Dari is the name Afghans give to their Persian, and it is one of Afghanistan's two official languages, along with Pashto. It's written in the same Persian letters as the Persian of Iran, but some sounds and words are different. Check which one an app teaches before you pick it.
Many Persian apps teach the Persian of Iran. Our Persian app comparison covers them, and this page gathers what is made for Dari.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Persian. You learn from Persian you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, that your neighbors are from Herat and you'd like to chat with them over tea, and she writes a conversation at your level. Play it, and ask her what any line means.
Bubblegum focuses on reading and listening more than speaking, so for speaking practice, book a teacher in Practice With a Teacher.
- The Dari Alphabet course teaches the Persian letters in 12 short chapters, with pictures and the sounds Dari uses.
- The voices that read your lessons aloud are told to speak Dari, not Iranian Persian.
- Read your lessons in Dari letters or in Roman Dari, the Latin letters many Afghans text in, and switch any time.
- 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.
- Learn every letter in the free Persian Alphabet course, with a picture to help you remember each one.
- The read-aloud voices are standard voices that are told to speak Dari, with no Afghan voices of their own, so also listen to Radio Azadi, below.
- You can't turn your own Dari books or articles into lessons.
- 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
Mango Languages
Mango sells Dari as a course apart from its Persian one. Many public libraries give you Mango for free with a library card, so ask there first.
- Each lesson is built around a conversation, with Grammar Notes and Culture Notes about etiquette and gestures.
- A voice comparison tool lets you check your accent.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Pimsleur
Pimsleur sells Dari Persian as its own course, apart from Farsi. You listen and answer out loud, so you can start speaking before you read much.
- 60 audio lessons of 30 minutes each, in two levels.
- Voice Coach gives you pronunciation feedback as you speak.
MobileWeb
uTalk
uTalk teaches Dari as its own language, apart from Iranian Persian. Each topic is a set of quick games, and you hear every word spoken by someone from Afghanistan.
- More than 2,500 words and phrases in topics like family, restaurants, and travel.
- Native Afghan speakers recorded the audio.
MobileWeb
Preply
Ask your tutor to role-play a visit with your partner's family, so you practice the words you'd use there. Some tutors teach Dari and Iranian Persian, so check that the profile says Dari.
- Filter Dari tutors by country of birth, and many listed tutors show an Afghanistan flag.
- Book one-to-one lessons over video.
MobileWeb
italki
italki lists Dari teachers, and most are native Dari speakers. A trial lesson is a good way to hear how a teacher speaks before you book more.
- Browse Dari teachers and book a low-priced trial lesson.
- Pick a lesson time that suits you both.
MobileWeb
Other Apps We Looked At (1)
- ZabanZaban has five courses, including Afghan Dari in Persian script, with the Latin spelling beside it and automatic feedback on your speaking. The first six units of each course are free, and Zaban Plus, a monthly subscription, opens the rest.
FSI Language Courses lists two free Dari courses: the Defense Language Institute's, in 42 PDFs, and a Peace Corps course. They are textbook courses, so they suit you if you like working through a book.
For a book you can buy, Shaista Wahab's Beginner's Dari has 33 lessons with dialogues, an alphabet guide, and free online audio from native speakers. The publisher's page currently lists it as unavailable, so check your library or another bookseller.
For listening and reading, Radio Azadi has news articles, a live audio stream, and a program schedule in Dari. It comes from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
| 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. |
| Mango Languages | Some lessons free | The first lesson of every language is free, and many public libraries give their members full access at no cost. The paid plans start with a free trial. |
| Pimsleur | Free trial | You can try Pimsleur free for 7 days. After that, you pay for one language or for all of them. |
| 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. |
| Zaban: Farsi, Dari & Tajik | Some lessons free | The first six units of each course are free, and Zaban Plus opens the rest. |
Try one lesson in your language before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Supported language pairs |
| Mango | 2 | Full list |
| Zaban | 1 | Full list |
| Pimsleur | 3 | Full list |
| uTalk | 140+ | Full list |
| Preply | 19 | Full list |
| italki | 19 | Full list |
Which Dari app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Persian, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Pimsleur if you'd like to speak first, or with uTalk if you'd like to learn words first.
Is Dari a different language from Persian?
Dari is the Persian of Afghanistan, and Pimsleur, Mango, and uTalk each teach it apart from Iranian Persian. The two share the same letters, and some sounds and words change. For example, Dari says the letter و as w, where Iran says v. The differences matter less in formal writing.
Will Persian lessons from Iran help me learn Dari?
They help with the letters and much of the grammar. For everyday talk, pick a Dari course or a Dari teacher, so the sounds and words match the people you'll talk with.
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
- Constitution of Afghanistan (2004), Article 16: Pashto and Dari are the official languages of the state
- Pimsleur: Learn Dari Persian (the Persian of Afghanistan, 60 half-hour lessons in two levels)
- uTalk: Learn Dari (taught apart from Iranian Persian, recorded with Afghan speakers)
- Mango Languages: Dari
- Mango Languages: pricing, free trial and free access through libraries
- Zaban: Farsi, Dari & Tajik on the App Store
- Bubblegum: Dari
- Preply: Dari tutors
- italki: Dari teachers
- FSI Language Courses: Dari (the DLI Dari course and a Peace Corps course, listed as free)
- Radio Azadi, the Dari site of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
- RFE/RL: the Afghan Service broadcasts in Dari and Pashto from Prague
- Hippocrene Books: Beginner's Dari with Online Audio, by Shaista Wahab
- IAM Afghanistan: external resources (Iranian Farsi and Afghan Dari differ, but matter less for formal topics)
- Mango: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Pimsleur: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- uTalk: Languages you can learn from
- Preply: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- italki: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- uTalk: what's free
- Mango Languages: what's free
- italki: what's free
