Does Duolingo have Thai? An honest answer (2026)

We make Reply Thai, an app for learning Thai to talk to your family. Here’s an honest answer, including where other options are better for you.

No, Duolingo doesn’t teach Thai. When we checked Duolingo’s own course list on 14 Oct 2026, there was no course for learning Thai, from English or from any other language.

If you came here hoping to slot Thai into the same daily habit as your Spanish streak, that’s a fair hope, and it’s a bit of a letdown. The good news is that Thai learners have other options, and which one suits you depends less on the app and more on what you actually want to do with your Thai.

Does Duolingo have a Thai course?

Not for learning Thai. We looked at Duolingo’s course page and the public course list behind it on 14 Oct 2026. For English speakers, it offers around forty languages, from Spanish and Japanese to Vietnamese. Thai isn’t one of them, and there’s no Thai course from any other starting language either.

So why might you have seen Thai on Duolingo? Because Thai appears as a starting language. Thai speakers can use Duolingo to learn English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, French, German, Spanish, Italian or Portuguese. If you spotted a Thai flag in the menu, that’s the menu for people who already speak Thai.

We couldn’t find any announcement from Duolingo about adding a Thai course, so we won’t guess. If that changes, we’ll update this page; we plan to re-check the course list every few months.

Can you learn Thai on Duolingo at all?

Not with an official course. The nearest thing is Duostories, a community project that brings Duolingo-style stories to more languages. When we checked, it had 4 Thai stories for English speakers, with audio. Its own FAQ says it is “not linked to Duolingo in any way”. It’s a nice bit of listening practice, not a course.

If you already understand Thai, what does that change?

A lot of people who search “Duolingo Thai” aren’t starting from zero. Maybe Thai was the language of your mum’s phone calls, your family’s kitchen or every trip home. You understand more than you can say, and when it’s your turn to answer, the words go quiet.

That has a name. Researchers who study heritage languages describe speakers who understand the language but find it hard to produce. Your listening is real Thai, and it counts.

It also changes what a good tool looks like. A course built for complete beginners may spend weeks on things your ears already know. What many heritage speakers want is practice saying things: short replies, at the right politeness, for the people they actually talk to. We wrote more about that in our guide to learning Thai to talk to your family. And if your Thai sounds sweet and polite because you learned it from your mum, that’s not a flaw either; see why my Thai sounds like my mum.

What can I use instead of Duolingo for Thai?

Here’s a short list by need. Everything about other products comes from their own public pages, checked on 14 Oct 2026; see the sources at the bottom. For a side-by-side table, see our honest comparison of Thai learning apps.

To read and write the Thai alphabet

Reply Thai is not for this. It’s speaking-first and does not teach the Thai alphabet. Better places to start:

• ThaiPod101’s alphabet guide. Its Thai alphabet page is free to read: it charts the 44 consonants, names the five tones and covers writing basics, and offers a free practice-sheet PDF.
• A teacher. Script is one of the places where a human who can watch you write and correct you helps most. See “a human teacher” below.

To talk with your family

This is the gap we built Reply Thai for. It’s a set of over 100 short lessons, about five minutes each, built around family moments: a video call with Yai, family meals, big family days, visiting Thailand and more. Thai is shown with an easy romanization and the meaning, you choose whether you speak with khrap or kha, and every phrase follows that choice. The audio is the iPhone’s own Thai voice.

Plainly, the limits: Reply Thai is coming soon to iPhone and is not out yet. It’s iPhone only, so if you use Android, it isn’t for you and another option on this page will serve you better. It isn’t free either: the planned price is US$19.99, paid once, with no subscription and no free tier.

If you want to try the idea for free today, our Say it in Thai phrases and video call phrases for Yai are on this site, no app needed.

For a structured audio course

Pimsleur’s Thai page says it teaches Standard Thai (Central Thai) with audio lessons, in an app for mobile, computer and tablet, and offers a free lesson to try. The page didn’t show prices when we checked, so see their site for current pricing.

ThaiPod101 is another audio option: its home page describes short audio and video lessons, with reading and writing among the focuses you can pick. See their site for current pricing.

For a human teacher

italki lists Thai tutors for 1-on-1 online lessons, with a trial lesson price on each tutor’s listing. Trial lessons on the page ranged from USD 5.00 to USD 70.00 when we looked on 14 Oct 2026.

A teacher is the best fit if you want the alphabet, feedback on your tones, or someone to talk to who isn’t family yet. If you’re choosing for a child rather than yourself, our piece on whether your kid should go to Thai school may help.

Free ways to start

If free matters most, Reply Thai isn’t your answer: it’s planned at US$19.99, paid once, with no free tier. From their own pages:

• ThaiPod101 invites you to “Join for Free” with “No credit card needed”, and its alphabet guide is open to read.
• Ling says you can “Try your first lesson for free” in its Thai course, and its page shows both App Store and Google Play badges.
• Pimsleur offers one free lesson.
• Duostories has 4 Thai stories with audio, as a community project.
• This site has free family phrases in Say it in Thai.

Our comparison of Thai learning apps lists which other apps have free tiers. Free starting points are a good way to find out what kind of learning sticks for you before you pay for anything.

So which should you pick?

Start from the moment you care about. If it’s reading a menu or your cousin’s messages, start with the script. If it’s a weekly call with Yai, start with replies. If it’s tones and confidence, a teacher can give you the feedback an app can’t. There’s no wrong door, and plenty of people use two at once.

Duolingo may be the app you open every morning for something else, and that’s great. For Thai, you’ll just need to look a little further.