- #1 Top Pick
The best option for learning Turkish. A comprehensive course that’s catered to your specific need and interests.
- 2nd Choice
The 50 Languages app is great for those on a budget, providing everything you need to get started.
- 3rd Choice
An affordable option to start practicing with native speakers straight away, fitting around your busy lifestyle.
Editor’s Note: This article featuring the 10 best Turkish apps is up-to-date as of September, 2021.
So, you’re embarking upon the study of the Turkish language, and you’re now hunting around for some great language apps to include in your study routine.
First of all, what a worthy endeavor to pursue! Turkey is home to some of the oldest civilisations on the planet, some dating as far back as 7000 – 6000 BCE. Therefore, it’s of no surprise that Turkey is actually one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, a vast melting pot of exotic cultures, music, food, and of course language.
Whether you are learning Turkish for business reasons, a personal interest, or simply to get some tourist phrases under your belt, our list of Turkish language apps will get you up to speed with all the best options to help you to understand and speak this beautiful language.
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s dive right in!
Best Apps for Learning Turkish
(Android, iPhone, iPad)
Monthly subscription starts from $8/month, 7 day free premium trial
This first app on our list is a brilliant option for complete beginners, and we think deserves its title as one of the best apps for learning Turkish. It not only walks you through the entire alphabet & basic phrases, but each lesson is also accompanied by authentic line-by-line dialogues that you’re likely to encounter whilst in Turkey. Couple this with an entire suite of additional learning tools (flashcards, most common word lists, grammar banks etc.) and you have the recipe for one excellent language learning app.
The lessons are mostly video based, with some lessons having only an audio podcast (plus all the lesson notes etc.) They are all delivered by professional native speakers in bite-size chunks, ideal for those with busy schedules and for squeezing in extra language practice here and there. Most of all, we love that they give you the ability to customize your own syllabus based entirely upon your own language goals and personal interests, something that is very rare among most other language courses.
This app is definitely worth checking out for serious language learners, plus you can snap up a very generous discount by using our unique coupon code (applied automatically).
Pros
- Engaging tutors, wide range of topics
- Lessons are grouped by level and skill type
- The app is well developed with loads of bonus features
Cons
- Requires awareness your own language requirements so you can choose the right lessons to study
- The tutors sometimes talk too much in English, rather than immersing you in Turkish
- More expensive than other apps (but well worth the investment)
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(Android, iPhone, iPad)
Free
This next app is one of our personal favorites, and guess what – it’s free! For anyone on a budget, you’re going to want to check this one out. It’s an app you can download offline and contains 100 lessons, grouped by topic and delivered through lists of phrases. You can learn the vocabulary separately also, by playing their matching games & by taking their writing tests.
Do bear in mind that advanced learners may find this app a little limiting, however for beginners it’s got everything you need, from the alphabet to animals, numbers to names.
Pros
- Authentic voice recordings for each phrase/word
- Variety of built-in games
- It’s free!
Cons
- Not all the content is 100% accurate (some is translated)
- The app interface is a bit clunky
- It’s limited only for beginners
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(Android, iPhone, iPad)
Free, tutor prices vary
Ahh, where would we be without italki? One of the most well-known apps for language learning, italki allows you to connect with a wide variety of native tutors at an affordable price. One of the best ways to learn a new language quickly is to start communicating with locals from day one. For this, italki is perfect.
You can book free trial lessons with a number of different tutors until you find someone you gel with. Then you can book lessons that fit around your schedule and start practicing what you’ve learnt with your new tutor straight away. It’s as easy as that! The app even has a built-in learning platform that allows the teacher to make notes, share their screen, use a whiteboard, and more.
For anyone learning Turkish I strongly recommend using italki alongside their regular syllabus, to give yourself a chance to develop conversational skills and practice what you already know – especially if you live outside Turkey!
Pros
- Massive range of tutors to choose from
- Can book slots that fit around your schedule
- Speak with real native speakers
Cons
- It’s easy for the lessons to become too unstructured and become unproductive
- Not all tutors have the same level of experience or education
- Finding the right teacher can take time
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(Android, iPhone, iPad)
$119.99, or $21.95 for 5 lessons
Perhaps you’re a mega introvert and the thought of speaking with anyone over a webcam is enough to make you shiver. Then fear not, this next app will very effectively teach you all the conversational phrases & speaking fluency you need, but without speaking to another human being. It’s called the Pimsleur method, invented by Dr Pimsleur in 1963, based upon a set of principles he discovered during his linguistic research.
The course is purely audio-based. So you can learn whilst out on a walk, or doing anything, really. Each 30-60 minute lesson breaks down a dialogue into its individual phrases, words and sounds, and then puts it all back together again, whilst prompting you to repeat and recall things throughout the lesson. It’s not just memorisation, but a kind of training that gets you to naturally identify the grammar patterns and words that are effectively the building blocks of the language.
Pros
- A proven track record of effectiveness from decades of market testing
- An intuitive way to learn conversational Turkish (no teaching of grammar rules or theory)
- Purely audio-based & available offline - can study anywhere and anytime!
Cons
- It won’t teach you how to read and write turkish - nothing on the alphabet
- Each lesson is the same in structure, so it can get quite boring
- It’s expensive
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(Android, iPhone, iPad)
Free, Duolingo plus costs $6.99 per month
Did you know that you can even learn Turkish with Duolingo? In case you didn’t know, Duolingo is a super fun app that teaches you the basics of a language through a series of short quizzes – by matching words to pictures, filling blanks in sentences and so on. In fact, Duolingo claims that their Turkish course is the most popular way to learn Turkish online, so it might be worth taking a look at.
Turkish is definitely not an easy language to learn through the Duolingo method, with all it’s unfamiliar grammar concepts and consonant mutation (yeah that’s right, the vowel must agree with the consonant before it), however they’ve done a pretty good job all things considered. The app generally gets a lot of stick for being overly simplified and translator heavy, however with Turkish they’ve built the curriculum tree from the ground up and put a lot of effort into creating new and interesting sentences. Overall, it’s worth checking out.
Pros
- Very fun and engaging - makes studying a breeze
- It breaks the language down into small parts, making it feel very doable
- The interface looks very clean and well designed
Cons
- You have to pay to remove the annoying ads
- Progress can be slow, despite the ‘feeling’ of progress
- Not great for advanced learners
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(Android, iPhone, iPad)
Free
A language isn’t a language without all it’s vocabulary. Thankfully this next app provides a great way to broaden your knowledge of the Turkish vocabulary, the missing piece of the puzzle. It’s free, available offline, and has over 6000 words for you to add to your arsenal. They have a series of games to teach you new words (grouped by topic), and then review what you’ve learnt.
The app is split into three levels and is great fun to use. Plus, the images and voice clips really help to cement the new words into your memory. Why not give it a try?
Pros
- Massive range of vocab
- Variety of fun games to play
- The app saves what you’ve learnt already
Cons
- There’s some errors - not all the words are verified by native speakers
- New words must be unlocked by earning ‘flowers’
- Doesn’t teach the alphabet, grammar, speaking or writing (only vocab)
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(Android, iphone, ipad)
Free with limited content, premium plans are $9/month
Memrise is like Duolingo, but ten times better! Their video clips for each dialogue are absolutely brilliant, breaking down exactly how native Turkish people speak. The Turkish app is actually made up of a series of courses that are tailored to a wide range of levels and learning needs. We found the vocabulary lessons (especially the ‘Hacking Turkish’ lessons) to be really fun and effective.
Pros
- Dialogues are broken down into video snippets
- Massive variety of topics
- Very well designed app
Cons
- Quite costly
- It’s mostly vocab lessons
- The exercises can get repetitive
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(Android, iphone, ipad)
$69.99 for an annual membership, or $9.99/month
Busuu is another very popular option for Turkish language students. Unlike most of the other apps here it gets you writing from the very start – something that’s very useful to help you learn and remember more words. Another really cool feature is the ability to connect with native speakers in a language exchange. In fact, this language exchange feature is incorporated right into the lessons where you’ll be prompted to speak and write – very cool!
Pros
- Language exchange feature
- Strong emphasis on active learning (writing & speaking)
- Well established app with a great interface
Cons
- The lesson structure can be a bit illogical and confusing at times
- Not enough grammar or pronunciation guidance
- You have to subscribe for a minimum 3 month membership
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(Android, iphone, ipad)
Free with limited content, $10/month
When learning a new language, studying new words and phrases simply is not enough. It’s important to immerse yourself in the language as much as possible, even if you don’t understand everything. This helps your ears to become accustomed to the individual sounds, as well as the overall flow and rhythm of the language.
For this, we recommend a podcast-style app such as Turkish Tea Time. There’s hundreds of lessons, podcasts, and voice recognition exercises at lots of different levels of difficulty to help you improve your listening and even speaking skills. You can get access to a bunch of episodes for free by just signing up.
Pros
- Interesting, natural-sounding dialogues
- Accompanying PDFs
- The speaking exercises are very effective
Cons
- There’s no dedicated app so you’ll have to listen through the browser
- Not all the dialogues/podcasts have speaking exercises
- Lack of new material being added
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(Android, iphone, ipad)
Free
Our final app is a must-have for anyone learning Turkish. When reading new texts, listening or studying new material in Turkish, it’s always handy to be able to quickly find a definition of a word or phrase. The google translate app allows you to quickly scan with your camera and translate in real time, type in yourself, or even transcribe a voice or audio recording. I find myself using this app all the time. The chrome extension is pretty good too!
Pros
- Automatically saves all your previous searches
- Can search for words using a number of ways (camera, voice, text)
- Integrates seamlessly with all your other apps
Cons
- It doesn’t provide all the grammar info (verb roots, conjugations etc.)
- It isn't always correct - it’s worth checking with another source
- You need the Turkish keyword installed on your phone to be able to search for Turkish text
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The Best Apps For Learning Turkish: Conclusion
The Turkish language is a deep and intricate language that can provide endless satisfaction and fulfillment for those who endeavor to pursue it. It opens doors to understanding Turkey’s great archaeological treasures from way back in ancient Greece, and the mighty Roman and Ottoman Empires.
But it’s certainly not easy. Using the right resources can make a world of difference to your language progression and in your confidence using the language. We hope that this list of top 10 apps has helped you to choose a study program that’s right for you. Whether you opt for an all encompassing app like TurkishClass101, online tutoring with italki, or a flashy gamified app like Duolingo, we wish you the best of luck.
Know any other great apps for learning Turkish? Let us know in the comments below!
Josiah is a digital nomad with a passion for language learning and adventure travel. He’s taught English as a foreign language for many years and is currently learning Georgian, French and Chinese.