The best apps to learn Korean

Korean is kinder to app learners than Chinese or Japanese in one respect: the alphabet takes a weekend, so you can use real dictionaries and real texts almost from the start. The hard parts, verb endings, speech levels and listening speed, are exactly where most apps are weakest. The list below is grouped by job so you can cover each one once.

Every entry was checked in November 2026: the official site is live and the app or service is still being updated. Prices appear only where the official site shows them.

The Korean app stack at a glance

App	Job	Best at	Level	Price seen on the official site
Talk To Me In Korean	Course and grammar	Clear, ordered lessons	Beginner to advanced	US$16.99 a month, US$122 a year
How to Study Korean	Grammar reference	Very detailed written lessons	Beginner to advanced	Not listed here
Duolingo	Habit and Hangul	Getting started	Beginner	Free with limits
LingoDeer	Course	Grammar notes inside a game-style app	Beginner	Not listed here
Naver Dictionary	Dictionary	Example sentences, idioms, slang	All	Free
Papago	Translation	Korean sentences, camera and voice	All	Free
Mirinae	Grammar analysis	Taking a sentence apart	Elementary up	Not listed here
Anki	Vocabulary and SRS	Free flashcards	All	Free, iPhone app paid once
LingQ	Reading and listening	Importing your own content	Intermediate up	€14.99 a month, €119.99 a year
Migaku	Video immersion	Learning from Netflix and YouTube	Intermediate up	Subscription
Kimchi Reader	Video and web immersion	Korean-only immersion tools	Intermediate up	Not listed here
Pimsleur	Listening and speaking	Audio drills	Beginner	Subscription
Teuida	Speaking	Saying sentences aloud from day one	Beginner	Free plan available
italki	Speaking	Paid one-to-one tutors	All	Pay per lesson
HelloTalk	Speaking and writing	Free exchange with Koreans	Elementary up	Free core, paid VIP

Courses and grammar

Talk To Me In Korean is the course Kungfucius would start with. The Seoul team has been teaching since 2009, and the lessons are short, friendly and in a sensible order, which matters more in Korean than in most languages because each ending builds on the last. The courses site lists more than 1,700 lessons. A monthly plan is US$16.99, a yearly plan US$122 with a seven-day free trial, and there is a cheaper yearly rate without a trial. Weakness: the lessons explain well but drill little, so you need separate practice.

How to Study Korean is the opposite style: long written lessons that explain every grammar point in exhaustive detail, with many example sentences. It suits readers who want to know why. Weakness: it is dense, and nobody has ever called it fun.

Duolingo is good for learning to read Hangul and for the daily habit. It explains Korean grammar thinly, and Korean grammar needs explaining. Use it as a warm-up, not as the course.

LingoDeer was built for Asian languages first and has proper grammar notes for each unit. It suits people who like the Duolingo format but want the rules. Weakness: most content beyond the first units is paid.

Go Billy Korean and KoreanClass101 also run full lesson libraries, mainly on YouTube and as podcasts.

Dictionary and translation: Naver and Papago

Naver Dictionary is what Koreans themselves use. It is free, and it is best at examples: real sentences, idioms, new slang and user-contributed entries that no printed dictionary has. Weakness: the interface assumes you can already read some Korean, and the amount of information per word is overwhelming at first.

Papago, also from Naver, is the translator to use for Korean. It handles text, voice and photographs of signs and menus, and it lets you choose polite or casual output. Weakness: it is a translator. If you paste every sentence into it, you are practising pasting.

Mirinae fills a gap that is specific to Korean: you give it a sentence and it shows the grammar, which ending is attached to which stem and what each part does. It suits learners who can read but get lost in long verb endings. Weakness: it explains sentences, it does not teach a syllabus.

The National Institute of Korean Language also runs a free learners' dictionary with definitions in English and ten other languages.

Vocabulary and SRS

Anki is the free default. Korean decks with audio exist for the common textbooks and for TOPIK vocabulary. Learn words in sentences, because a Korean verb on its own tells you little about how it is used. Weakness: setup and maintenance are your job. The method is explained under spaced repetition.

Kungfucius's advice for Korean in particular: put conjugated forms on your cards, not just dictionary forms. You will hear 먹었어요 (meogeosseoyo) long before anyone says 먹다 (meokda) to you.

Reading, listening and immersion

LingQ lets you import Korean articles, webtoon text or video transcripts and tracks which words you know. It suits intermediate learners who read a lot. The free tier is very limited. Premium is shown at €14.99 a month or €119.99 a year. Weakness: Korean words change shape with every ending, so the word counts are less tidy than in other languages.

Migaku supports Korean with interactive subtitles on Netflix and YouTube and one-click flashcards. It suits people whose reason for learning is K-drama, which is a perfectly respectable reason. Weakness: it is of little use below intermediate level.

Kimchi Reader is a smaller tool made only for Korean: vocabulary tracking, grammar breakdowns and sentence mining from video and web pages, with Anki integration. Weakness: a young product from a small team.

Pimsleur is audio only and makes you answer aloud. It is a good start for pronunciation and for sentence rhythm. Weakness: small vocabulary, formal register, no reading.

Speaking

Teuida makes beginners speak from the first lesson, with short video scenes in which you answer aloud. It suits people who freeze when they have to say anything. Weakness: scripted situations, so it prepares you for the expected, not for conversation.

italki is where you find a human tutor. Korean politeness levels are best learnt with someone who can tell you, kindly, that you have just addressed them like a small child. Weakness: quality depends on the tutor, so try several.

HelloTalk has a large number of Korean users learning English, so partners are easy to find. Weakness: partners chat in casual Korean and rarely explain grammar.

Is Duolingo good for Korean?

For the alphabet and the first few hundred words, yes. As a main course, no. Korean depends on verb endings and speech levels, and Duolingo teaches by pattern-matching with little explanation. Learners who rely on it alone tend to recognise sentences without being able to build them. Pair it with Talk To Me In Korean or drop it after the first weeks.

What is the best free app for Korean?

A free stack looks like this: Duolingo for Hangul, the free lessons from Talk To Me In Korean on YouTube and as a podcast, How to Study Korean for grammar, Naver Dictionary and Papago for lookups, Anki for vocabulary and HelloTalk for practice. That is enough to reach a solid intermediate level if you are consistent.

What to install this week

1. Learn Hangul first. Any app will do, and it takes days, not months.
2. Install Naver Dictionary and Papago.
3. Pick one course, ideally Talk To Me In Korean, and follow it in order.
4. Add Anki after two weeks, with sentences and audio.
5. Book one italki lesson or start posting on HelloTalk once you can introduce yourself.
6. If you plan to take an exam, read the TOPIK guide before choosing vocabulary decks.