The Fastest Way to Learn Catalan in 2026

The fastest way to learn Catalan is to spend most of your study time on Catalan you can mostly understand. That kind of Catalan is called comprehensible input. What you read and listen to should change as you improve, so the plan below shows what to do at each level and how to split an hour of study.

What to Do at Each Level

Find the level that sounds like you. Its bar shows how to spend an hour of study.

1. Level 1

   I'm just starting out or know only a few words.

   Read and listen · 35 minRead and listen 35 min. 15 minReview 15 min. 10 minSpeak 10 min.

   Read short dialogues with audio and a translation, and listen to each one twice. Watch Easy Catalan's Super Easy Catalan videos, which use simpler words, and say a few lines out loud.

   • Level 1 lessons about ordering at a cafe
   • Easy Catalan
2. Level 2

   I can handle simple exchanges.

   Read and listen · 40 minRead and listen 40 min. 10 minReview 10 min. 10 minSpeak 10 min.

   Hide the translation and look up only the words that stop you. Watch Català fàcil on 3Cat, a show made for new speakers, and practice talking with a volunteer through Voluntariat per la llengua.

   • Català fàcil on 3Cat
   • Voluntariat per la llengua
3. Level 3

   I follow conversations on familiar topics.

   Read and listen · 40 minRead and listen 40 min. 5 minReview 5 min. 15 minSpeak 15 min.

   Read the University of Barcelona's free simplified texts, starting at the intermediate level, and watch Easy Catalan's street interviews. Listen to each lesson once more without reading along, and talk about what you read for longer.

   • Level 3 lessons about ordering at a cafe
   • Simplified texts from the University of Barcelona
4. Level 4

   I understand most content but miss some nuance.

   Read and watch · 45 minRead and watch 45 min. 5 minReview 5 min. 10 minSpeak 10 min.

   Listen to the Couch Polyglot podcast, which uses words and a speed meant to be understood. Watch InfoK, the short news show for kids on 3Cat.

   • Level 4 lessons about ordering at a cafe
   • Couch Polyglot
5. Level 5

   I read complex topics but rare words slow me down.

   Read and watch · 50 minRead and watch 50 min. 10 minSpeak 10 min.

   Watch series on 3Cat and listen to Catalunya Ràdio. Look up only the words that block the story in Optimot, the Catalan government's guide to words and grammar.

   • Optimot
6. Level 6

   I read at near-native level.

   Read and watch · 50 minRead and watch 50 min. 10 minSpeak 10 min.

   Read Catalan novels and newspapers, and find films in Catalan on the streaming services you already use. Talk about them, for their own sake.

   • Desdelsofà.cat

Move up a level when your lessons start to feel easy, and move back down if you lose the thread by the third line.

How Long Does It Take to Learn Catalan?

Catalan is not on the U.S. Foreign Service Institute's list. Its closest relatives there, such as Italian and Spanish, take 552 to 690 class hours to reach professional fluency, which puts them in the institute's fastest group for English speakers.

The CPNL, a public body that teaches Catalan to adults in Catalonia, has a 45-hour course for level A1 and a 120-hour course for each level from A2 to C1. So its courses take 165 hours to reach A2 and 525 hours to reach C1. Here is how long those take at different amounts of study a week:

These are class hours, so treat them as a rough guide. Time you spend understanding Catalan on your own counts too.

What Slows Learners Down

• 👂Reading Without ListeningIn Central Catalan, the Catalan spoken around Barcelona, *casa* (house) and *pare* (father) end in the same sound. Listen to every lesson you read, so you learn how each word really sounds.
• 📋Rules for hi and en Alone*Hi* and *en* are two small words that stand in for a place or an amount already mentioned. A table of their rules is hard to use until you have read them in many sentences.
• 🌊Content Far Too HardA TV3 series where you know one word in five teaches you very little.

Frequently Asked Questions