Busuu: Language Learning Reviews

by Escoce

So, I started the trial and I liked this app, but as I progressed through the program I found I needed to go back to previous lessons a lot, which isn’t very easy to do without interrupting and having to restart your current lesson. That made review pretty difficult. I also was dismayed at how quickly my “fluency” rating was increasing despite the fact I continuously needed to review old material. I finally felt I wasn’t really learning much. Plus, you aren’t really taught the written languages. The hiragana and katakana seem to be included incidentally, and kanji get thrown in randomly without explanation.

I hate to say this, but at least for me I found better resources Learn Japanese!!, Learn Japanese!-Kanji and Learn Japanese!!! seem to really be in tune with modern learning techniques, force you to review items you make mistakes on more often, and uses SRS review methods. You don’t need to know what SRS means, but it’s damned clever and really reinforces what you have learned.

Also, Anki is great for memorizing the Japanese alphabets, it’s REALLY important to learn those first if you are even a little bit serious about learning Japanese. I think this app could really improve itself if it took a few pages from these other programs. If they did that, and I had a chance to review the program again, I would like the chance to delete this review and give them the stars I wanted to when I first downloaded the program.

by HomoAngelisus

The study plans and the very easy to follow short lessons makes this app one of, if not my favorite, favorite language learning apps. The only problem, which may or may not be a problem for others, is the limitation on how many study plans you can have going at once. If you’re like me and love learning languages, you would probably want to be able to have two or even three study plans going for different languages at a time. However, this app limits this to just one, even with a Premium Plus account! Thankfully, everything else is amazing. The remaining features barely make up for this lack in freedom for learning more than one language. Overall, it’s a great app. I’m just a little disappointed with this one feature, or lack there of. I would highly recommend it to anyone that only plans on learning one language though.

In Response to the Developer
I appreciate the concern and with all due respect, it doesn’t seem like the decision to learn more than one language at a time should be up to someone that doesn’t know me or my motivations. That kind of decision should be up to the user, or at the very least, a feature for Premium Plus members. I am saying this with much respect and appreciation for what is already made available. Thank you.

by Vannoord

To be clear: I love Busuu. I love the community aspect and the quick lessons make it easy for me to fit learning into my routine. However, they updated Busuu recently and now my corrections don’t turn green. This is a problem since I provide avid support to my network on here and I frequently correct lessons. Another thing missing is you can no longer see engagement (comment count) on each post under the community tab and they’ve made it *too* easy to just click “it’s perfect!” when in reality, most of the time people who grade something as “perfect” are doing harm to the learner as it is not perfect, it has errors. I think Busuu should encourage discourse and examination beyond just saying “it’s perfect”. Just my two cents. I also wish it would refresh the community feed more often with new lessons to correct—I’m always seeing the same ones all week.

I know Busuu is growing and continuing to improve so I will give it the benefit of the doubt. All in all, I don’t mind spending money on Busuu because I enjoy it, but I hope for a smoother experience on Busuu in the near future. Please fix the green corrections not showing up! 🙏

by Ahja Reyn

I’m loving this app so far. It’s a refreshing take on learning a language vs what many other apps tend to do. This one actually includes real photos with their vocabulary, which helps solidify the language better in your mind vs mentally translating it to English first. They also have conversation demos spoken by actual ppl so you can pick up the proper inflections. AND there is a social option where every once in a while you are offered to put something out there for native speakers to read/listen and correct if needed. You, in turn, can help others by correcting their work as well.

Update: I dropped my rating down by a star because while I do still love it, I feel like this lessons are only giving you the basics of what they expect you to learn? You get some vocabulary, but no practice on sentence structure for how to use it. So when the dialogue comes around, all I can catch are the few words I learned and I have no idea what they are actually talking about and what is other vocab I wasn’t taught and what are all these sentence particles I was never shown.

I wish there would be a better breakdown of grammar and sentence structure because while the lessons do a great job at holding your hand in the beginning, I feel a little thrown off a cliff now.

by Davidincorpus

Over time, I have tried most of the language apps; Rosetta Stone, Babbel, Duolingo, Drops, etc. this app is the best of all of them in most ways. The language level evaluation is great for those that have some understanding of the target language but are not sure of how to rate themselves. The goal setting of a “lesson plan” helps to keep a person on track. The words taught and dialogs are very practical to what a person might experience in everyday conversations. Grammar is integrated into the lessons every few lessons. It is helpful when grammar is spaced out like this. Every so often, there will be an assignment of writing a short paragraph on a subject in the target language. This gives practice using what has been taught. You are graded by others that are also learning, and grade others on their writing skills in their target language (with you having a best understanding of your native language). The only small weakness I find with this app is that the grammar review after the initial lesson is not as good as with Babbel. I am doing exercises at B2 level in German and the only “practice grammar” that I ever get is on the accusative case. On the other hand, the vocabulary practice is done exactly right. It uses something like the spaced repetition that Anki and Quizlet use.

by Raedio.

Busuu is OK, and I’ll share my favorite aspects first—the community and the certifications. The community is phenomenal. I can speak or write answers to prompts and get non-judgmental feedback quickly. I can also do the same for English-learners, and people are gracious to share and learn. I also like that there’s an integration with McGraw Hill to actually earn certifications, which I can use professionally. But Busuu is essentially a high school text book. I can’t see or ask WHY something is incorrect, the voice recognition exercises feels disingenuous, I’m marked incorrect for small errors/mistaken keys, and the prompts recycle pretty quickly. To me, it even looks like a book that they would issue in high school from a design perspective. Like other users, I also use Duolingo to supplement my learning, and I think Duo is more intuitive in recognizing what I’m doing well and what I need to work on. Duo’s A/B testing clearly makes a difference. The UI on Duo is also much cleaner. I pay for both apps (both bought annual plans on RIDICULOUS sales), and I am glad that I did so in my pursuit to learn French/Spanish, but this is very clearly not an app that will help everyone with that journey.

by MarsFromny

(50yo male Realtor from NY) this app has really helped push my language learning to a new level, especially with conversational German.
I take a private lesson once a week and even my teacher is impressed with my language learning, and she’s from Germany.
I use a couple paid apps, but I ultimately end up using this one 90% of the time. I still use the other ones because there’s no “one app” that’ll teach you everything. But if you want one app, I would say this this app is it.
Once in a while there will be a word or phrase that isn’t quite right. But it’s usually not an issue. In any language, no one speaks perfectly all the time.
There are frequent updates to lessons, even the ones you’ve already completed. So I would recommend that once in a while, go back to the ones you have already done and do them again. You will learn something new, even if they are in the very beginning. The best advice I could give would be, do not rush through it. You’re learning a language, not playing a video game. The goal is not to finish, but to actually understand what you are learning and saying. Viel Glück!

by Tic&tac&to

I have used my fair share of language learning apps but this app is Busuu I stick with. Its key feature is having interactions with native speakers from day one. Honestly, plain old humans are a better way to learn language than AI grammar bots. You will make mistakes and sometimes sound non sensical but it’s okay because the community is really nice and everyone helps one another in learning languages.

this app introduces concepts and new words in bite-size fashion. So that you’re making progress at a steady rate. In the dialogues, I feel like the ratio between “I’ve learned this stuff” and “let me try to figure out this other stuff” is good so that it never feels overwhelming. As mentioned above, interacting with native speakers helps tremendously in learning a new language and that makes this app stand apart from other apps. Will this app help you achieve an intermediate or advanced level on its own? No, but in addition to language tutoring sessions, flash cards and a textbook it will help a lot in your language journey from beginner to intermediate. So, yeah, in conclusion, I think the premium version is worth the money.

by Gfjuggffihgtdw

It might just be my learning style, but this is by far the best app that I have found so far. I know there are probably many people saying the same thing about all the different apps out there, but you can test all of them out on a free trial anyways to see which one works best for you. Therefore, I am writing this to make sure that you at least give this one a try. I have been trying Duolingo, Babbel, Rosetta Stone, Memrise, and some others. However, I have an actual hardcopy work book that refered me to Busuu and it’s the best. I like it because it actually tells you the “why” and not just the “what”. It stops every so often to explain grammar and conjugation, which I didn’t see much of in other apps. Other apps just want you to use it enough until you figure it out for yourself, but my time and brain doesn’t allow me to learn in this way. I learn by having things explained to me, memorizing, and then repeating/practicing for long term memory. Other apps seem to start with the last step. Busuu also has many different lesson styles, which keep it interesting. Most comprehensive app so far.

by RōbloxPro12

I just have to say bluntly that Busuu is incredibly effective and beneficial. No matter the language you are learning, it teaches you actual grammar concepts and how to use them, which I find remarkable. As far as I know, no other language app on the ’App Store’ teaches you a language in that amount of detail. I am learning Japanese on ’this app’ and I find it amazingly helpful and effective. I have tried a number of language apps to learn Japanese and apps specific to learning Japanese, and none match the matter of excellence and quality Busuu brings. I have yet to complete the Japanese course, but I have tried out a few of the last lessons on the Japanese course, and the Japanese they are speaking are actually very advanced, even for English! The dialogue even expects you to know what the people in the text are saying, without Rōmaji! (Rōmaji is the Latin aid of Japanese words. Example: ‘たこ’ is ‘Tako’ in Rōmaji, and ‘Tako’ means octopus in English.) Busuu really leads you to having an advanced foundation and in some cases, I believe can lead to fluency! I highly recommend Busuu and have had so much improvement in my Japanese! Busuu makes you actually ”want” to learn a foreign language and Busuu makes it easy by giving you bite-sized lessons! I really enjoy Busuu and am looking forward to seeing what other amazing things I can say and do in other countries, all from the help of Busuu!

by Kittens And Cookies

this app is a great app. I love how this app walks you through speaking new languages. I also love that it shows pictures to go along with the words and how this app will translate the new language that you are learning into the language that you already speak. I also love how this app has the “listen and repeat” stages where you can repeat the new language you are learning so that you can learn how to actually say the new word that you have learned.
I love how this app has added the buddying thing. That way, you and your buddy can help each other out in learning new languages. And they even pull up the buddies that are learning the language that you already know, and that speak the language that you are learning! 😀
And this app is even FREE. Now you don’t have to waste your money on other dumb apps that cost like a million dollars every year. I was wanting to learn German because half of my family was from Germany. I was looking for apps that would teach me this, but all of them costed money-until I found this app.
I would definitely recommend this app to others in need of learning new languages. It is a great way to learn, AND A GREAT WAY TO HAVE FUN WHILE DOING IT!!!!!😁😁😁😁😁

by Shutupmeg4

People are drawn to Duolingo because it’s free, I totally get it. And no shade to them, because I think that they serve a purpose. But if you’re serious about learning how to confidently converse in another language, this app is where it’s at. It’s very reasonably priced considering what you actually get with a premium membership. Busuu itself functions super well, have not experienced any issues in a month of using it. The layout is great also, very user friendly. It’s so helpful to be able to have your writing and/or speaking exercises corrected by native speakers. It’s such a valuable resource. The lessons are paced perfectly, too. I’ve tried a few language learning apps in my day, and let me tell ya, I think this app is the winner. I like Mango quite a bit too, for different reasons. And one suggestion I would make to this app would be to have a pronunciation breakdown pop up by clicking on a word. The native speakers are excellent and speak clearly, but it would just help quite a bit. Especially with French, yikes... All in all, would highly recommend! this app doesn’t get enough hype!

by ViolettedeParis

I have recommended Busuu to some of my English students because it's a great way to improve your English. I'm studying French and I love the translated dialogues they have on the ends of many of the units. They use native, non-robotic speakers and speak at a natural pace so you can hear the linking of words. I also enjoy the visuals and how they contextualize all of their wonderful flashcards with sentence examples of the words. I have a few suggestions for improvement. First, they often will throw 3 to 5 complicated rules at you and then have you practice them all at once as if you should have digested all of that info at once. I think they should introduce one rule then have you practice that one and build on that. Also, often there is no audio or translation in many of the activities and I believe that's a big loss to the student. That's one place where duolingo wins out because they are good about that. Also, I'd love more review, so past rules and lessons are woven into the new ones. Also, not a fan of the high pitched ding sound that you can't turn off. Overall very impressed and excited to keep using it. Update: Buusu is my favorite language learning app by far and far surpasses duolingo because more practical language is taught and grammar isn’t ignored. I’m studying Spanish on it now and wish I had a non-Castilian option because I’m looking to communicate with Mexicans and Latin-Americans who don’t use vosotros or that th sound for the s.

by Alejandra1956

I am studying Spanish through this app. I signed up for the premium year-long service and love it. I can review lessons as many times as I need to before moving in to the next lesson. This means I can really learn something well before learning the next lesson, so I am confident in what I have learned so far, before moving on to the next lesson. Very helpful. They use a variety types of exercises i— verbal, fill in the blank, and pick the correct workout or word order to make a sentence. This variety helps you retain the lessons well. I can also move on to a lesson ahead, if I want. For instance I wanted to learn all of Estar conjugations and then all of Ser conjugations, but the lessons are broken up this way: singular Estar, singular Ser, plural Estar, plural Ser. That was confusing to me, so I went back and reviewed all the Estar conjugations, ‘til I had them down cold, then reviewed all the Ser conjugations. Very important to be grounded in these before moving on!

Also being in the premium membership gives you access to all lessons, so be sure to get that membership. You might want to wait for a sale; I joined on a 60% off sale.

Good luck!

by ChicknNuggets

I did a lot of research concerning which paid platform to use on my language learning journey. I saw people praise this app and I saw people criticize this app. Well, I had to see for myself. I did the free trial and immediately got drawn into the platform. It’s very engaging, has a lot of information, and is, in my opinion, affordable. More than one mode of learning is activated; writing, speaking, visual, and listening. You also get the chance to interact with people who are also learning a new language in a controlled setting, making it hard for people to turn it into a dating app, which distracts from learning. They also give the option to book some classes with instructors to get more assistance with your learning. I highly recommend doing a free trial of the classes. The instructors are knowledgeable and patient with you. They know how to engage students in conversation so that you apply the Spanish you know, which helps you learn. I will continue to use this app because I have a great balance of self-learning and guided learning that has helped me learn a lot already. Hopefully this platform can be a great fit for you, too.

by An Gora

Love the fact that I can learn different languages with a close or same curriculum as a college language course, I used to use other apps and found this one more helpful and more complete. So much , I didn’t mind paying the annual fee which is much more less that paying at any other institutions or college and you get the advantage of learning different languages at once. I’m currently learning French, Mandarin and Italian for the price of $35 a year. You also get to make friends from different parts of the world. If they are native speakers for the languages you are learning they’ll help you by correcting your exercises and viceversa, by making friends or anyone willing to help. It’s a beautiful community and you really feel the support, for the first time I do not feel embarrassed speaking words because they will also tell you how to write better or pronounce it better with no judgement involved 🙌🏻 it feels good ! I highly recommend Busuu to anyone looking to learn at their own pace. Busuu also makes a custom plan for you and it tells you how many months with consistency it will take you to be fluent. Yay!!!! If you don’t get it you’ll be wasting your time and money elsewhere! Get it!!!!

by Wm242424

So far, so good. I would like to thank the developers for taking the time to read this (hello! :) Also, Thank You for developing this app. I have been refreshing my Spanish (first language is English) and I really do enjoy Busuu! Much appreciated! I recommend to anyone that is dedicated to learning another language as well!

I read in a previous comment that expanding the social portion of Busuu would be appreciated and I 100% agree ! It would be awesome to have pen pals or something set up that would allow one to practice with someone trying to do the opposite (like someone fluent in Spanish learning English would be my opposite and so I would b connected to them and we would be able to help each other one on one whenever possible . (via email, video chat, phone calls, all of the above :) or however this app would prefer to set a messaging system/way to communicate). I just really loved that idea and think the best way to learn a language is to actually use the language as much as possible and immerse oneself in the language consistently.
Thank you again this app for you super cool, fun, easy language learning app! I think tech people/developers are literally some of smartest hardworking people ever and I give you Kudos !! Take Care and God Bless✌️

by ArmadilloNinja

[disclaimer: I bought the full account so I have features not everyone might, but I seriously recommend getting the full version, it’s worth every single penny]

As an avid language learner, I’ve tried every app and website out there, and this is by far my favourite of all of the ones I’ve ever used. From the gorgeous and entertaining design to the sensical and organised lessons, everything is just perfect. I love the separated grammar lessons so much and the culture/grammar notes as I learn new things are so helpful and interesting, they really add an exciting element to my learning and remind me of how amazing it is to be opening the door to a new world by learning the language. One of my favourite things is how the lessons are laid out and how you can go about completing them. Unlike most apps and websites where the groupings are by random topics and you must do them in order, this app has a fantastic way of taking a concept, teaching vocabulary for it, introducing grammar with that vocabulary, and making it all useful for actual communication. That to me is one of the best features, because I know that I’m constantly learning material I need, instead of crawling my way through 4 lessons about food to get to the important stuff.

this app is amazing, and I recommend it to literally everyone, thanks this app for motivating me and making learning so much fun!

by Gasp!!!!!!!

Two weeks ago I knew only a handful of phrases of German that I’d memorized as a child. I have now worked steadily through the first level of this app German level one, taking copious notes, and I’m very pleased with all the vocabulary I have picked up, all the grammar I have mastered, and the friends from around the world I have made. I’m amazed at the complexity of the sentences I am able to construct within such a short time. Granted I devoted more time to it than would normally be possible. I have neglected some household chores and Facebook friends to study in every possible spare moment (before and after work).
It’s terrific to be part of an international learning community. I appreciate the input and enjoy helping others. It’s great to get tips and encouragement from native speakers. I’m also planning to brush up on my other languages sometime for fun. It’s nice that that you can learn more than one language with this method for no extra charge.
There is sufficient repetition of key concepts and vocabulary that they stick but not so much that it gets irritating. I think the pace is good. I think the concepts covered are good. I’d like to have learned some of them earlier (eg the endings of adjectives-which have not yet made an appearance) but it’s good to have that to look forward to. There’s a good balance of aural and written language.
All in all I’m very pleased with Busuu and would recommend it.

by JustAFriendlyUser

I love how easy it is to use, and how amazing the community is. The lessons are designed very well and Busuu is extremely easy to use. Just pick a language you want to learn and let Busuu guide you the whole way through. It’s pretty straight forward and eventually you will be familiar and hopefully fluent in whatever chosen language. I strongly suggest you try out the community feature where you can find people to help you, correct your mistakes, ask for feedback, and even socialize. It’s incredibly easy to find people and make friends. I’ve been using Busuu for a few days to learn French and I have already learned about 60 words. The ONLY con I can think of is that during lessons you are required to listen to a voice saying words and phrases. This could potentially be a problem because sometimes it can be hard to hear what word or phrase they are saying, especially when they talk too fast. Other than that, everything works like a charm. I don’t ever write reviews but I thought I should praise a high quality app that actually helped me accomplish something. Honestly, it is quite fun learning a new language even if you aren’t serious in becoming fluent, and that’s where Busuu really shines... it makes it FUN and NOT boring to learn. Anyways, I love Busuu and I think it’s a great tool to pass the time and learn a new language fairly easily.

by Markiub

My biggest gripe with any language learning app is there is waaay to much English (my native language) in the lessons. Busuu is no different. It’s so much harder for my brain to go back and forth between two different languages, rather than just being immersed in one language and not having to go back and forth. This is the way we learn as babies and this is the way that works for me. The first 3 flashcards were 3 different new Japanese words and the 4th flashcard was an English question, “This means ___. True or False.” Nooooo. I just had one card telling me a word and then two other cards of two different words and now you’re quizzing me in English? Just no. And then the next card was a sentence in Japanese asking again in English, what did I hear. If I listen to the same word and see the pictures, that’s all I need. No English. No quizzing. Just speaking and listening. If I want a translator, then I worry more about reading and writing. I don’t want a translator. I want a program that actually teaches me a language first. The reading and writing come last. So far, there is only one application that comes close to this. At the very least, I wish there was a way in Busuu and many other apps to have the option to only speak and listen first.

by Michelle The Critical

I really enjoy Busuu and it is much easier to fit these lessons into my day than the lessons of some other apps, while feeling like I am learning something new and not going through the motions to continue my streak.
HOWEVER, if you are not paying for the subscription many parts of the learning process are off limits. This is very annoying and as I continue with the lessons, some of them are entirely unavailable and the next lesson is a little confusing because of the gap.

If you are not interested in seeing if this works well enough for you to invest, it may not be great in the long run. For Japanese, the quizzes and many grammar lessons are unavailable when using the freely available lessons. I have learned some nuances about words I already know, so it has still been a good experience.
If you can, supporting a great service is good. But if you can’t this can only help you with some portion of learning the language. This is why I reduced their star from 4 to 3. It is still useful but much less so.

by Waitout

Seriously there is a lot of new material words as well as grammar is given at every lesson, but review is only for vocabulary.
Im trying to learn French and as an example in one of the lesson you flash a table in the “tip” section with a table of irregular verbs and their form to make a “passé composé” , and then some review of this verbs happen through the lesson so if I could not remember them all at one then to get though the exercise its a lot of try and errors, and lots of frustration (I guess I could have make a screen gab and cheat with it to go through....). I believe the learning should be a little bit more fun at least for me unless you are in live or die situation, were a lot of people are clearly not.... and lack of repetition and review of the grammar could eventually form gap in the very basics.
Im not in position to give you any advice how to teach foreign language cause clearly you have much more experience in doing that, I just provide you a feedback.
What I really like is that you have a lot of real life phrases which I think could be useful

by Why Robucks Does Not Work

First let me say this game has a variety of languages to learn and gives you accurate lessons! I’m learning French and I can already greet my family in the morning and start a formal conversation! Busuu tells you what words you are struggling on, it lets you download lessons, and lets you speak to people who fluently the language you are learning, these people can correct you and help you along the way! Talk about support! Busuu is great, splendid! But, it is not without its flaws. While learning lessons sometimes I do miss the meaning of a phrase or do not understand it. So, it would be great if they would tell you what you did wrong and/or the definition of a vocabulary word. Also it would be great if they started to add funny games too. Just so you can have a little more fun instead of only doing lessons and reading for a good 10 minutes. But, again this game is great, I recommend this to anybody that reads their native language well. Thank you for reading this review! 🙂

by Jackeubanks111

So I was trying out some language learning apps because I’m trying to learn spanish. I was checking out the subscription prices for this app because I liked how Busuu was set up and all. I was going to screenshot it to think about it later, and when I put my thumb on the home button to screenshot I accidentally purchased the 1 year plan with my fingerprint 😂. So I tried to cancel it but it won’t let me cancel the subscription. I mean the price really wasn’t too bad for a 1 year plan, and I like Busuu . So yeah hopefully by the end of the year I’ll be bilingual I guess. Overall it’s pretty great though, it’s got a lot of different ways to learn and I really like how you can have people who natively speak the language to show you what you are doing wrong with your speaking. It’s a great app and I think it’ll really help me learn spanish, really my only complaint overall is that they won’t let me cancel my subscription.