You know by now that there’s no Croatian on Babbel, but if you’re looking for the best alternative, we’ll tell you right away it’s the Ling app.
In this post, we’re going to look at the likely reasons why there’s no Croatian on Babbel, why you should learn Croatian to begin with, and why the Ling app is the best alternative out there.
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Why Is There No Croatian On Babbel?
There are a few likely reasons why Babbel hasn’t added Croatian to its catalog, and they mostly come down to market size and the complexity of building a new course:
- Russian dwarfs it. Russian is another Slavic language, and it’s much bigger than Croatian. Croatian has around 6 million speakers, and Russian has 150 million. Since it takes just as many engineers and language professionals to design a Croatian course as it does a Russian one, it’s safe to say that Babbel preferred to reach 25x more potential customers.
- The Croatian script, Gaj’s Latin alphabet, has been around since 1835. Although it’s similar to the English alphabet, it has some differences. This means there’s a bit more complexity required when building a Croatian course.
As such, Babbel doesn’t seem to see the value in adding a Croatian course to their catalog, at least for now.
Is Croatian Hard To Learn?
Croatian is considered a moderately difficult language for English speakers. The U.S. Foreign Service Institute (FSI) classifies it as a Category III language, which means it typically takes around 1,012 class hours of study to reach professional working proficiency.
That said, several aspects of Croatian are more manageable than you might expect:
- Grammar: Croatian has 7 grammatical cases, meaning nouns, pronouns, and adjectives change their endings depending on their role in a sentence. This is the hardest part for most English speakers.
- Pronunciation: Croatian is a phonetic language, so words are spelled exactly as they’re pronounced. Once you’ve learned the alphabet, reading and sounding out new words becomes much easier.
- The script: As mentioned above, Croatian uses Gaj’s Latin alphabet, which is very close to the English one. The additional characters (š, č, ž, and others) each represent a specific sound and don’t take long to learn.
- Vocabulary: Croatian has borrowed words from Latin, Italian, German, and Turkish over the centuries, so you may recognize more words than you’d expect.
So, while it’s not the easiest language to learn, Croatian is definitely manageable with consistency and practice.
Why Should I Learn Croatian?
Beyond the language itself, Croatia has a lot going for it. Here are some of the best reasons to pick up Croatian:
- This is a personal favorite of mine. I’m a massive Game of Thrones fan, and Croatia was one of the show’s filming locations. In fact, the main shooting location was Dubrovnik, which stood in for King’s Landing, the seat of the Lannister family.
- Croatia is amazing to look at and be in! There are 8 national parks, 13 nature parks, and 2 nature reserves. There are also 1200 islands, islets, and crags surrounding the coastline. It gives you extra incentive to learn a language when you know the country is beautiful.
- Croatia has many UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage elements. These aim to protect the unique traditions of a culture; the list currently has 849 elements, and Croatia has 23 of them!
- This is one for you, dog lovers. Dalmatians come from Croatia! Although some dogs that appear in commercials are now bred in Serbia, you will still see plenty of Dalmatians on the streets of Zagreb. Make friends, pet some dogs, speak the language!
- Zagreb is a wonderful historic city, and it’s cheap for people from Northern Europe or America. You can easily take a vacation here for a quarter of the price you would in, say, Paris or London.
So maybe you want to visit the place where your favorite show was filmed, or you just want a vacation in an incredible country. Either way, learning even a few basic Croatian phrases will impress the locals and open doors you might otherwise see closed.
Ling Vs Babbel: Which One Supports Croatian?
The short answer is simple: the Ling app offers Croatian, whereas Babbel does not. But the differences go beyond just one language. Here’s a side-by-side comparison:
| Feature | Ling | Babbel |
|---|---|---|
| Croatian course available | ✓ | ✗ |
| Languages offered | 70+ | 14 |
| Gamified lessons | ✓ | ✓ |
| Native-speaker audio | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dialog/conversation practice | ✓ | ✓ |
| Grammar Notes (for select languages) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Non-Latin script writing practice | ✓ | ✗ |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial | First lesson only |
| Pricing | $16.99/month | $9.60/month |
If learning Croatian specifically is your goal, the Ling app is the clear choice, Babbel simply doesn’t offer it.
The Best Alternative To Babbel For Learning Croatian
The Ling app is the best alternative to Babbel for learning Croatian. It’s built around short, interactive lessons, native-speaker audio, and practical conversation practice.
Here’s what you get with Ling’s Croatian course:
- Gamified lessons: Learn through mini-games, quizzes, and challenges that keep you engaged and coming back every day.
- Native-speaker audio: Every word and phrase is recorded by a real Croatian speaker, so you hear the language exactly as it’s spoken.
- Grammar Notes: Short, clear explanations that help you understand how Croatian grammar works.
- Culture Notes: Quick insights into Croatian culture that give you useful real-world context.
- Dialog practice: Work through guided, real-life conversations that build confidence for actual interactions. As research shows, this can help improve speaking development.
- Voice recognition: Speak your answers out loud and get instant feedback on your pronunciation.
Who Is The Ling App Best For?
The Ling app is designed for beginner and intermediate learners, and it works especially well for:
- Travelers planning a trip to Croatia who want to connect with locals, order food, or find their way around. Ling gives them practical, everyday vocabulary to do just that.
- Expats moving to Croatia who wish to integrate into the community. Ling helps build the conversational foundation they need for daily life.
- Heritage learners who want to reconnect with their family’s language. Ling’s structured lessons let them work at their own pace.
- Curious learners drawn to Croatian for its history, culture, or connection to other Slavic languages. Ling makes the whole process genuinely enjoyable.
Why Serious Learners Choose Ling
Now, let’s see what our users have to say about the Ling app with a couple of reviews taken directly from Google Play:
“I adore that it’s not voiced by ai and the fact that I’m actually learning stuff instead of just random phrases. I’m also so happy it has Croatian, I’ve never seen it on any other language learning app😓.”
★★★★★
Ružica Domić
“I really like this app. It teaches the Croatian language very well. Not only do you get to learn the words, but you get to see how they are spelled, how they are used in a sentence, and how they are used in conversation. I would highly recommend the use of this language tool. Thx!”
★★★★★
Rich Ivanic
“A great app, especially for more obscure languages. I’m using Ling to learn Croatian and I like it very much. The pronunciations and dialogues are done by real speakers, not just AI, which really sets the app apart form other Croatian learning apps. There can be a few hiccups here and there with the speech recognition, but I reported the issues and support contacted me within hours with a successful workaround as well as a timeline of when the issue would be fixed. I highly recommend Ling.”
★★★★★
Peaches Pan Tao
What You’ll Achieve In Your First Week Using Ling
Since the Ling app has a 7-day free trial, let’s see some things you can learn if you use it for a week:
| Day | What You’ll Learn | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Greetings and introductions in Croatian | Hello, what is your name? – Bok, kako se zoveš? My name is Mary – Moje ime je Marija. |
| Day 2 | Basic sentences in Croatian | I am sorry. – Žao mi je. Can you repeat that? – Možeš li to ponoviti? |
| Day 3 | Croatian Grammar Notes | “Introduction to Basic Sentence Structure” |
| Day 4 | Talking about people in Croatian | I am a woman – Ja sam žena. He is a boy – On je dječak. |
| Day 5 | Croatian Culture Notes | “What makes Croatian unique?” |
| Day 6 | More basic sentences in Croatian | He sleeps – On spava. You watch a movie – Vi gledate film. |
| Day 7 | Numbers and family in Croatian. | One – Jedan, three – tri, five – pet. We are a family of four – Mi smo četveročlana obitelj. |
Frequently Asked Questions: No Croatian On Babbel
What’s The Best App To Learn Croatian?
The Ling app is one of the best apps for learning Croatian. It offers structured lessons built around real-life situations, native-speaker audio, dialog practice, Croatian grammar and culture notes, and gamified elements to keep you motivated.
Can I Learn Croatian By Myself?
Yes, Croatian is very learnable for self-studiers, especially with a structured app like the Ling app to guide you. If you want to progress faster, supplementing with Croatian media, podcasts, or conversations with native speakers will help.
How Long Does It Take To Learn Croatian?
The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) estimates that Croatian requires around 1,012 hours of study for English speakers to reach professional working proficiency. That said, for conversational fluency, consistent daily practice over several months can get you a long way.
Is Croatian On Duolingo?
No, there’s no Croatian on Duolingo. It’s best to try an alternative like the Ling app, which offers gamified learning, native-speaker audio, conversational practice, pronunciation feedback, review tools, and more.
Is Croatian On Babbel?
No, Croatian is not available on Babbel. Babbel currently offers 14 languages, mostly popular European ones like Spanish, French, and German. Croatian is not among them. If learning Croatian is your goal, the Ling app is one of the best alternatives, as it offers a full, structured course.
Start Learning Croatian With Ling!
Call to all language learners: Ling is the best app to learn lesser-known languages. We’ve taken what the likes of Babbel and Duolingo created and made it better.
Ling has the kind of gamification elements users have come to expect from a high-quality app, plus listening exercises from native speakers in 70+ languages, dialogs to practice conversations, review tools like flashcards and a vocabulary bank, and much more.
So don’t wait any longer, download the Ling app and start learning Croatian today!
