watching the shows people in Brussels watch is a good way to hear Belgian words and accents.
uTalk's French page offers standard and Canadian French, with no Belgian course. Use any French course for shared grammar, and add the resources above for Belgian words.
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Tandem | Free version | Signing up is free, and Tandem reviews each new member first. Many features are free, and Tandem Pro gives you all of them. |
Try one lesson in your language before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Supported language pairs |
| Preply | 19 | App Store |
| italki | 19 | App Store |
| Tandem | 14 | App Store |
Which Belgian French app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning French, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with a tutor from Belgium if you'd like to hear Belgian French from the first lesson.
Is Belgian French different from the French of France?
Only a little. About 40% of Belgians speak French as their first language, and people from France and Belgium understand each other well. Numbers are one difference: Belgians say septante for 70 and nonante for 90, where France says soixante-dix and quatre-vingt-dix. There are also Belgian words, like kot for a student room.
Will people in France understand Belgian French?
Yes. The differences are small, mostly a few words and numbers, so what you learn here works in France too.
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: Belgian French (about 40% of Belgians speak French natively; septante, nonante, kot)
- Bubblegum: French (Belgium)
- Preply: French tutors (country of birth filter; prices by tutor nationality include Belgium)
- italki: French teachers (Teachers from filter)
- Tandem: language exchange in Belgium (members in Brussels, Liège, Ghent and Antwerp)
- RTBF Auvio: live channels, podcasts and a Kids section
- uTalk: French (lists Canadian French as the only other variety)
- Preply: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- italki: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Tandem: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- italki: what's free
- Tandem: what's free
- Bubblegum
- italki
- Tandem
