How to choose an Urdu app for your child: 8 questions to ask

The right Urdu app for your child is one that gets them speaking Urdu out loud, fits their age, teaches the Urdu your family actually uses, and is honest about what it does with their voice. Here are eight questions to ask before you download anything.

A note before we start: we make Bulbul, an Urdu app for children. We’ve tried to write questions that are useful whichever app you choose, and we say how Bulbul answers each one so you can hold us to it.

1. Does it get your child speaking?

Many children of Urdu-speaking families already understand a lot. What they lack is practice saying it. An app where children only tap pictures or watch videos builds understanding but not speech.

Look for: a moment in every lesson where your child says something out loud, and something that responds when they do.

Bulbul: every lesson has turns where your child says Urdu out loud. Bulbul listens after a model line and “Ab tum bolo” (now you say it). On devices where Apple provides on-device Urdu speech recognition, the app checks the attempt; elsewhere it simply acknowledges that your child spoke.

2. Does your child need to read?

Some apps start with the alphabet. That suits older children learning to read, but it’s a long road before a young child gets to say anything.

Look for: lessons that work through pictures and sound, with reading as an option rather than a gate.

Bulbul: speaking comes first and reading is optional. Urdu letters are an optional extra, never a requirement for the lessons.

3. Is it built for your child’s age?

A three-year-old and a ten-year-old need very different screens. Too many choices or too much text, and young children guess or give up.

Look for: age settings that actually change the lessons, not just the colours.

Bulbul: children under six see at most two picture choices and nothing to read; older children get longer sentences and can turn on Roman Urdu or Urdu script.

4. Which Urdu does it teach?

Many language apps teach Urdu for travellers or adults: hotels, directions, business phrases. Children need the Urdu of home: greetings, food, family, play.

Look for: family words (Nani and Dadi, Khala and Phuppo, Chacha and Taya) and everyday phrases like Mujhe paani chahiye مجھے پانی چاہیے (I want water).

Bulbul: lessons are built around family moments at home, with the words Pakistani families use for each side of the family.

5. What happens when your child gets it wrong?

Children who feel corrected tend to stop trying, especially with a language they’re shy about.

Look for: gentle feedback, a chance to hear it again, and a way to move on.

Bulbul: it never says “wrong”. A missed answer shows the right one and comes back later in the lesson, and children can always skip a speaking turn.

6. What happens to your child’s voice and data?

Any app that uses the microphone should tell you where recordings go. On the App Store, scroll to the App Privacy section of the listing: it lists what the app collects and whether it’s linked to your child.

Look for: no ads, no account required for children, and voice recordings that stay on the device.

Bulbul: no ads and no account. Speaking attempts are temporary files on the device, deleted after the lesson and never uploaded, and Bulbul doesn’t send analytics or advertising data about learners. Purchases go through Apple.

7. Can you see what your child is learning?

You don’t need a dashboard of scores, but it helps to know what your child can say now and what to practise together.

Look for: a parent area that tells you what was practised and gives you something to do away from the screen.

Bulbul: a parent area, behind a grown-up gate, shows what your child practised this week and suggests one thing to try together tonight.

8. What does it cost, and what’s free?

Look for: a clear free part you can try with your child before paying, a price shown up front in the App Store, and whether one subscription covers siblings.

Bulbul: the first lessons (saying hello and family words) are free, along with practice of anything already learned. A subscription unlocks the full course, with up to six learner profiles on one device. Prices are shown in the App Store.

Apps are one part of it

No app replaces hearing Urdu at home. The best results come from a short, regular habit on the screen and plenty of Urdu off it: at meals, on calls with grandparents and at bedtime. If you’re weighing an app against classes or a tutor, our guide to Urdu classes, tutors or an app compares them honestly. And you can try a 30-second Bulbul lesson right on our homepage.