blas. User Reviews

blas. – Celtic Languages
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This has been really good for me in trying to reconnect with my roots and learn Gaeilge. I like the way it is structured on everything but my main problem is the Pronunciation part. No matter how perfectly I will mimic the pronunciation, it never picks it up and just comes up with ‘A’ ‘A’ or a word not even remotely like that I am speaking. That could do with improving.

Aside from that, keep doing what you are doing it is a good app with great potential
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Gablaze2Gablaze2

Response from developer

Thanks for the response! Yeah the pronunciation part is quite experimental and so is optional for users, we're working on getting a much better version of this in the future!

Audio Issue and difficulty

I am not hearing any audio phrases when being drilled on listening, though the app itself is making little accomplishment noises, so it isn’t muted. I chose to learn Cornish, and since I have some Welsh under my belt it is easier to guess answers, but the interface is clunky for finding the “lesson” portion (rather than the drills) to start as a pure beginner. I had to use a reply from these reviews to even realize where to start. Morre hand-holding is needed for learning the app’s interface. It also begs too much to start a “premium” plan, and the grammar explanations touted appear to be locked behind this paywall. It is not intuitive nor easy to use for a pure beginner. I am working on Celtic languages specifically, I had high hopes that aren’t yet satisfied by Blas.
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MackenDUMackenDU

Response from developer

The Cornish and Manx courses are free to use as they have no audio. This is because they are very low-resource and don't have a computer voice for them; we are changing this by getting human voice recordings for these languages, but this is a slow process. The app lets you know this when first starting, but perhaps I should add it elsewhere too. I am not sure exactly what you mean by "where to start". The first lesson (and all the rest) are on the first screen, at the top, on the homepage of the app. I think that some more content can be added to help bolster beginners.

Not for beginners

Even though there is the option to start as a complete beginner, I felt that the lessons did not teach enough information to follow the practise drills unless you already knew some Irish. For example, the lesson would teach you the word for ‘house’, but the practise drill would be ‘how do you say “the house is at the top of the hill”’ even though you haven’t learnt any of those other words or even the basic word order of the language. I also downloaded the app because of the Celtic-language-specific features like spelling lessons, but those assume you have lots of vocabulary already, which is difficult to learn if you don’t understand why they are spelled the way that they are. I was really excited to try this app but I just found it frustrating because I could not find the information I needed to do the exercises.
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ezekiyezekiy

Response from developer

Hi, I know this is slightly frustrating, but the app is designed to throw you into the deep end with lessons. Exactly like how you would learn a language in real life. For example, it will give you a random beginner word in the spelling drill (eg like Labhraíonn), even if you have or haven't seen that word before, it may be difficult to spell. Having seen or spoken it in lessons prior will not make you a better speller; you need to practice writing it to spell it. Hopefully this helps! You can't learn without getting things wrong initially!

Dyslexia/Dysgraphia amazing

Compare to any language learning app out there and you will find a feature here the others lack… accessibility for those with learning disabilities in the settings. For those of us who have the above this app not only allows you to turn answers requiring spelling off it features a section to work on spelling specifically!! A creator who truly cares that folks learn to SPEAK our language! I can’t give this a higher rating!!! I wish I could!!
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Jumpingmouse1987Jumpingmouse1987

This will be the Duolingo killer for the Celtic languages.

Duolingo has long been the go-to for learning languages through an app, and I myself completed the Portuguese course on it years ago. Over the years, however, it has gradually come to be among the slowest methods available for language-learning, and I have completely abandoned it.

While Duolingo indeed offers many languages including Welsh, Irish, and Scots Gaelic, but it’s common knowledge that any language outside of the top most popular ones is an afterthought at best.

Blas is different. No silly childish characters, no unnecessary bells and whistles, and a slick minimalist UI. This app is how Duolingo was 10 years ago, though perhaps even more straightforward. For having been around for less than a year, it already looks and feels quite professional, and more importantly like the developers are clearly aiming to make a serious language-learning app rather than a game.

Although many features have some kinks that could be hammered out (especially the voice clips, speech recognition, and camera mode), I wholeheartedly expect this app to be the #1 for Celtic languages within the next year or two. Overall, my experience learning Welsh with it has been efficient and highly enjoyable, and I’m anxious to see how the app will improve further as development continues.
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JPC231JPC231

Response from developer

That's a brilliant review, thanks! There are definitely a few kinks in the app still but they will get ironed out with time hopefully. Cheers for using the app.

Best App for Irish Gaelic

This app is great for learning Irish because it covers grammar, pronunciation, and reading while combining many ways of getting you to remember and practice the language.

There are ways for the app to grow and get better (the main vocabulary drill can be a little receptive for the casual learner as of 6/2026), but the different modes of learning make me keep coming back day by day.

Definitely recommend!
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AgradecidoAgradecido

Response from developer

Thanks for the great review!

Pas mal de bugs mais très cool!

Super contente d’avoir trouvé une app pour apprendre les langues celtiques (et plus particulièrement le breton), cependant l’appli plante beaucoup, et même si l’interface est bien faite j’ai quand même des mélanges d’anglais/français pour les consignes, les prononciations ne sont pas forcément bonnes et les corrections pas toujours bonnes non plus (ex: “salud! demat!” indiqué comme signifiant “salut! bonjour!” et deux slides plus tard corrigée comme “hi! good morning” - compliqué à traduire en français).
L’app est toute neuve alors c’est normal qu’il y ait des soucis, en tout cas c’est une très bonne initiative, merci!
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datswinoowdatswinoow

ran into an audio issue

just downloaded the app today. it seems nice, but for some reason the audio doesn't work at all?... i tried welsh and scottish gaelic, and in both there is an audio icon next to new words, however nothing happens when i try to press it :(
yoonweryyoonwery

Response from developer

Hi! Sorry about this, did you ever get this sorted? I have been trying to recreate it on my end, but can't find what's wrong. If you could email me at john@blasapp.com with details it'll really help!

Wow!

A good looking fine app for Gaeilge learner! Thank you 👏
jbfly001jbfly001

Response from developer

Cheers!

AMAZING APP

As a beginner who’s always wanted to learn Cornish and Welsh, this is genuinely the perfect app. I can do both at the same time with no worries of losing progress, and the way it’s set out is just perfect, it goes over all the important areas one step at a time it’s such an amazing app !
Goose__1546Goose__1546

Response from developer

Thank you very much! Good luck!

Much Better than DuoLingo

I’ve used Blas. now for a few months, in that time frame I’ve learned and retained more Gaeilge than most he entirety of my time using DuoLingo.

This app was designed specifically for the Irish (and Welsh) languages and it really shows.

The explanations of the mutations (eclipsis and lentition) are probably some of the most useful parts of the app, and also the biggest differentiator from duolingo, which just throws the mutations at you without explaining the context.

The other reason why I like the app so much is the responsiveness of the developer. Yer man there is constantly updating the app and is always happy to get feed back.

I’ve recommended this app to nearly everyone I know who is looking to learn or improve their Gaeilge and will continue to do so.

10/10, love this app.
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Ó hÁireÓ hÁire

Response from developer

Thank you!!

Good learning app

I used the app for Welsh. It’s a good learning app and i especially like the puzzles and focal.

The only downside is the speech, it needs working on as it speaks a little too fast at times. The pronouncation can sound off or incorrect too. It’s my reason for four stars. But if this gets worked on then i would give the app a five star rating.
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HotzerdogHotzerdog

Response from developer

Cheers for the review! Yes the Welsh audio isn't brilliant, it's the only Welsh specific thing that exists at the moment for speaking. We are building our own computerised voice that'll hopefully be much better, and at the same time starting to get some native speakers in so a lot of the main course content will be human voiced.

Difficult

Literally cannot get past the first lesson. It throws words and concepts at you without telling you the meaning. When there are explanations, they’re very minimal. When you get it wrong, there’s barely an explanation as to what you did wrong or what the question was meant to be. It’s just constantly getting things wrong without ever learning anything from it.
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bdidmfbduskdndbdidmfbduskdnd

Response from developer

Hi! Each unit has a lesson (the one with the book icon and the Start button) that teaches all the phrases with meanings and explanations before you practise. If you jumped straight into the practice drills, they will feel like a test — because they are! Try tapping the lesson first and working through that before the practice activities. When you do get an answer wrong in practice, the app shows you the correct answer, the English meaning, and an explanation. Hope that helps, feel free to reach out if you're still having trouble at info@blasapp.com

could be good

the premise of the app was great, as i would love to learn more of my fathers language
but unfortunately i found the app extremely difficult to use and the welsh conversation section couldn’t hear me or take in info and it was also made by ai so double bad.
maybe after a few updates it will be better but for now i’m undownloading
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@rhiannon__08@rhiannon__08

Response from developer

Hi Rhiannon, thanks for the review and sorry you had a rough experience. We've actually just shipped a big update (v1.4.0) that addresses both of the issues you mentioned: - Speech recognition for Welsh has been overhauled. So better mic handling, retry logic, and tuned sensitivity. It was quite unreliable before, so that's fair. - We've added a Pronunciation Practice mode, listen and repeat with speech feedback. A simpler way to get started than jumping straight into conversation. - We've also done a pass on the general usability — cleaner layout, larger tap targets, and less clutter on the drill screens. This should be out by tomorrow. We'd love for you to give it another go. Welsh learners wanting to connect with their family's language is exactly who we built this for. If you run into anything else, reach out to us at info@blasapp.com — it’s just me so I can make fixes fast.

Great Grammar Exercises

Differentiates from Duolingo as it actually explains grammar to you. Clear explanations and repetition of grammar points is the key way to learn a language. App also runs very smoothly with no bugs. Great way to learn a smaller language with few resources readily available.
EuanserEuanser

Response from developer

Thanks! That's exactly what we're going for, grammar that actually makes sense not just rote learning. Glad it's working well for you.

What’s needed for Irish

Probably the best app for learning Irish (and assuming Welsh) on the App Store. Everything else, such as Duolingo, treats these as an afterthought so it’s nice to have something dedicated.
JohnC114JohnC114

Response from developer

Appreciate this. You're spot on, Irish and Welsh deserve more than an afterthought. Loads more coming!

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