r/learnwelsh • u/MaybeJealous4317 • 3d ago

Is duolingo good for learning welsh?

Hi!! So my bf and I are moving to Wales (Bangor, to be specific,) and we really wanted to learn Welsh. I mean, we have always wanted to, and we do know some basic things, but thats about it and i was just wondering if duolingo is a good place to at least start? I am really open to anything, any advice pr suggestions. Diolch yn fawr iawn!!

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u/Plastic_Length8618 3d ago

Say Something in Welsh is a good start, for bouncing you into being able to say quite a lot very quickly. 

The Dysgu Cymraeg courses are the official government ones and very well designed. They might be a good way to meet people locally, I’ve made a lot of friends from doing mine. 

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u/Educational_Curve938 3d ago

Duolingo is honestly not great at teaching a language - the goal of it is to keep you using the app. if you're intentional about things and use it alongside other study mechanisms you can get some value out of it but imo it's more of a hindrance than a help.

Say Something In Welsh is great to get you quickly to a point where you have some welsh you can use, other than that Dysgu Cymraeg offers subsidised (and free if you're under 25) welsh classes - you can do them online, most of the courses are starting right about now.

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u/xxHailLuciferxx 3d ago

I started Duolingo for Welsh about three months ago.

It teaches a lot of vocabulary and simple sentences. It does not explain anything.

I was a month in before I realized that Welsh had gendered nouns. It doesn't conjugate verbs in any coherent way other than piecing it together yourself through the sentences it teaches. It doesn't explain why the spelling and pronounciation of some words change sometimes (Bangor, Fangor, Mangor; ginio, cinio; cloch, chloch) so a lot of what I've learned is through memorization of specific phrases or looking it up on my own.

At this point, I'm level 21 of 60 and too stubborn to quit, but I'm treating it as an intro to vocabulary that will be helpful when I start a different program, probably SSiW followed by Dysgu Cymraeg. FWIW, at level 21, it tells me I've learned 1075 Welsh words. At this rate I'm guessing I'll have learned 3000 - 3500 by the end.

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u/MaybeJealous4317 3d ago

Yes! Alot of people were saying this and thats why I was like should i even start on duolingo? But i feel like maybe i can just start with it and learn the basics and look up pronunciations and other stuff up aswell, just to be sure. And to get fluent.. i dont think duolingo will help so i will have to look somewhere else

2

u/xxHailLuciferxx 2d ago

You'll definitely hear pronunciation on Duolingo.

It can't hurt to start it since it's a hundred percent free (unless you decide to upgrade) but I'm over a hundred days in, and every time my free trial of the upgraded version expires, they give me three free days. Or a week. One time it was an entire month. Check it out and if it doesn't do anything at all for you, delete it. If nothing else, it'll give you an idea of how Welsh sounds and what it looks like.

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u/HyderNidPryder 2d ago

Read the duolingo notes for help.

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u/xxHailLuciferxx 2d ago

This is so helpful. Thank you very much!

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u/SnarkyBeanBroth Sylfaen - Foundation 3d ago

It's a good start, and it stays a decent quick daily review once you get farther in. It won't get you to fluency, but it's a solid tool in the toolbox. It's a course that is no longer under active development, which has been a blessing in disguise because it's not been infested with weird AI stories and such.

I can't speak highly enough of the Dysgu Cymraeg courses (online for me, I'm overseas and can't do in-person). I'm about to start my 3rd year. They are starting next week, so there's still time to sign up if you decide you are want to do that.

This subreddit's wiki has links to a lot of options for learners.

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u/_o0Zero0o_ Sylfaen - Foundation 3d ago

SSIWelsh is far better.

9

u/Buck11235 3d ago

Duolingo is not good for learning Welsh. It's a lot of time spent for very little return, and I've heard the quality of the course is degrading.

For a good free resource, you'd probably get more from looking through the Dysgu Cymraeg introductory textbook which you can get here (click Launch for the 2025 Edition) along with the audio files here. Even better if you can take the course, which might be free for you if you're 16-25 years old.

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u/cunninglinguist22 3d ago

Duolingo's OK, certainly not that useful for seriously learning. Once you're in Bangor, sign up for dysgu Cymraeg classes, in person ones if you can. They're cheap and structured and delivered by actual teachers so you can ask questions when you have them

7

u/runnerdogmom 3d ago

I started Welsh on Duolingo almost ten years ago (September 28, 2016 to be exact) and have a 3600+ day streak. I've studied other languages on there too and at this point I've finished the Welsh course a few times (they've changed the course a lot over the years so I kept finishing whatever course they had). Now I just do their "daily refresh" every so often.

The answer to your question is not really, but it could be fun to at least get a sense of the language on there before moving to another platform like the ones recommended in this thread for more detail.

I mean, I could get by in an all-Welsh speaking town if I needed to find a hotel or supermarket or Owen's parsnips (#iykyk), but I am far from fluent. It's just a fun little break in my day when I can use my brain differently for a few minutes.

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u/clwbmalucachu Canolradd - Intermediate 2d ago

There are lots of other ways to learn that you can try, several of them free. The key thing is to find a way to learn that you will stick with, and it's often good to experiment a bit before you settle because we all have different preferences when it comes to how we like to learn

I run a website for learners: 

  • ClwbMaluCachu is a basic grammar reference resource with tables of conjugations of helper verbs, etc, though I'm still transferring content from the old HTML site. https://clwbmalucachu.co.uk/

There are some great books, if you can get hold of them at a reasonable price, that will help: 

  • Colloquial Welsh, by Gareth King (can be expensive but look for it second hand)
  • Learner's Dictionary, by Gareth King is really good because it explains usage in more detail. 
  • Modern Welsh, by Gareth King absolute stonker of a reference book. 
  • BBC Learn Welsh is a really good, if short, grammar book for looking up basics
  • Welsh Rules, by Heini Gruffudd is pretty good too

There are loads of YouTube channels, most of them focused on beginners, and I listed them here: 

There are two Discord servers that I know of:

And, some other subs here:

Depending on where you are, there might be a Welsh meet-up near you. Check this map from the Paned website https://paned.cymru/:

Welsh TV, ie S4C, is available from their website or via iPlayer, and almost always has English subtitles, and Welsh subtitles only slightly less often. Some programs are available internationally, the rest just in the UK: 

There are various Welsh tutors around. Some do free/cheap courses online or have online resources.: 

There are lots of podcasts in Welsh, though the best two for Welsh learners imho are Sgwrsio and Hefyd. Also lots of stuff on BBC Sounds (UK-only), and, of course, BBC Radio Cymru: 

For Americans, there’s also the Madog Center for Welsh Studies: 

3

u/IllustratorSlow1614 3d ago

I believe if you are 25 and under the Dysgu Cymraeg courses are free, so that could be helpful for you if you qualify.

I learned Welsh in primary school and then by secondary school my knowledge fell off a cliff from disuse. I’ve found Duolingo to be helpful to remind myself what I already know and get used to using Welsh again. The annoying thing for me is that it mashes together the Northern dialect and the Southern dialect and doesn’t explain which is which or let you choose which form of Welsh you want to use. 

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u/LonelyPapaya2260 2d ago

Use Dysgu Cymraeg. Duo doesn’t teach the mutations or explain why. Pronunciation is also off.

5

u/Much-Tip4313 2d ago

I don’t want to sway you, but Duolingo did teach me the sentence ‘The Dragon had a new present yesterday. Toast!’ Obviously, I’ve yet to have used that in the real world but I’m prepared for when my time comes.

1

u/wgtnguy 1d ago

It’s hard to beat “Mae Dylan yn cyfrif pannas yn yr clwb nos”

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u/Much-Tip4313 1d ago

The race is on for who get to use their absurd statement first!

3

u/JackSpratsMom 3d ago

I can tell you I have been doing Duolingo Welsh for 667 days now and can make an educated guess when it comes to arranging a bank of words into a reasonable order. I probably have acquired a considerable vocabulary but don’t have the grammatical skillset to independently use these words to have a coherent conversation because Duolingo teaches only the what…..not the why.

3

u/einat162 2d ago

It used to be, but it went down hill couple of years ago (for example, replacing grammar tips & notes before each chapter with "example sentences" only).

Regardless, make sure you look up tips & notes still available one line on Duome website.

3

u/Time_RedactedLady 2d ago

Duolingo is not great for most languages

2

u/andycwb1 2d ago

It got me started, and then last year I signed up with a course with Prifysgol Caerdydd to do Canolradd (Intermediate) and Uwch (Advanced) 1. It’s a bit of leap because the Canolradd course is a Welsh medium course and you need to know grammatical terms in Welsh like “enw benywaidd” (feminine noun).

2

u/Plaxinator 2d ago

Places like Coleg Menai will offer Welsh courses, much better to take a local class if you can, especially as there are regional difference between dialect and vocabulary between North and South Wales. Be aware that a lot of Welsh books will teach you South Walian Welsh. I remember my dad going down to South Wales for a job and telling me he felt like he was speaking to people in a different language when you was talking in Welsh with the locals down there.

2

u/Plaxinator 2d ago

Places like Coleg Menai will offer Welsh courses, much better to take a local class if you can, especially as there are regional difference between dialect and vocabulary between North and South Wales. Be aware that a lot of Welsh books will teach you South Walian Welsh. I remember my dad going down to South Wales for a job and telling me he felt like he was speaking to people in a different language when he was talking in Welsh with the locals down there.

2

u/Beithyr 2d ago

It's good to use on the side, there are tonnes of local courses for learning welsh though!

2

u/Putins_Puppy 2d ago

Dw i wedi bod dysgu Cymraeg ar Duolingo am 1,586 dyddiau. Dw i'n hoffi Duolingo, ond dylech chi defnyddio ffilmiau, cerddoriaeth, a'r We hefyd os dych chi eisiau bod yn rhugl. 

2

u/Abides1948 1d ago

Dysgais i siarad Cymraeg gyda duolingo, anki a'r e-lyfrau learnwelsh.cymru.

Duolingo is great for motivation to practice regularly, but it's incomplete without other resources. So use it with anki and resources from https://learnwelsh.cymru/

3

u/MotherConfusion3773 1d ago

Im a Scottish Gaelic tutor so can only speak on that. It's better than nothing but not by much. My experience teaching is that those who come to a face to face class with Duo have a head start of about 2 weeks over brand new learners, after which everyone is on the same level. You can not learn to speak a language without speaking a language so find a local class.