The easiest way to learn Galician is to read and listen to short, easy Galician about things you already like, checking the translation when you need it. Galician you can mostly understand is called comprehensible input, and it keeps showing you the most common words and endings, so you can leave verb tables and long word lists for later. Below are the first steps in order, and some easy Galician to start with.
Is Galician Easy to Learn?
Galician is probably one of the easier languages for English speakers to learn, judging by its closest relative. The U.S. Foreign Service Institute does not list Galician, and it puts Portuguese, which grew out of the same language of the Middle Ages, in its first group, the languages that take English speakers the least time. Our guide to the fastest way shows how long it takes.
Three things make the start easier than it looks.
- An Alphabet You KnowGalician's standard alphabet has 23 letters, and all of them but ñ are letters English uses too.
- Words You Already KnowMany Galician words look like English ones, such as televisión (television) and universidade (university).
- A Head Start From SpanishIf you know some Spanish or Portuguese, many Galician words will look familiar, such as casa (house) and noite (night).
What Is the Easiest Way to Start?
The easiest way to start is with greetings and other short Galician you enjoy, one small step at a time.
- Start With GreetingsBegin with lines you can use right away, like Bos días (good morning) and Grazas (thank you).
- Read About What You LoveRead short dialogues about food, music, or anything else you already enjoy.
- Listen While You ReadPlay the audio as you read, so each word's sound and spelling go together.
- Hide the TranslationKeep the English hidden, and check it only when a line stops you.
- Save a Few WordsSave only the few words you want to keep, along with the line you found each one in.
- Say a Line Out LoudRead a line aloud whenever it feels fun, like Un café, por favor (A coffee, please) before a trip to a cafe in Galicia.
Bubblegum is a language app for reading and listening to Galician at your level, with lessons that Poppy, its AI tutor, writes about the things you like. Words you save come back inside new lessons through Regenerative Review™, so reviewing them means reading more Galician.
What Makes Galician Feel Hard, and How Can You Make It Easier?
Four parts of Galician feel hard at first, and each one gets easier when you meet it again and again in easy Galician.
| What feels hard | The easy fix |
|---|---|
| Seven vowel sounds with five letters | The letters e and o can each sound two ways, and the spelling doesn't show which. Play the audio as you read, and copy what you hear. |
| Words like "me" after the verb | Galician often puts these small words on the end of the verb, as in Chámome Ana (my name is Ana) and Gústame (I like it). Lines like these come up so often that the order soon feels normal. |
| Little words that join together | En (in) and o (the) join to make no, so Estou no café means "I'm at the cafe." Easy reading shows you each of these joined words many times. |
| Masculine and feminine words | Every noun is masculine or feminine, and a few differ from Spanish, as in o leite (the milk). Read each noun with its o or a, and save it that way. |
What Is Easy Galician to Start With?
Easy Galician to start with is short and slow, with pictures, audio or subtitles to help you follow it.
| What | Why it's easy | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Galego para peques | Short cartoons in Galician show picture symbols on the screen. | xabarin.gal |
| Xabarín's shows for ages 6 to 9 | Shows are sorted by age, and you can turn subtitles on. | xabarin.gal |
| uTalk | Short lessons teach your first words and phrases with recorded voices. | utalk.com |
| DígochoEu | Short videos explain Galician words and sounds, often the ones that differ from Spanish, once you know some words. | digochoeu.gal |
If a new word shows up in almost every line, switch to something easier.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Galician easier if I already speak Spanish?
Yes. Many words and grammar patterns are close to Spanish, so simple Galician is often easy to read. The Real Academia Galega's Portal das Palabras lets you look up a Spanish word and find its Galician match.
Is Galician the same as Portuguese?
No, though the two are close. Both grew out of Galician-Portuguese, a language spoken in the Middle Ages, and Galician today follows the Real Academia Galega's spelling rules. Galician often writes x where Portuguese writes g or j, as in xente (people), which is gente in Portuguese.
Can I learn Galician just by watching TV?
Not at the start, because most of an episode goes by too fast for a beginner to learn from. Shows help more once you can follow a simple conversation, especially with subtitles on. Galicia's public broadcaster says you can watch AGalega from anywhere in the world on its website and apps.
Which Galician app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Galician, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. For courses, tutors and speaking practice, see our comparison of Galician apps.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- U.S. Department of State, Foreign Language Training (FSI language categories)
- Wikipedia, Galician alphabet (23 letters; j, k, w and y only in foreign words, abbreviations and symbols)
- Wikipedia: Galician-Portuguese (the common ancestor of modern Galician and Portuguese)
- Wikipedia: Galician phonology (seven vowel sounds written with five letters)
- Xabarín: Galego para peques (cartoons with picture symbols; shows sorted by age)
- Real Academia Galega: Dicionario, leite (a masculine noun)
- Real Academia Galega and Fundación Barrié: Portal das Palabras (Spanish-Galician dictionary)
- Galician public broadcaster (CSAG): Frequently asked questions (watching AGalega from anywhere)
