The Best Apps for Learning Dutch: A Brief Overview

When I consider all of the tools available for learning languages today and compare them to what I had available when I first started, I’m amazed by the range of options. There are apps available for almost every leg of a student’s journey. However, the range of options can also be a little overwhelming. So if you find yourself asking what the best app to learn Dutch might be, I’ve compiled a few options below. I’ve listed both free and paid options, highlighting apps that will be useful for specific skill levels or areas of interest, such as grammar or memorizing vocabulary.

Whatever your skill level or area of focus, I hope you can find something below that will prove useful for your studies. If you have any other suggestions that I’ve missed, especially for advanced learners, please feel free to add them in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!

With that said, here are some of best apps for learning Dutch:

Duolingo: The Best App to Learn Dutch for Beginners (Free)

Website – iOS App – Android App

Duolingo is at its strongest for users who are just starting to learn a new language. It offers a fun, engaging layout and strong visuals to encourage users to return daily. In that regard, this is a strong option for learners who are still getting a feel for Dutch and are perhaps undecided if it’s something they wish to pursue on a long-term basis.

It offers a fantastic dip into Dutch, with each lesson touching on a variety of different skills, including reading, writing, spelling, grammar, vocabulary, listening, and speaking. Learners can also add to the difficulty of a lesson by choosing to solve a problem using either multiple-choice or by typing in the word or sentence, which can be a useful way to improve spelling.

However, where Duolingo is at its strongest for learners at the beginning of their journey, it can present a few problems for students eager to progress past the earliest stages. For one, it offers very little instruction on the rules of Dutch grammar, relying instead on users picking it up as they go along. Although this can be fine for some, it can also lead to confusion and has the potential to make puzzles frustrating for beginners. Another common complaint is that lessons often include impractical sentences. Although this can be fun and a useful way to engage users enough to teach basic sentence structure, it also offers very little immediate value for everyday conversation. If springboarding into conversational skills as quickly as possible is a focus for the learner, it can feel a little pointless to learn unusual or silly sentences.

Pros: Free, engaging visuals, a fun introduction to Dutch, easy to play

Cons: Lacking explanation of fundamental grammar rules, use of impractical sentences.

Babbel: The Best App to Learn Dutch for Beginners (Paid)

Website – iOS App – Android App

Babbel is a fantastic option for students just starting with Dutch and who are committed to learning through levels A1-A2. Unlike Duolingo, it is paid, requiring a subscription to access most of its content.

However, lessons cover a variety of skills in detail, including listening, speaking, writing, reading, vocabulary, and grammar. Babbel’s lesson format makes it ideal for students starting from scratch with Dutch, offering information in accessible, bite-sized chunks. Additionally, students can choose to focus on specific areas, such as listening, speaking, writing, or grammar. Babbel also offers plenty of additional content, including games such as Phrase Maze, which challenges players to complete sentences, and Word Trax, which works on spelling.

Students looking to try Babbel can choose between a three-month, six-month, or twelve-month paid subscription.

Pros: Practical sentences, appealing visuals, strong all-rounder for beginners

Cons: Requires a paid subscription, only covers levels A1-B1, minimum subscription length is three months

Clozemaster: The Best App to Learn Dutch Grammar

Website – iOS App – Android App

I’m a strong advocate for making grammar practice as easy and engaging as possible. Clozemaster is a fantastic tool for that purpose.

After reading up on basic Dutch grammar rules, the best way to cement verb conjugation, personal pronouns, and Dutch articles is by practicing as regularly as possible. Clozemaster helps toward this by using cloze tests. Each lesson presents the student with pieces of text where a word has been removed. The student must then find the word that completes the sentence. This forces students to use context clues to find the answer and is fantastic for memorizing verb conjugation.

Each lesson also offers detailed explanations, including notes on grammar structure and vocabulary definitions. This becomes particularly useful when students don’t understand the answer to a problem or need to brush up on a particular area.

Clozemaster also offers customized lessons. Users can practice general Dutch skills, which include vocabulary, reading, writing, listening, and grammar. Before starting the lesson, students can choose to narrow down which areas they want to focus on and whether they want to answer using multiple-choice or text input for increased difficulty. Additionally, users can practice fundamental vocabulary using the Most Common Words lessons or focus specifically on grammar with one of the Grammar Challenges.

Pros: Practical sentences, grammar challenges, customizable dashboard

Cons: Might be too advanced for students just starting with Dutch

AnkiApp: The Best App to Learn Dutch Vocabulary

Website – iOS App – Android App

If you need an app to help memorize and collect new vocabulary, AnkiApp is a fantastic option. This flashcard app offers simple functionality and an undistracted layout, giving users the option of a customized learning experience through tags and grades. Statistics also help to gamify the experience to a degree, helping students to track the days they have learned and their progress in memorizing flashcard decks.

Users have the option to download a pre-existing flashcard deck, allowing them to start learning within minutes of installing the app. However, I have found it particularly useful for collecting any new vocabulary I find. AnkiApp allows users to create flashcard decks from scratch, which can be customized with audio, images, and tags. Once a deck has been created, it only takes a few seconds to add a new card, which makes gathering vocabulary with the intention of memorization a fairly straightforward process. This can be particularly useful for students who incorporate media into their studies, particularly books and articles.

Pros: Functional layout, quick setup, useful customization, good use of statistics

Cons: Plain visuals

LingQ: The Best App to Learn Dutch Through Media

Website – iOS App – Android App

LingQ is a powerful resource for intermediate students who are motivated to study through the use of media. By incorporating a variety of media sources, including books, articles, podcasts, online videos, and television programs, LingQ focuses on improving language skills by using media you enjoy. One of the key benefits of this is that it’s easy to convert this form of learning into a regular habit.

The app offers a wide catalog of options, but perhaps my favorite feature is the option to import Youtube and Netflix videos. Doing this provides a transcript of the video audio, which allows you to read along as the video plays. Doing this allows you to highlight vocabulary in the transcript, which will bring back a definition. You can also save any vocabulary of interest to be reviewed later.

Although a basic version of this app is free, students who want to have unlimited media imports will need to subscribe to LingQ Premium. Students will be able to choose between a one-month and twelve-month paid subscription.

Pros: Variety of media to choose from, allows users to learn using media they enjoy, good for independent learners, options for all student levels

Cons: Poor choice for students who prefer structured learning

Drops: The Best App to Learn Dutch in Short Bursts

Website – iOS App – Android App

For students short on time, Drops is a fantastic choice. This app offers a unique approach to learning in that you are limited to only five minutes of play per day. Although that felt too short for me at first inspection, I was surprised how much content I would eventually end up working through in that timeframe.

The game relies heavily on appealing, simplified graphics to help you memorize words. It presents a Dutch word, along with a matching illustration and a definition. Once you have notified the app that you have memorized it (or are already familiar with it), the word will be entered into the rotation of vocabulary that it will test you on. You are then asked to link Dutch vocabulary to its matching illustration. It reinforces this learning with audio and simplified spelling tests.

Overall this is a strong option for students who are short on time and need a fun, engaging app to keep them in a regular habit of learning. Although the app does ask for the user’s language level, with options for beginner, intermediate, and advanced, the Drops app does seem best suited to beginners. Even when I selected intermediate and then advanced, the lessons felt very easy.

Pros: Engaging gameplay loop, short lessons, appealing design

Cons: Doesn’t appear to offer much for intermediate or advanced learners

In Conclusion

Depending on your skill level or how you prefer to learn, it’s well worth trying any of the apps above that draw your attention. If this is your first time learning a new language, it may take some trial and error to find something that works for you. It could be that you prefer something short that allows for consistent learning or something more detailed to help you shore up any holes in your learning. Alternatively, you might prefer something more gamified and visually appealing, or something more academic.

I wish you the best of luck with your studies, and, as always, blijf oefenen!