Learn a language,
starting from your own.
LinguaCommons is a free library of the world’s languages — living, endangered, ancient and invented. Pick the language you already speak and the one you want to learn, and you get a guide written for that pair: how it sounds, how the grammar works in plain language, and which words are worth learning first. No ads, no sponsors, no paywall.
Illustration: a globe surrounded by greetings in Japanese, Arabic, Korean, Yorùbá and Swahili.
Explore LinguaCommons
Languages
Learn
Linguistics
- Language Terms Explained
- IPA & Phonetics
- Notation Systems
- Writing Systems
- Linguists
- Bibliography
- Table of Contents
Our Mission
We believe open knowledge, respect, and curiosity can help preserve linguistic diversity and bring people together. Free, ad-free, and sponsor-free — permanently.
Learn more- Levelled A1 to C2First words through to comfortable fluency
- Methods that hold upTechniques backed by language-learning research
- Culturally respectfulCommunity-informed and ethically sourced
- Open & accessibleFree knowledge for learners worldwide
How it works
A library you can dip into, not a course you have to finish.
There is no streak to protect and nothing to unlock. Start anywhere, take only what you need, and come back whenever you like — everything is organised so you can find it again, and sourced so you can check it. If you want a break from studying, there are a couple of games built from the same material.
1.Start from the language you speak
Not from English, unless English is your language. A guide to Yorùbá for French speakers is a different guide to Yorùbá for Japanese speakers, so we write them separately.
2.Follow it at your own level
Every guide runs from A1 to C2 — first words through to comfortable fluency — with pronunciation, grammar explained in plain language, and worked examples rather than bare word lists.
3.Make it stick
Pair the guide with a flashcard deck of the words you will meet most often, and with the study methods that language-learning research actually supports.
Every language is worth keeping.
Endangered tongues, regional dialects, ancient scripts and constructed worlds — all held in the same commons, free for anyone who wants them.