Even though there’s as many as 100 million Persian speakers around the globe, resources for learning Farsi are hard to come by. That’s why we’ve put together this list of the best apps to learn Farsi (also called Persian). If you’ve decided to learn the beautiful and culturally rich language of Farsi, then you definitely want to check out these apps.
Persianpod101
Persianpod101 is the most comprehensive Farsi learning app on this list. It’s essentially a Farsi language course in the format of a podcast. Each lesson is a podcast episode and features a real Farsi conversation between two native speakers. Your podcast hosts (aka Persian teachers) explain the phrases and grammar behind used in each lesson. They also provide additional examples of how you can use those phrases in other situations. Every lesson comes with a full transcript in both English and Farsi. There’s also a flashcard feature which allows you to build flashcard decks from the Farsi words you learn in each lesson.
In addition to the audio lessons Persianpod101 also offers a slew of helpful Farsi learning resources such as a Farsi to English dictionary, Persian pronunciation lessons, video lessons, essential phrase lists, and writing lessons. The Persianpod101 app is available on Android and iOS. You can also access it through their website.
Pimsleur Farsi (Persian)
The Pimsleur app was created by revamping the traditional Pimsleur CD audio course, and making it an awesome app to learn Persian. Pimsleur teaches you how to speak Farsi by using a unique question, recall, response technique that simulates real Persian conversations. Each lesson teaches you a series of phrases and questions in Farsi, and then you’re prompted to use those phrases to answer and ask you own questions, before the app gives you the correct answer.
Pimsleur is the best Farsi app for learning how to speak Farsi. The main drawback of Pimsleur is that it doesn’t focus so much on reading and writing. With Pimsleur you will learn the foundational vocabulary you need to speak Farsi conversationally.
Italki
Italki is an app for taking one on one paid language lessons with a professional teacher or tutor. The lessons are held over video chat, and teachers share lesson materials in real time. There are 40 Farsi teachers from around the world offering lessons on Italki. You can book classes for 1 ½ hours, 1 hour, or 30 minutes. Each Farsi teacher uses his or her own method for teaching the lesson.
The Italki app also has a lot of free features such as a language learning blog written by language teachers, a journal where you can publish entries in Farsi and have them corrected by native speakers, and a forum where you can ask Persian speakers for tips and answers to specific language learning questions. You can even search Italki’s user database to find Farsi speakers who are learning English and set up a language exchange.
Drops Persian
The goal of Drops Persian is to make learning Farsi fun. The app teaches you words and phrases through an assortment of minigames. Drops is one of the most visually striking language learning apps. The entire interface is designed to engage you to the point where it feels like you’re playing a game and not studying a language. Drops exclusively teaches vocabulary, so don’t expect to learn any Farsi grammar here.
Simply Learn Persian
The Simply Learn Persian app is free (there are ads on the app though). With Simply Learn Persian you learn Persian phrases through audio recordings and flashcards. You can create lists of your favorite phrases. There are also quizzes to review what you’ve learned. With this app you’ll learn the most essential Farsi phrases so that you can feel comfortable traveling anywhere the language is spoken.
Learning Farsi is an awesome and worthwhile adventure. While there aren't the same number of options for learning Farsi as there are for other more popular languages, you can use these apps to learn Farsi and start speaking today!
