No, Duolingo doesn't have Tamil. There is no course on Duolingo that teaches Tamil, for English speakers or from any other language: we read Duolingo's full course catalogue on 1 November 2026, and Tamil isn't in it.
A disclosure: we make Qlango, a language app that teaches Tamil, so we have an interest here. The Duolingo fact above is plain fact, and you can check it yourself on Duolingo's course list.
Duolingo does offer courses for Tamil speakers, such as English taught from Tamil, so Tamil can turn up in its language menus. None of them teaches Tamil itself.
Does Duolingo offer anything close to Tamil?
No. The only South Asian language Duolingo teaches is Hindi, and Hindi isn't related to Tamil. Hindi is an Indo-Aryan language, a distant relative of English; Tamil is Dravidian, with its own script, its own grammar and a written literature going back more than two thousand years. A Hindi course won't teach you Tamil. Babbel and Busuu don't offer Tamil either (checked November 2026).
How to learn Tamil with Qlango
Qlango teaches Tamil at A1 and A2, the first two levels of the CEFR scale. At A1 you introduce yourself and handle simple, familiar phrases. By the end of A2 you can talk about your family, work and daily life in simple sentences and get through routine exchanges.
A lesson works like this. You get a set of short example sentences in Tamil script with the translation in the language you learn from, and you answer them in different ways, such as flashcards, picking one of two answers, matching pairs, putting scrambled words in order, writing what you hear and building the sentence yourself. While the script is still new, you can show a Latin transliteration under each word, then hide it as the letters become familiar. Each example is read aloud by an AI voice, and you can slow it down. When you finish a lesson, it comes back after one, two, four and eight days and then once more, and any example you needed a hint for returns in harder questions later.
You also choose the language you learn from, so it can be English or another language you know better.
Two kinds of Tamil
The thing to know early is that Tamil has two registers. The formal language is used in books, news broadcasts and official signs. The spoken language is used at home, on the street and in films, and it shortens words a lot:
| Written |
Spoken |
Meaning |
| இருக்கிறது (irukkiradhu) |
irukku |
there is, it is |
| நான் வருகிறேன் (naan varugiren) |
naan varen |
I'm coming |
Learn to read the formal forms and to speak the spoken ones, and don't be alarmed when they don't match.
The script is more compact than its reputation. The traditional count gives 247 letters, but they're built from 12 vowels and 18 consonants, plus vowel signs that attach to the consonants, so most combinations follow a pattern. A dot above a consonant, the pulli, removes its vowel: க is ka, க் is just k.
Your first Tamil words
| Tamil |
Say it |
Meaning |
| வணக்கம் |
vanakkam |
hello, at any time of day |
| நன்றி |
nandri |
thank you |
| ஆமாம், இல்லை |
aamaam, illai |
yes, no |
| சரி |
sari |
OK, right, fine |
| என் பெயர் ... |
en peyar ... |
my name is ... |
| தண்ணீர் |
thanneer |
water |
You'll hear sari constantly. Our full guide to learning Tamil covers the script, the sounds English doesn't have and a 30-day plan.
FAQ
Is Tamil on Duolingo?
No. As of November 2026, Duolingo has no course that teaches Tamil, from English or from any other language.
What is the best app to learn Tamil?
It depends on what you need. If you want a course organised by CEFR level, in Tamil script with an optional transliteration and a fixed review schedule, Qlango teaches Tamil at A1 and A2. Duolingo, Babbel and Busuu don't offer Tamil (checked November 2026).
Is there a free app to learn Tamil?
Qlango is free to download on iPhone and Android, and you can start your first Tamil lesson without creating an account. It also works in your browser.
Will Duolingo add Tamil?
We can't say. Duolingo adds and removes courses over time, so check its catalogue if you're reading this much later.
Tamil isn't the only gap. See every language Duolingo doesn't teach, or compare Qlango and Duolingo side by side. Your first Tamil lesson in Qlango takes about five minutes.
