How Long Does It Take To Learn Korean With Duolingo?

The Short Answer: How Long Does It Really Take?

If you practice for 15 minutes a day, you can finish the Duolingo Korean course in 1 to 2 years.

However, there is a catch. Korean is significantly harder than Spanish or French. It relies on complex grammar particles and a completely different alphabet (Hangul). Because Duolingo tries to teach this through “matching games” rather than actual lessons, you can finish the entire course and still have zero idea how to construct a sentence.

Want to learn faster? We tested the top apps. 👉 Read: Why We Finally Quit Duolingo (And What We Use Instead)

How Much Time Per Day Should You Study Korean?

Learning a new language is like planting a garden; the more time you spend tending to it, the better it grows! But hey, we get it, life can be as busy as a beehive.

Experts say that aiming for about 30 minutes a day, five days a week, is the sweet spot for making progress. Of course, if you’re on a speedy mission to master Korean, you might need to ramp up to a few hours a day with your Duolingo app and other language activities.

In any case, the key to cracking the language nut is immersion. Surround yourself with Korean like a cozy blanket, and before you know it, you’ll be speaking the language like a pro.

How Many Hours Does It Take To Learn Korean With Duolingo?

According to the Foreign Service Institute, getting the hang of Korean usually takes about 80-90 weeks, or roughly 2,000 hours of classes and practice. Why so long?

Well, Korean falls into the category IV language group, which means it’s extremely difficult for English speakers to grasp in comparison to some other languages, such as German or Italian.

But hey, don’t let that number scare you off! The amount of time you’ll need can vary wildly depending on how fast you pick things up and how fluent you want to be. Some folks breeze through it in just 600-700 hours of app time, while others might need to clock over 2,500 hours to really nail it.

Now, if you’re itching to speed up your Korean learning, there are ways to turbocharge your Duolingo sessions. We’ll dive into those in a bit!

How Long Does It Take To Complete The Duolingo Korean Course?

Completing the full Duolingo Korean course can be a bit like training for a marathon—it’s all about pacing and dedication. Depending on how deep you want to dive and how much time you can spare, your Duolingo Korean adventure could span anywhere from 3 months to 2 years.

If you’re taking it slow and steady with just one lesson a day, you might find yourself in for a cozy two-year ride. But if you’re kicking it into high gear and gobbling up lessons like a language-hungry monster, you could be cruising to fluency much quicker.

Duolingo Korean is no walk in the park, though. It’s one of the platform’s more comprehensive courses, partly because Korean can be a bit of a brain-twister for English speakers. If you’re gunning to master Korean on Duolingo in record time, you might want to strap in for multiple hours of training each day.

Tips For Learning Korean With Duolingo

Learning Korean is like embarking on a grand adventure—challenging, yes, but definitely doable, especially with the help of Duolingo’s gamified platform. They’ve turned learning into a game, complete with rankings, leagues, and other features to keep you hooked.

To make the most of your language-learning journey, here are a few tips:

Set Goals: Start with short, achievable goals to keep yourself motivated. As you get more comfortable, you can ramp up the challenge.

Enable Notifications: Turn on notifications to remind you to practice. This can help you stay on track with your learning goals.

Focus On Your Progress: While it’s fun to climb the leaderboards, your main focus should be on your personal growth. Celebrate your wins, big and small!

Take Notes: Jot down new words, tricky phrases, or pronunciation tips to help reinforce your learning.

Pace Yourself: Korean is a bit more complex than some other languages, so don’t rush it. Set realistic goals and enjoy the ride at your own speed.

Practice Speaking Aloud: Use the voice recognition feature to practice your pronunciation. Speaking aloud can help improve your speaking skills.

With these tips in mind, you’ll be speaking Korean like a pro in no time!

Supplemental Resources To Boost Your Korean Proficiency

Adding to the tips above, you need other resources to spice up your language learning journey beyond just using an app. Honestly, if you want to speed this up, skip the games. Korean grammar is complex and Duolingo just doesn’t explain it well enough to get your conversational.

Apps like Rocket Korean and Pimsleur use audio-based lessons that explain the why behind the grammar. In our testing, they were roughly 3x faster for reaching conversational fluency than Duolingo. And check out Rosetta Stone Korean if you’d like more of a visual approach.

In addition to using a better program, you need to immerse yourself in the culture to really understand the context:

• Dive into online tools for pronunciation practice and translation help
• Get your fix of Korean entertainment by watching TV shows, and movies (see Lingopie)
• Tune in to podcasts or audiobooks in Korean to train your ear.
• Use subtitles while watching Korean content to reinforce what you’re learning
• Pick up a children’s book in Korean for some easy reading
• Vibe to Korean tunes and follow along with the lyrics
• Practice your Korean with someone who speaks the language

The Bottom Line: Immersion is the key to cracking the language nut. Surround yourself with Korean like a cozy blanket (TV, music, and a solid audio course), and before you know it, you’ll be speaking like a pro.