Most language learning apps are designed mainly for English speakers. If your strongest language isn’t English, that can make learning feel harder than it needs to be, even when the course itself is good.
uTalk is different.
It supports learning from over 140 base languages, giving it one of the widest ranges of starting languages available on any language-learning platform today.
This means you can begin learning a new language using the one you already feel most confident in, which is why uTalk works so well for global learners and for organisations with staff across multiple countries.
What does “languages you can learn from” mean?
“Learning from” refers to the language used to guide you through the course – menus, instructions, prompts, translations, and the language you use as your starting point.
For example:
- If you’re a Polish speaker learning English, you can learn English from Polish.
- If you’re a Spanish speaker learning French, you can learn French from Spanish.
This matters because learning through your strongest language often feels:
- more intuitive
- faster to follow
- easier to stick with
Some language learning platforms list a language as available but only allow it to be learned from a specific base language.
For example, a course such as Catalan may be offered only to learners starting from Spanish rather than from English or other languages.
This can quietly limit access for learners whose strongest language is different.
uTalk takes a broader approach by supporting learning from a much wider range of base languages, helping more people begin learning in the language they already understand best.
The most inclusive language learning app
Many platforms offer a small number of base languages (often English, plus a handful of major European languages). uTalk supports over 100, which makes language learning more accessible for:
- non-English speakers learning global languages for friendship, work or migration
- heritage learners reconnecting with family languages
- international students learning in their strongest language
- global organisations supporting multilingual teams
In short: uTalk isn’t just a language app with lots of courses – it’s built for a multilingual world.
Full table: languages you can learn from (uTalk vs other platforms)
The table below shows which base languages are supported across uTalk and other major platforms.
| Language | uTalk | Duolingo | Babbel | Busuu | Memrise | Rosetta Stone | Mondly |
| Afrikaans | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Albanian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Amharic | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Arabic (Egyptian) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Arabic (Modern Standard) | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Arabic (Moroccan) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Armenian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Assamese | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Azerbaijani | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Basque | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Belarusian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Bengali | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Bosnian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Bulgarian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Burmese | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Cantonese | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Catalan | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cebuano | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Chibemba | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Chichewa | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cornish | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Croatian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Czech | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Danish | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dari | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Dutch | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dzongkha | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| English (American) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| English (Australian) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| English (British) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| English (Canadian) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| English (Cockney) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| English (Indian) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| English (Scottish) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Esperanto | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Estonian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Fijian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Filipino (Tagalog) | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Finnish | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Flemish | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| French | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| French (Canadian) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Galician | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Georgian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| German | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| German (Swiss) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Greek | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Greenlandic | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Gujarati | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Haitian Creole | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Hausa | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Hawaiian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Hebrew | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Hindi | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Hungarian | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Icelandic | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Igbo | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Ilocano | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Indonesian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Irish | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Italian | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Japanese | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Javanese | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Kachchi | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Kannada | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Kazakh | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Khmer | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Kinyarwanda | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Kirundi | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Korean | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Kurdish (Kurmanji) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Kyrgyz | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Lao | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Latin | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Latvian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Lingala | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Lithuanian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Luganda | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Luxembourgish | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Macedonian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Malagasy | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Malay | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Malayalam | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Maltese | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Maori | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Marathi | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Maya (Yucatec) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Mongolian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Neapolitan | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Nepali | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Norwegian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Oriya | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Oromo | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Papiamentu | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Pashto | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Persian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Pidgin (Nigerian) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Polish | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Portuguese | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Portuguese (Brazilian) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Punjabi (Indian) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Punjabi (Pakistani) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Romanian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Russian | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Saami (Southern) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Samoan | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Sardinian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Scots | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Scottish Gaelic | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Serbian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Shona | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Sicilian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Sindhi | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Sinhala | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Slovak | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Slovenian | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Somali | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Sotho (Southern) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Spanish | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Spanish (Argentinian) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Spanish (Latin American) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Swahili | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Swedish | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tajiki | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Tamil | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Telugu | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Thai | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tibetan | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Tigrinya | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Tok Pisin | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Tswana | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Tumbuka | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Turkish | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Turkmen | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Ukrainian | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Urdu | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Uzbek | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Vietnamese | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Welsh | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Wolof | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Xhosa | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Yoruba | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Zulu | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
Why does uTalk support so many base languages?
uTalk’s approach is designed around inclusion and practical use, not just commercial demand. Supporting many base languages means more people can learn in a way that fits them, especially in regions which don’t speak one of the world’s mainstream languages.
It also aligns with how uTalk builds courses more broadly:
- real human audio and practical language content
- a global catalogue that includes widely spoken and lesser-taught languages
- an emphasis on accessibility for learners worldwide
For organisations, this approach helps reduce friction when rolling out language learning across international teams, where employees may have different first languages.
What languages can’t I learn from on uTalk?
Even with a very large set of base languages, there may be cases where learning from a specific language isn’t currently available.
In most cases, this is intentional. When uTalk records a language, it will usually add it as a base language too. Where it doesn’t, this is based on guidance from native speakers and translators, who advise on where there is meaningful learner demand.
If you need a base language that isn’t currently supported, you can request it by contacting hello@utalk.com. You can also check the full table above to see exactly which base languages are available.
Does uTalk plan to add more languages to learn from?
Yes. uTalk’s base-language coverage continues to expand as more learners and organisations use the platform globally.
As new languages are added, the number of possible learning combinations grows too, now exceeding 22,000 (for example, Spanish to Swahili, Mandarin Chinese to Cebuano, or Māori to Maltese).
If your preferred base language isn’t available yet, it’s worth checking back as coverage continues to grow.
The Simple Difference: Learn From Your Own Language
If you’re learning from English or another major language, most apps can work well.
But if you want to learn from your own language – especially outside the usual shortlist – uTalk offers one of the most inclusive options available.