Why Apps Like Duolingo and Babbel Don’t Offer Mongolian
GerTrainer
How course priorities and development work shape the languages apps offer
Examples from major language apps
Duolingo: Mongolian is not currently listed among its courses. A growing course catalog does not necessarily mean that every additional course teaches a new target language.
Babbel: Its official language list does not include Mongolian. The courses available also depend on the language you are learning from.
The limits of the evidence: The sources below illustrate general priorities and course-development work. They do not establish a provider’s specific reason for omitting Mongolian, or whether it will add the language in the future.
Why adding a language involves more than expanding a list
Reaching more learners with existing languages
For example, Duolingo expanded its courses in April 2025. It added 148 courses by making seven of its most popular non-English learning languages available across all 28 supported interface languages. That meant more people could study those languages using explanations in a language they understood. The announcement shows one way a company can prioritize reach: extending access to courses it already offers. A request for Mongolian sits alongside other possible projects, including new language combinations and improvements to existing lessons. This helps explain the broader trade-off, without telling us how Duolingo assessed Mongolian itself.
Building and maintaining a complete course
Babbel provides another example: it describes courses developed by linguists, teachers, instructional designers, editors, and researchers, with audio recorded by native speakers. It also adapts courses to the learner’s native language and revises material using information about learner progress. Those tasks go beyond translating a vocabulary list. A new language needs a teaching sequence, explanations that make sense to its audience, suitable exercises, and reliable recordings. After launch, the material still needs review and updates. These published descriptions show the continuing investment involved in supporting a language.
What can we reasonably conclude about Mongolian?
Taken together, these examples illustrate how a Mongolian course could compete with other development projects across language apps, such as extending existing courses to more learners and improving lesson quality. That is an editorial interpretation of the published examples. The sources do not establish that a particular provider excluded Mongolian because of low demand, profitability, or language difficulty. Choosing a writing system, preparing pronunciation materials, and explaining grammar are parts of curriculum design; those requirements alone do not show that Mongolian is unusually difficult for an app to support.
Where Mongolian learners can start
For an app-based start, GerTrainer offers Mongolian vocabulary practice and material on Cyrillic and traditional script. Grammar chapters and additional word and sentence audio are available with GerTrainer PRO. A beginner course, teacher, or textbook with recordings can add explanations and feedback, while conversation practice gives you a way to use what you learn. Choose resources for the kind of Mongolian you want to use, then begin with a small goal such as introductions or ordering a meal.
Sources
Course availability checked on 16 October 2026.
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