Indian English is the one to learn if you're moving to India for work or study, or joining a team there. Most English apps use American or British English. Our English app comparison covers apps for any kind of English.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Indian English. You learn from Indian English you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, that you're joining a team in Bengaluru next month, and she writes a lesson about your first team meeting at your level. Play it, and ask her about any word that's new to you.
Bubblegum focuses on reading and listening more than speaking, so for speaking practice, try a tutor in Practice With a Tutor From India.
- English (India) is its own journey, with lessons read aloud in Indian English accents.
- Lessons are set in India when it fits, and use rupees and British-style spellings like colour and centre.
- Lessons fit your level, interests, and goals.
- 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.
- Beginner lessons stick to plain English, and local words like prepone only come in at higher levels.
- 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 sells Indian English as its own course, next to its American and British English courses. Short lessons with audio and games help you hear everyday words the way people in India say them.
- uTalk has a separate Indian English course, recorded by speakers of Indian English.
- Download it and practice offline.
MobileWeb
Preply
Preply has thousands of English tutors. Pick one born in India, and practice the conversations you'll have at work, like a stand-up meeting or a call with a client.
- Filter English tutors by country of birth, and pick India.
- Watch a tutor's intro video before you book.
MobileWeb
italki
italki lets you choose an English teacher from India. Tell your teacher where you'll live or work, so the examples fit.
- Filter English teachers by where they're from.
- Book one-to-one lessons over video.
MobileWeb
In Focus by The Hindu is a podcast from The Hindu newspaper. Each episode talks through one topic in the news with experts. For short news, NewsOnAir, from All India Radio, posts English bulletins you can play.
| 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. |
| 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. |
Try one lesson in your language before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Supported language pairs |
| uTalk | 1 | App Store |
| Preply | 19 | App Store |
| italki | 19 | App Store |
Which Indian English app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Indian English, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with uTalk if you'd like to learn everyday Indian English words first.
How is Indian English different?
Most of it is the same English as anywhere else. Bubblegum's Indian English lessons use British-style spelling, like colour. You'll also hear a few words of its own: to prepone a meeting means to move it earlier, and a lakh is 100,000.
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
- Bubblegum: English (India)
- uTalk: Learn Indian English (recorded by native speakers)
- italki: English teachers (Teachers from filter)
- Preply: English tutors (country of birth filter, India)
- In Focus by The Hindu (podcast)
- NewsOnAir (All India Radio): news bulletins in English
- The Hindu
- Rosetta Stone: Learn English (Rosetta Stone English is American or British)
- Drops: Learn British English (Drops English is British or American)
- Memrise: British English course (Memrise English is American or British)
- Cambridge Dictionary: prepone (Indian English)
- Cambridge Dictionary: lakh (Indian English)
- uTalk: what's free
- italki: what's free
- uTalk: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- italki: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Preply: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
