Life & fun · February 13, 2026
I speak 5 languages. Common apps taught me none. So I built lairner
I'm Tim. I speak German, English, French, Turkish, and Chinese. I learned Turkish with lairner itself -- after I built it. That's the best proof I can give you that this thing actually works. The other four I learned the hard way: talking to people, making mistakes, reading things I actually cared about, and being surrounded by the language until my brain gave in. Every language app I tried got the same thing wrong: they teach you to pass exercises, not to speak. You finish a lesson, you get your dopamine hit, you maintain your streak, and six months later you still can't order food in the…
In plain words
Lairner is a language learning platform offering over 700 courses across 70+ languages, including endangered and minority languages often omitted from mainstream apps. Unlike traditional language apps that emphasize exercises and streaks, lairner focuses on practical speaking ability through methods like real-world content and immersive learning. The platform serves language learners seeking to actually communicate rather than simply complete lessons, with course availability spanning unusual language pairs such as Turkish to Basque or Chinese to Welsh.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
I'm Tim. I speak German, English, French, Turkish, and Chinese. I learned Turkish with lairner itself -- after I built it. That's the best proof I can give you that this thing actually works. The other four I learned the hard way: talking to people, making mistakes, reading things I actually cared about, and being surrounded by the language until my brain gave in. Every language app I tried got the same thing wrong: they teach you to pass exercises, not to speak. You finish a lesson, you get your dopamine hit, you maintain your streak, and six months later you still can't order food in the language you've been "learning." So I built something different. lairner has 700+ courses across 70+ languages, including ones that Duolingo will never touch because there's no profit in it. Endangered languages. Minority languages. A Turkish speaker can learn Basque. A Chinese speaker can learn Welsh. Most platforms only let you learn from English. lairner lets you learn from whatever you already speak. We work together with some institutes of endangered languages to be able to teach them on our platform. It's a side project. I work a full-time dev job and build this in evenings and weekends. Tens of Thousands of users so far, no ad spend, no funding. I'm not going to pretend this replaces living in a country or having a conversation partner. But I wanted something that at least tries to teach you the language instead of teaching you to play a language-themed game. Happy to answer anything.
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