Yes. Duolingo teaches Hawaiian to English speakers, and English is the only language it teaches it from. About 705,000 learners take the course.
Hawaiian has 13 letters, including the ʻokina, and the kahakō marks a long vowel. When Duolingo added the course in 2018, Kanaeokana, a network of more than 50 Hawaiian culture-based schools and educational groups, and Kamehameha Schools brought together Hawaiian-language specialists to write the first lessons, and fluent speakers recorded the audio. Live classes, free video courses and more are in our best apps to learn Hawaiian.
Duolingo
Duolingo added Hawaiian in 2018, with short lessons for English speakers.
- A Hawaiian course for English speakers, with short lessons and audio from fluent speakers.
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Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Hawaiian. You learn from Hawaiian you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Hawaiian lessons. If a sentence is hard to follow, ask Poppy to explain it.
With Regenerative Review™, words you save show up again in new lessons, so that you can review words in new contexts without having to use flashcards.
Lessons show the ʻokina and kahakō in every word.
- Poppy writes each lesson for your level, on topics you pick.
- Each lesson plays AI audio while you read.
- Look up a word with a tap, or ask Poppy to explain a whole line.
- 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.
- You can't turn your own Hawaiian books into lessons. However, you can paste a page in the chat, and Poppy will explain it.
- Hawaiian is new in Bubblegum, and its dictionary has about 4,000 entries. When a word has no entry, ask Poppy.
- 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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ʻŌlelo Online
ʻŌlelo Online offers live weekly classes on Zoom in its Virtual Classroom, taught by Kumu Kaliko, and self-study lessons for beginners on its website.
- Weekly live classes on Zoom, from absolute beginner to intermediate-high.
- Video grammar lessons, audio, and a typing game for practicing the keyboard.
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Mango Languages
Mango teaches Hawaiian as one of 10 languages at risk of falling out of use, and all 10 courses are free. Its lessons are built around conversations, with grammar notes and culture notes.
- Lessons built around real conversations, with grammar notes and culture notes.
- Native-speaker audio for every word, and a way to compare your voice.
- Flashcards
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uTalk
uTalk teaches Hawaiian words and phrases for talking with people. Use the main uTalk app, which has the Hawaiian course.
- More than 2,500 words and phrases in about 60 topics, such as Family and Restaurant.
- Recordings of a female native speaker and a male speaker who was adopted into a Hawaiian family.
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| App | How You Can Start Free |
|---|---|
| Duolingo | The app is free to download, with optional in-app purchases. |
| ʻŌlelo Online | Most text on the site is free, and a membership opens all videos and audio files. |
| Mango | The Hawaiian course is free, with no plan needed. |
| uTalk | A free starter topic is open to everyone. |
Which Hawaiian app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Hawaiian, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Mango, whose Hawaiian course is free, or with Kamehameha Schools' free Kulāiwi videos, an archived course of 24 lessons with a transcript for each.
Do I need to learn the ʻokina and the kahakō?
Yes, because they change what a word means. A kahakō makes a vowel longer, so papa (a flat surface) and pāpā (to forbid) are different words. The ʻokina marks a break in the voice, so lānai is a deck and Lānaʻi is an island.
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
- Duolingo: course list
- Star-Advertiser: Hawaiian language course now available on Duolingo (2018)
- Duolingo: what's free
- ʻŌlelo Online: Pronunciation of the Hawaiian Alphabet (13 letters, the ʻokina and the kahakō)
- ʻŌlelo Online: home page (live classes, membership, free sections)
- Mango Languages: Hawaiian (the Hawaiian course is free)
- uTalk: Learn Hawaiian (2,500+ words and phrases, about 60 topics, recordings of Hawaiian speakers)
- uTalk: what's free
- Kamehameha Schools: Kulāiwi video lessons (24 lessons, transcripts, workbook for lessons 1 to 12)
- Mango Languages: Endangered and Indigenous Languages (10 courses, all free)
- Duolingo
- Bubblegum
