Skip Duolingo's Premium AI for Google's Free Alternative

If you’ve attempted learning a language on your phone, you’ve arguably attempted out Duolingo via its endearing and personable owl mascot. But, between recent controversy and a rather pricey AI plan, innumerable users are jumping ship. Google’s under to catch you via their discharge holistic – Tiny Language Lessons.
Table of Fabrics
- Duolingo’s High Price and Difference
- Google Introduces Tiny Language Lessons
- Receiving Initiated With Tiny Language Lessons
- Making utilise of Slang Hang
- Translating Images With Word Web camerata
- True Duolingo Holistic or Not?
Duolingo’s High Price and Difference
While Duolingo’s discharge to utilise, the promotions for discharge users are retrieving worse and worse. Sorry, but I don’t ultimatum a random promotion along via a 30-second pointer of why I have to upgrade to Super Duolingo or Duolingo Best after every single lesson. Advertisement time has tripled between lessons in merely the last year for me.
With Duolingo Best, I can gain utilise AI to explain my miscues or help me roleplay discussions in plenty of circumstances. With one voice for merely $30/month. Duolingo does confess miscues execute ensue, so that high price can help you learn mistakenly.
After that, Duolingo’s CEO, Luis von Ahn, announced in April 2025 that the solution messenger was readjusting to an AI-initially solution messenger. Just a couple of days later, the solution messenger announced they provided AI to unleash 148 brand-newfangled language courses in merely a day.
While a boatload of that web content is discharge, some users aren’t overjoyed via the button to AI. This is especially real via the optimize in promotions and pricey premium units.
Google Introduces Tiny Language Lessons
One of the determinants I provided Duolingo is provided that not only was it enjoyable, but there were real human beings behind the web content. If they’re readjusting to AI, why not merely utilise any AI belvedere to learn a language? Google owned the precise same reckoned and launched Tiny Language Lessons merely a couple of days after Duolingo’s announcement.

The Google Research laboratories Experiment is powered by Gemini and it’s consistently discharge. Certainly no promotions, no premium units to tackle, and no owl conflicting you to upgrade. Google does confess that AI does gain miscues, so it can not be most safe and secure.

A couple of of the amenities that grabbed my attention comfortably involve:
- Short tiny lessons pertinent to my telephone dubs for
- Slang Hang to learn real sayings and vernacular versus some super farfetched sayings Duolingo spits out, such as “cows favor to draw.”
- Define things in a image or severely you utilising your web camerata via the Word Web camerata amenity
- On the totality more tailored sustain versus grinding by means of pre-seated lessons
Receiving Initiated With Tiny Language Lessons
To gain utilise initiated, you will unquestionably have to indicator in via your Google account on Tiny Language Lessons. After that, selection the experiment (kind of lesson) you pine to try. I prefered for Tiny Lesson initially.
Presently, the belvedere pointers 22 languages, however, I personally don’t believe listing English for the US, UK, and AU actually counts as three polymorphous languages.
For any lesson, decide your language and get in your impartial. I prefered Spanish (LatAm) via the impartial of alignment a diner.

Click Elicit to consultation your expire results. I was honestly captivated via how a boatload commentaries I retrieved. First, you gain utilise some straightforward vocabulary in the Vocabulary void. For my test, I obtained 12 words, ranging from diner to mouth watering.
Next off, you consultation Proverbs. Click the tabs merely under your inquiries direct the top to jump to each void. I owned 9 sayings coaching me how to ask for a table, a menu, and the bill, along via giving thanks to waitstaff for their solution.
The last void was the the majority of rewarding to me and an place wherein Duolingo does not have – relevant descriptions of how grammar jobs. The Reminders place provided upward how to utilise a couple of polymorphous words in plenty of circumstances, such as utilising the cure kind of “to be.”

Click the audio spokesperson icon beside any word or phrase to listen to it. You can in addition utilise the Pencil icon at the top proper to modify your inquiries to gain it more precise or basic.
Making utilise of Slang Hang
To go beyond some straightforward discussions on Duolingo, you have to upgrade. Tiny Language Lessons not only confers you AI-elicited discussions, but help you much more detailed know how homeowners speak. The Slang Hang experiment asks you to decide a language and void to gain utilise initiated. Click Elicit to consultation expire results.

Gemini accumulates a random affliction and explanation. Click the Examine button beside any explanation bubble to consultation the translation. Consumption the Speaker icon button to listen to the explanation. Press your spacebar (or faucet the spacebar button if you’re on phone) to listen to the next component of the explanation.

It was nice to listen to more of a real explanation than the more stilted, book pizzazz discussions in the majority of language learning apps.
Translating Images With Word Web camerata
As via the other two experiments, Word Web camerata asks you to initially pick a language. Press Open Web camerata to after that snap a image for Tiny Language Lessons to procedure. I flipped a image of my seedling shelf. Justification the hardship, I’m in the procedure of shifting everything outdoors for Malleability.

Gemini attended work and within a couple of secs, offered me words for “seed foundings” and “shelf.” I can click any word that appears to learn more. This confers me other related words. For instance, as speedily as I clicked “seed foundings,” I obtained translations for “environment-friendly”, “unique”, “blooming,” and more. Each word in addition comes via a sentence, and, you can listen to everything.

True Duolingo Holistic or Not?
Presently, Google’s Tiny Language Lessons isn’t a complete-fledged Duolingo holistic, but I’d claim it’s comfortably a substitute for Duolingo Best’s AI amenities. It’d be a expansive compeer gizmo while thieving a journey or for added affirm as speedily as utilising an additional language learning app. The derogatory component is there isn’t an app yet, so you’ll have to utilise your browser.
If you’re gazing for discharge Duolingo selections that can not utilise AI, try discharge sources by means of your regional library. For instance, Mango, a premium app, is discharge by means of innumerable varieties.
If you ultimatum rapid translations while thieving a journey, try these electronic translators. Or, consultation how to learn a language via your iPhone via no added apps burly.