Joe Hindy / Android Authority
Korean is one of the most popular Asian languages for foreign speakers. It collects a surprising amount of interest. However, many interesting things happened there. That’s where Samsung lives. In addition, many US soldiers go there from time to time. There aren’t many good options for learning Korean. However, we can help you find the best way. Here are the best Korean learning apps for Android.
The best Korean learning app for Android
Drops: Learn Korean
Price: Free / $7.49 per month / $48.99 per year / $109.99 once
Drops is a popular language learning app for multiple languages. That includes Korean. This app prioritizes learning vocabulary and phrases over other topics like grammar. It goes quickly, covers things like games and quizzes, and gives you a pretty good mental workout. The free version limits you to five minutes per day. You can subscribe to extend the time limit. The free version works for casual learners. However, those who really want to learn will have to pay a subscription or a one-time fee to get everything.
Duolingo
Price: Free / $9.99 per month
Duolingo is one of the most popular language learning apps on Google Play. It supports multiple languages, including Korean. Duolingo takes a simple approach to language learning. You slowly build up various vocabulary and phrases. Over time, they connect and you learn Korean. It seems quite effective. Duolingo boasts that 34 hours of application equals one semester of university-level education. We had our doubts about it, but it’s completely free so who should we complain about. This may cost someday. They have dabbled with prices in the past.
google translator
Price: Free
Google Translate is probably the most powerful translation tool. It works with 103 languages online and 59 languages offline. You can translate between any two languages. This app is mostly useful for travelers. However, it has a live voice translation function which is perfect for practice. In addition, there is a camera feature that translates things in real-time. This is a very good tool for travelers and students, but especially both. Google Translate is completely free. We also had several readers recommend Papago as a translation resource specifically for Korean. It’s also worth a try. Microsoft Translate is another great option in this space.
LingoDeer
Price: Free / $11.99 per month / $29.99 per 3 months / $79.99 per year / $199.99 once
Joe Hindy / Android Authority
LingoDeer is one of the best Korean language learning apps available. It mostly focuses only on Asian languages, including Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Vietnamese. It does the basics really well. You learn the alphabet and experience the basic core of each language. The app also includes offline support, a wide variety of exercises, over 2,000 words and phrases, and a flashcard system. You get some decent features in the free version, but you’ll need to use a subscription to get many of them.
Remember
Price: Free / $9 per month / $59.99 per year
Memrise is one of the most popular and powerful language learning apps. It supports dozens of languages, including many Asian languages such as Korean. It combines many philosophies into one application. It includes a social element with real people speaking the language you want to learn. Plus, it has grammar and vocabulary lessons, quizzes, offline support, a pronunciation guide (with audio), and more. Those features come at a price. However, Memrise is not for the casual student. This paired with Duolingo, HelloTalk, or Tandem is a really good combo.
Mondly
Price: Free / $9.99 per month / $47.99 per year
Mondly is another popular and powerful language learning app with many languages. Yes, that includes Korea. It throws away traditional methods of language learning. Instead, it dives right in and teaches you conversational Korean. You learn the core ideas and grow from there. It also features audio pronunciations, quizzes, various lessons, phrase learning, verb conjugation and other useful stuff. To be honest, we prefer Memrise over this one. However, if Memrise isn’t your thing, Mondly just might be. Like Memrise, it’s a bit pricey.
Naver Papago is another translation app similar to Google Translate. It comes from Naver, the Korean version of Google Search. As such, it’s possible to translate things into Korean with a bit more attention to detail than even Google Translate. This app features a very clean and easy UI and support for 13 languages. Some of the other features include offline translation, image translation, real-time voice translation, and it also works on websites and with handwriting. For people learning languages, the built-in dictionary is also quite useful. This app is completely free and probably a better option than Google Translate for this particular use case.
rosetta stone
Price: Free / $94.99 per year / $199.99 once
Rosetta Stone is a big name in language learning. The official app supports 24 languages, including Korean. It uses a proprietary teaching method. It focuses on repetition, conversational learning, and accent learning. You basically learn how to speak properly first and, later on, you learn most of the various mechanics of language. This is a tried and true method. Rosetta Stone is actually not new. It’s very expensive. You can pay quarterly, every 12 months, or just once if you don’t mind paying $199.99.
Just Learn Korean
Price: Free / Up to $6.99
Simply Learn Korean is a simpler type of learning app. It works better as a phrasebook and study aid than a complete Korean learning experience. It includes a phrasebook with 900 phrases and words. The app also includes quizzes, tests, flashcards and other exercises to learn faster. This is an excellent app for travelers and students. However, we would definitely pair it with something like Duolingo for a more effective and efficient learning experience. This one is cheap too, at least compared to other Korean learning apps.
Tandem and HelloTalk
Price: Free / $6.99 per month / $34.99 per year
Tandem is a popular rival to HelloTalk. The two apps basically do the same thing. You pair up with another individual. You teach them about your language and culture and vice versa. The app also includes audio and video calls, messages of various types (text, audio, images), and you can even choose what topics you want to talk about. There are also professional tutors available if you wish. It works just as well as HelloTalk. Which you prefer will be a matter of preference, mostly. Speakly is also a decent free app that does the same thing. HelloTalk is a very similar social network for language learners that also supports Korean.
