There are many apps for learning Hebrew, and at first glance they look alike: bright icons, a streak of days in a row, flashcards with words. The difference shows up after a couple of weeks. Some teach you to read and speak, while others turn you into a person who knows fifty words and can't read a shop sign.
Below are eight questions worth asking any app before you invest time in it. After that: how the ulpan method helps, where an app hits its limits and how to combine it with a course.
Checklist: what to look for in an app
1. Does it teach you to read?
Hebrew is written from right to left, and in daily life most words are printed without vowel marks. But a beginner needs exactly those marks: the small signs under and over the letters show how to read the word. For example, in the word שָׁלוֹם ("shalom") the vowel marks show both vowel sounds.
If an app shows only transliteration in Latin letters, you'll learn how words sound but not how to read them. A good sign: the alphabet and vowel marks come at the very start, and you read a whole word in your first lesson.
2. Does every word have audio?
Hebrew has sounds that English lacks, and the stress often falls on the last syllable. You can't learn that from text. Check that you can listen to any letter, word and line, and replay it as many times as you need.
3. Does it teach phrases in real-life situations?
A word list like "apple, table, dog" won't help you at Kupat Holim. Dialogues are more useful: you book a doctor's appointment, open a bank account, rent an apartment, buy groceries. Then words arrive together with a ready phrase and the situation where you say it.
4. Is there spaced repetition?
A word you've seen once will probably be gone fast. Spaced repetition brings the word back as you start to forget it: first after a short interval, then after longer and longer ones. In an app where words just sit in a list and nothing comes back, you'll have to keep them alive by hand.
5. Does it go from simple to complex?
Ask yourself: is it clear what you'll be learning tomorrow and in a month? If lessons come in random order, you get a jumble. You need a ladder: letters, vowel marks, first words, short phrases, dialogues, then grammar through real examples.
6. Does it show ads?
An ad in the middle of a session breaks concentration, and a short session is fragile enough already. Find out how the app makes its money before you get used to it.
7. Do you have to sign up?
Sometimes an account makes sense: for instance, if your progress needs to move to another phone. But if an app demands an email and a password before the first lesson, that's an extra barrier. Find out in advance where your progress is stored.
8. Which language are the explanations in?
If you're learning from English, you want explanations in English, so that your effort goes into Hebrew and not into decoding instructions. Check both the interface and the lesson notes.
Table: what to check and why
| What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Alphabet and vowel marks at the start | So you can read signs, forms and messages without transliteration |
| Audio for every word | So you get pronunciation and stress right from the first days |
| Dialogues from real life | So ready-made phrases work at the clinic, the bank, the shop |
| Spaced repetition | So what you learned doesn't vanish within a week |
| A step-by-step program | So you don't learn everything at random and can see where you're heading |
| No ads | So a short session stays short |
| No sign-up needed | So you can start in the first minute |
| Explanations in your language | So your effort goes into Hebrew |
How an app built on the ulpan method helps
An ulpan is a Hebrew course for new immigrants in Israel. It rests on four things, and they carry over to a phone easily.
- Short sessions every day. Your brain takes in a small portion today and another tomorrow more easily than a mountain of material once a week. Your phone is always with you, so a session fits into a commute or a lunch break.
- Real-life situations. An ulpan talks about what you'll need the next day: how to introduce yourself, how to ask the way, how to book a doctor.
- Speaking aloud. It isn't enough to read a phrase with your eyes. You have to say it, and preferably several times. Play the audio, listen and repeat.
- Repetition. You come back to old material again and again until it becomes familiar.
Here are two phrases that are good to start saying aloud. You'll use them in any line:
בְּבַקָּשָׁה
bevakasha
please
תּוֹדָה
toda
thank you
Where an app hits its limits
An app doesn't replace live conversation. A real person interrupts, asks you to repeat, speaks fast and with an accent. You can't learn that from a script, however good it is.
An app doesn't replace a course or an ulpan either: a teacher sees your mistake, explains why it happened and answers a question that isn't in the lesson. An app repeats patiently, but it doesn't hear what exactly you're mixing up.
The conclusion is simple: an app gives you a base and regularity, while a course and live practice give you conversation. It's best to combine them.
How to combine an app with an ulpan or courses
- Before the course. Learn the alphabet and vowel marks in the app. You'll arrive at your first class already able to read, and the teacher can go straight to speaking.
- Alongside the course. Reinforce the words and phrases from class with a short session every day. Spaced repetition does what the teacher has no time for.
- Before errands in town. If you have to go to Kupat Holim or the bank tomorrow, run through a dialogue on that topic and listen to the lines.
- After classes. If the course has ended, the app keeps your skill going until you find the next one.
One more rule: write down words and phrases you hear in the street and bring them to class. That's how real-life Hebrew and your study material meet.
An example: Hebrew №1 against the checklist
To keep the list from staying theoretical, here is how our own app measures up. It's built on the ulpan method.
- Reading. The course starts with the alphabet and vowel marks, and in the very first lesson you read a whole word.
- Audio. You can listen to any letter, word and line.
- Situations. Dialogues from real life: Kupat Holim, the bank, Bituach Leumi, the shop, renting an apartment.
- Repetition. A word comes back when you begin to forget it.
- Ads and sign-up. There are no ads, no sign-up is needed, and your progress is stored on your phone.
Check the remaining points yourself in the first lesson, as with any app. There are versions for iPhone and Android. And everything said above still applies: an app gives you a base and a study habit, but you'll still have to find conversation in real life.
The alphabet, vowels and 105 real-life dialogues, taught the ulpan way. iPhone and Android, works offline, no ads, no sign-up.
In short: what to do right now
- Install the app and take the first lesson to test it against the checklist.
- If you didn't read a single Hebrew word in the first lesson, look for another app.
- Pick a set time to study every day and stick to it.
- Find a course, an ulpan or a conversation partner: an app will complement them but won't replace them.
