Many Catalan learners stall in the same place. Catalan uses the Latin alphabet, so they read signs and menus early on, and they learn the rules for hi and en, two small words that stand in for a place or an amount already mentioned. They still cannot follow two friends at a cafe, because in Central Catalan, the Catalan spoken around Barcelona, vowels change when they are not stressed, so casa (house) and pare (father) end in the same sound. Rules and word lists don't turn into understanding on their own. Comprehensible input is the fix: you spend the same study time on Catalan where you already know almost every word, so the few new ones explain themselves.
What Comprehensible Input Looks Like
Each row below is a sentence. The gray bars are words you already know, and the purple bar is the one that is new.
About one new word per sentence.
At this difficulty you keep reading, because everything around the new word tells you what it means. You work it out yourself, and a word learned that way stays with you far longer than one memorized from a list.
Your Roadmap by Level
Bubblegum sorts every lesson into six levels, and each level is described by a sentence about the learner. Find the sentence that sounds like you, and the row tells you what to read and what to do.
- Level 1
I'm just starting out or know only a few words.
Read short dialogues that come with audio and a translation, and save the three words you look up most often. Easy Catalan's Super Easy Catalan videos use simpler words for beginners.
Level 1 lessons about ordering at a cafe - Level 2
I can handle simple exchanges.
Read dialogues about everyday life with the translation hidden, and look up only the words that stop you. Then watch Català fàcil, a show made for new speakers, on 3Cat, the free app of Catalonia's public TV and radio.
- Level 3
I follow conversations on familiar topics.
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.
Level 3 lessons about ordering at a cafe - Level 4
I understand most content but miss some nuance.
Listen to the Couch Polyglot podcast, which uses words and a speed meant to be understood, and watch InfoK, the short news show for kids on 3Cat.
Level 4 lessons about ordering at a cafe - Level 5
I read complex topics but rare words slow me down.
Watch series on 3Cat and listen to Catalunya Ràdio, and look up only the words that block the story.
- Level 6
I read at near-native level.
Read novels and the news for their own sake.
Move up a level when the current one starts to feel easy, and move back down if you lose the thread by the third line.
Try It on a Real Lesson
The lesson below comes from Bubblegum, where Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Catalan lessons at your level. You can read it here just as you would in the app. Switch between Levels 1, 3, and 4, and notice which one you can follow while still looking up a few words.
One Situation, Three Levels
From Bubblegum’s guide Ordering Coffee and Snacks at a Catalan Cafe. It works here the way it works inside Bubblegum.
I follow conversations on familiar topics.
Morning Coffee
Jordi arrives at the café early in the morning.
Good morning! What can I get you today?
Hello, good morning! Could you bring me my usual coffee?
And aren't your friends coming today?
No, I'm coming alone today. See you tomorrow!
Frequently Asked Questions About Comprehensible Input
Do I need to learn the rules for hi and en first?
No. They come up in everyday sentences such as hi vaig demà, which means "I'm going there tomorrow," and en vull dos, which means "I want two of them." You learn them by meeting them again and again in sentences you understand, and you can open a grammar note when one confuses you.
Should I learn Central, Valencian, or Balearic Catalan?
Learn the one spoken where you will use Catalan, because speakers of each understand the others well. In Valencian, the name used for Catalan in Valencia, casa ends in a clear a sound. The free web series 4cats, from the Institut Ramon Llull, lets you choose episodes in Central, Valencian, or Balearic Catalan, so you can hear the difference.
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 you can ask Poppy for a free one, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
The Catalan lessons on this site are also free and need no account.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Catalan language (alphabet and how well speakers of each dialect understand each other)
- Wikipedia: Catalan dialects (Central Catalan and unstressed vowels)
- Wiktionary: casa (Central and Valencian pronunciation)
- Wiktionary: pare (Central and Valencian pronunciation)
- Wiktionary: hi (Catalan pronoun)
- Wiktionary: en (Catalan pronoun)
- Generalitat de Catalunya: Legal framework of Catalan
- Institut Ramon Llull, 4cats
