The best apps to learn Shahmukhi Punjabi
Shahmukhi is how most of the world's Punjabi speakers write, and almost no app teaches it. Duolingo has no Punjabi course. Ling, Pimsleur, and PunjabiCharm teach Gurmukhi or skip the script. We build Ladoo, so read the rest with that in mind.
1. Ladoo: the first app to teach Punjabi in both scripts
Ladoo Learn Punjabi is the first app to teach Punjabi in both Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi. You pick the script when you start. The language lessons then run in Shahmukhi, and a separate reading track teaches the whole alphabet and the vowel marks in Nastaliq, with audio and finger tracing. The spoken Punjabi is the same in either script. Bhaji, the AI tutor, holds spoken conversations in Punjabi. Eight illustrated stories are narrated line by line.
2. Mango Languages: Shahmukhi, free through many libraries
Mango is one of the few courses that teaches Punjabi in Shahmukhi. It works through short recorded dialogues with native-speaker audio and grammar notes. Hundreds of public library systems in the US and Canada offer Mango free with a library card, so check yours before paying for anything.
3. Urdu apps: good for letters
Duolingo has an Urdu course. A few other language apps do too. Urdu and Shahmukhi share the Perso-Arabic alphabet, so an Urdu app will get you used to Nastaliq shapes and right-to-left reading. It will not teach you Punjabi. The grammar is different, and so are the tones. Use an Urdu app only if you cannot read the script yet and want a head start on the letters. Then switch.
4. Preply and italki: a human who writes Shahmukhi
A tutor who grew up reading and writing Shahmukhi is the other real option. Marketplaces like Preply and italki have Punjabi tutors, and some of them teach in Shahmukhi. You pay by the hour and you have to book a slot. Daily app practice for letters and vocabulary, plus a weekly tutor session to talk, is the setup that works.
How to actually choose
If you want to speak Punjabi and read what your family texts in Shahmukhi, start with Ladoo. The lessons are free. Mango is the other app worth a look, especially if your library has it. Pair either one with a tutor if you can. An Urdu app stops at the letters. For the script itself, we wrote how to learn Shahmukhi, and the history of the two scripts is on Gurmukhi vs Shahmukhi.
Common questions
What is the best app to learn Shahmukhi?
Ladoo Learn Punjabi is the first app to teach Punjabi in both Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi. The language lessons run in Shahmukhi and a separate reading track teaches the script. Every lesson is free. Mango Languages also has a Punjabi course in Shahmukhi. If you already read Urdu and only want conversation with a person, book a tutor on Preply or italki.
Which Punjabi apps use Shahmukhi?
Very few. Ladoo teaches Punjabi in Shahmukhi or Gurmukhi, your pick. Mango Languages has a Punjabi course in Shahmukhi. Ling, Pimsleur, and PunjabiCharm teach Gurmukhi or skip the script. A tutor who writes Shahmukhi is the other realistic option.
Does Duolingo teach Shahmukhi?
No. Duolingo has no Punjabi course. It does have Urdu, which uses a related script, but that is a different language.
Can I learn Punjabi with an Urdu app?
You can learn the letter shapes. You cannot learn Punjabi that way. Urdu and Shahmukhi Punjabi share a script family. They do not share grammar or the words you need at the dinner table.
Want to read and speak Punjabi in Shahmukhi? Every Ladoo lesson is free on iPhone and Android.