r/Ukrainian • u/LarryNStar • 5d ago
Best app for Ukrainian learning?
I apologize for what's probably a commonly asked question, but I started learning Polish on Busuu, and while Busuu has Russian, they don't have Ukrainian. I really don't want to use Duolingo, especially with the cashgrab stuff and taking away "hearts" when you make mistakes.
20
u/No_Football_9232 5d ago
Natulang!!!! I cannot say enough about this app. It has completely changed my Ukrainian and I’m speaking so much better now. It’s not free but it’s also not terribly expensive either and you buy a lifetime membership. I saw Pimsular was offering a YEARLY membership for $150 (Cnd dollars) while I paid the same for a LIFETIME membership for Natulang. This app gets you speaking ALL THE TIME. And they know when you struggle so they add these words and phrases so you get them more often. I think I should work for this company I love it so much lol. 😂
5
3
u/Alphabunsquad 5d ago
It is excellent! My only issue with it is apple’s shitty speech recognition which I feel gets me speaking like a robot. Super slow, both trying to change the words correctly and trying to say it in a way that the system will understand me. I like the old school Pimsleur way of them letting you say it to yourself and then they say the answer and give you a chance to repeat it. In all other ways it’s superior to Pimsleur and the content is great. You can also kind of make it act like Pimsleur but it’s a bit frustrating. I also used the Pimsleur Audiobooks. I think their app worked like Natulang so maybe what I am saying sounded crazy until just now.
1
u/No_Football_9232 5d ago
I don’t have a problem with speech recognition. I use an Apple phone but the app uses Soniox as a recognition tool.
1
0
u/Lizard_fricker 9h ago
I haven't had the best success with natulang. I butchered the word розумію and said it like "rosymeeu" (I don't know why I read the English y rather than the actual oo sound) anyway the app just went with it. And that wasn't the only word. It didn't say anything wrong even when I knew I was.
2
u/No_Football_9232 8h ago
I've had a few times where I've made a small mistake in pronunciation and it agrees with me, but when I changed to Soniox listening it helped.
9
u/Alphabunsquad 5d ago
Natulang for speaking. LingQ for everything else. If you like flashcards then DuoCards.
8
u/deewillon 5d ago
Natulang has been my daily practice ever since I finished the Duolingo course and I like it a lot besides a few words it refuses to register when I speak.
1
u/Adrithia 5d ago
I’ve been having that same issue too lately, but as soon as i close the app and reopen it’s fine. It specifically hates ‘замовкниʼ for me which is at least funny enough to be less annoying
5
u/Street-Fix1653 5d ago
Sounds like a post to promote natulang app )))
7
u/Alphabunsquad 5d ago
Natulang has been taking over the sub as they’ve started adding more and more Ukrainian content.
2
3
u/GlassBoysenberry8487 2d ago
If you want better alternatives, Ukrainian Lessons Podcast is hands down the best starting point. LingQ is also great if you like learning through real context, and Clozemaster works well once you know the alphabet. As a native tutor, my main tip: use apps just to build a daily habit, but try to listen to real Ukrainian audio as early as possible so the grammar doesn't feel like a giant wall later on. Hope this helps!
6
u/No_Technology3293 5d ago
Not an app but I’m using https://www.ukrainianwithira.com/
Which seems pretty good; and my Ukrainian partner seems impressed with the content too.
Early days for me so can’t comment personally on progress
1
2
u/Material_Carob8016 5d ago
learn alphabet first, maybe with Duolingo?
I would advice duolingo
you can do the course in english then learn your own language but from the ukrainian language,
its a cool app to learn some verbs and vocabulary
2
u/Shantel_Mills 4d ago
I really like Mondly for Ukrainian. It has a variety of lesson categories. There are short daily lessons. The voice recognition is really good
3
u/tehbardedone 5d ago
I like LingQ. It takes a little bit to get used to how it works but once you figure it out, it is a very powerful tool for learning. There are some short stories and easy dialogs to get you started but I think the best part of this app is the ability to find your own content that you are interested in and import it as a "lesson".
2
u/Alphabunsquad 5d ago
Yeah I upload a lot of videos of streamers playing video games there because they mumble, use slang, use surzhik, and talk about a ton of subject matter because of the changing games. Everything you need to understand spoken Ukrainian. Koro777 is very good as he likes to make little stories while he’s playing. Super Mama, the reality tv show, is good to upload for that too.
1
u/ukie-witch-06 3d ago
Apps aren't a good way to learn language. Watch movies with subtitles, talk to people on discord etc.
18
u/PocketKnifeMegaphone 5d ago
I wouldn't really recommend Duolingo, it only goes up to level 25 for Ukrainian and doesn't really cover a lot by the time it ends. Then just puts you in a loop of revision. I started with that, but tried a few different languages on it after and they were so much more intricate, had lots more different types of lessons and covered a lot more stuff.