No Somali On Duolingo? Find The Best Alternative In 2026

If you’re looking to learn Somali on your phone or laptop, you may have realized by now that there’s no Somali on Duolingo.

Even when it has courses in over 42 languages, including some fictional ones, there’s no Somali yet.

But don’t let that stop you! There’s a great alternative with many similar features and more: the Ling app.

I want to learn even more languages with Ling!

Download now!

With short lessons, a gamified interface, points for completing lessons, and several other useful features, you’ll find everything you’re looking for plus a few surprises.

I’ll tell you all about it, but let’s try to figure out why there’s no Somali on Duolingo first.

About The Somali Language

Somali is spoken primarily in Greater Somalia–that is, the easternmost part of what’s known as the Horn of Africa– as well as among the Somali diaspora.

It has around 24 million speakers, and it’s an official language in both Somalia and Ethiopia.

It’s also a national language in Djibouti and a recognized language in Kenya.

Somali is a Cushitic language, which means it’s related to other African languages such as Oromo, Beja, and Afar.

It also has several dialects, such as Northern Somali, which is considered the standard dialect, Benadir Somali, spoken along the coast, and Maay Somali, spoken in the southern part of Somalia.

As for its writing, Somali is officially written in the Latin alphabet since 1972, although other Somali scripts, such as Osmanya and Kaddare, and the Arabic script are also used.

Why Somali Deserves A Spot On Duolingo

As we mentioned, Somali has around 24 million speakers.

It may not be as many as Chinese or Spanish, but it’s still a lot of people!

So it should definitely be among Duolingo’s courses.

Furthermore, since the adoption of the Latin script in the 1970s, there have been many efforts to promote literacy and standardize the Somali language.

Having modern and engaging tools like language apps to teach it could be very beneficial.

That said, there are other language-learning apps out there, so don’t give up hope!

The Ling app, for instance, recently launched its Somali course.

Is Somali Hard To Learn?

I’m not gonna lie to you, Somali is indeed a hard language to learn.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t master it with the right tools and some perseverance!

Let’s start with what’s relatively easy:

• Latin alphabet and phonetic spelling: Somali uses the Latin alphabet and the spelling of words reflects their pronunciation, so you’ll recognize most of the letters and how they sound, and can learn to read them by yourself.
• Familiar loanwords: If you know a bit of Arabic, you’ll find some borrowed words you’ll be able to recognize. This is also true for English and Italian words from the colonial period, but to a lesser extent.

Now to the hard parts.

• Unfamiliar sounds: Even when you recognize most Somali letters and their pronunciation, some could give you trouble, because Somali has distinct sounds that English doesn’t have, like the rolled ‘r’.
• Dialects: Most Somali dialects are mutually intelligible, but some are not, so even if you learn standard Somali you might have trouble communicating with some dialects in southern Somalia.
• Complex grammar: The conjugation of verbs is a bit complex, there are several different pronouns, and the word order differs from English because it’s a subject-object-verb (SOV) language.
• Polarity of gender: Somali has something called the “polarity of gender”, where words carry the opposite grammatical gender than expected, which can be tricky to master.

That said, you can definitely master the language if you persevere and rely on good resources.

Don’t let a couple of obstacles stop you!

Why Is There No Somali On Duolingo?

Without any official announcements, we can’t know for sure why there’s no Somali on Duolingo, but there are a couple of possible reasons.

For one, the fact that it’s such a complex language can make it harder to develop. This means that Duolingo would have to dedicate a significant number of resources and time to make the course.

Moreover, the Duolingo “Incubator Program”, which was where volunteers could help make new courses, was discontinued in 2021. They must have had their reasons, but some think this was a mistake because all new courses now come directly from the Duolingo team, making resources more limited.

There’s also the popularity of the language. 24 million speakers isn’t such a small number, especially compared to languages such as Icelandic, which has around 390,000 speakers (there’s no Icelandic on Duolingo either, by the way).

But it’s still a relatively low number of people compared to languages such as Chinese or Spanish, spoken by so many people. As such, Duolingo may prefer to focus on languages that attract more users.

Luckily, the Ling app doesn’t think that way, and the app supports several not-so-popular languages from all around the world. There’s the mentioned Icelandic, plus languages like Latvian, Khmer, Lithuanian, Afrikaans, and more.

Here’s The Best Alternative To Duolingo For Learning Somali

But let’s get to what’s important here. Out of all the language-learning apps out there, which one can you use to learn Somali?

We already gave away the answer, because, of course, it’s the Ling app.

Let’s see some of its main features:

• Native speaker audio to ensure perfect pronunciation.
• A chatbot to practice conversations with.
• Practical vocabulary for day-to-day conversations.
• Flashcards to review what you’ve learned.
• Points and achievements to keep you motivated.
• Streaks and reminders so you don’t forget to practice.
• Bite-sized lessons to make language learning less overwhelming.
• A gamified interface to make learning fun and interactive.
  
  

There are several other features that make Ling a great tool for learning Somali (and other Asian and Eastern European languages).

And even when it’s evident that Ling teaches Somali better than Duolingo (since Duolingo doesn’t!), let’s see how they compare to each other when it comes to language learning in general.

Duolingo Vs Ling: An Overview

Here’s a quick comparison between the main features of the Ling app and Duolingo.

As you can see, the Ling app has many of the features people like about Duolingo, especially that it’s a game-like language learning app.

But it still has many qualities that make it stand out as a powerful language-learning tool.

Why Serious Learners Choose Ling For Language Learning

Let’s see what our users have to say about the Ling app in their own words, with a couple of reviews from the Play Store:

“I absolutely love this app! it is one of the only language learning apps I have found that offers Khmer (Cambodian). There are inconsistencies very infrequently in pronunciation or context, but it teaches well enough that even as a beginner I can notice and understand the correct form! 10/10 would recommend!”

★★★★★
Melissa Volentine

“Good for learning a language faster instead of giving you the same words over and over like Duolingo.”

★★★★★
David Lopez

What You’ll Achieve In Your First Week

Since the Ling app has a 7-day free trial, let’s see some of the things you’ll learn if you use it for a week.

But this is if you do one unit per day; if you put your mind to it and dedicate some more time, you’ll be able to learn much more.

So, if you’re looking for a fun, engaging, and easy way to learn Somali, be on the lookout because the Somali language course is coming to Ling very soon!

Frequently Asked Questions When Learning Somali

Start Learning Somali With Ling!

There’s no Somali on Duolingo, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn it from the comfort of your phone or computer.

As we discussed, the Ling app has many of the features that users look for in Duolingo, plus several that make it unique.

All in all, it’s a great tool to learn Somali and 40+ Asian and Eastern European languages.

What’s more, Ling has a 7-day free trial. That means that you can download the app, try it out, and if it’s not for you, cancel your subscription anytime.

But I suspect you’ll want to keep using it! 15K reviews and 4.8 stars on Google Play, and almost 8K ratings and 4.6 stars on the App Store make me think we’re doing something right.

Related Posts

• Best Practices For Learning A Language: 10+ Tips To Learn
• 6 Duolingo Alternatives That Actually Help You Speak A Language
• How Can You Learn A New Language In Your Spare Time? Learn With Ling!