Comparison

Learn Arabic Script! Premium vs Parallel Arabic

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ€” with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Learn Arabic Script! Premium

Features
Read full description

This is the premium version which is ad-free. This app can teach you to read and write basic Arabic. Scroll through the letters and study their shapes and sounds. Practice tracing each one until you're familiar-- then quiz yourself on the letters!{"\n"} After familiarizing yourself with the letters, learn how to use the Harakaat (short vowel marks). Then, follow each lesson to learn how to use the new letters you've learned in common words. In the word games section, you can find word scramble and typing games to go along with each lesson to help you practice building words.{"\n"} To start, you just need to know a few basic facts. 1) Arabic is written right-to-left. 2) Each letter has four forms: independent (on its own), initial (at the beginning of a word), medial (in the beginning of a word), and final (at the end of a word). They change shape slightly depending where they come in the word. 3) The dots above and below change the sound the letter makes. 4) Short vowel sounds are written as optional accent marks.{"\n"} Arabic is a semitic language spoken across the Arab world which generally comprises the Middle East west of Iran and North Africa. It is the official language of 26 countries and 1 disputed territory -- making it the third most common official language after English and French. It is estimated to have 362 million native speakers and 274 million second-language speakers. That would make it the 6th most spoken language in the world.{"\n"} While every Arab country teaches standard Arabic in school, in their daily lives people speak a dialect specific to the place they live. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is largely derived from Classical Arabic (CA), and both are commonly referred to as FusHa (ููุตุญู‰) meaning "The most elegant language." Local dialects are variously referred to as 3ammiyya or daarija (ุนุงู…ูŠุฉ ุฃูˆ ุฏุงุฑุฌุฉ) meaning "general speech" and "current speech" respectively. The term Darija is more common in North African countries west of Egypt. Specific dialects are typically called by the country or city they are specific to-- for example, Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA) or just Egyptian, or Masry (ู…ุตุฑูŠ) which just means Egyptian in Arabic. At a more granular level, dialects within Egypt could be called Cairene, Alexandrian, Saidi (the southern region) etc. This can make learning Arabic seem like a daunting task -- what you should focus on largely depends on your learning goals. To be a truly competent Arabic speaker, one should study both MSA and the dialect of your choice. If you are only learning for the purposes of reading (literature, the news, religion), you may only want to learn FusHa. If you are learning to connect with family, planning a visit to a specific country, you may want to focus more on the dialect of that place. Dialects are mutually intelligible to a certain degree, especially between countries that are closer together. If you know standard Arabic and a dialect well, you should be able to easily communicate with most people. Regardless of your goals, learning the alphabet is a great starting point! The words and sentences in this app are Fus7a but should be useful to you in any case. There is still a great deal of overlap between Fus7a and dialects.{"\n"} The Arabic script is also used (currently and historically) for a huge number of other languages: Urdu, Farsi, Uyghur, Pashto, Kurdish, Ottoman Turkish, Balochi, Brahui, and many more.

About

Parallel Arabic

Features
Read full description

Most Arabic apps teach you the formal version โ€” the one people rarely speak on the street. Parallel Arabic is different. We teach the dialects: Egyptian, Levantine, Moroccan Darija, and Modern Standard Arabic โ€” so you can hold a real conversation with real people, wherever you are. Read in parallel Every story and lesson shows English, Arabic script, and transliteration side by side โ€” so you can follow along at your own pace, whether you can read Arabic yet or not. Hear it like a native All content is voiced by native dialect speakers, not generic text-to-speech. Tap any word to hear it pronounced, see its meaning, and get example sentences โ€” instantly. Learn your way Choose your dialect and start building vocabulary that actually matters to you. Generate custom lessons, stories, and practice sentences around topics you care about โ€” not generic scripted content. AI that works for you Practice speaking with an AI tutor in your chosen dialect and get instant feedback. Read AI-generated stories on any topic, tap any word to translate it, and hear native audio pronunciations โ€” all in one place. Built to make words stick Our spaced repetition review system schedules words at exactly the right time so you don't forget them. Each review session generates fresh stories and sentences using your saved words โ€” not the same flashcards on repeat. See your progress Your vocabulary map grows with every word you learn, giving you a visual picture of how far you've come. Track your daily activity and climb the leaderboard. What's included: - 4 Arabic dialects: Egyptian, Levantine, Moroccan Darija, Modern Standard Arabic - 50+ structured lessons per dialect - AI-generated stories with click-to-translate - AI conversation tutor with pronunciation feedback - Writing and sentence-matching practice - Dialect comparison โ€” see how words differ across regions - Spaced repetition review powered by your own vocabulary - Visual vocabulary map - Word of the Day Free to start. Premium unlocks everything. Whether you're a complete beginner or brushing up before a trip, Parallel Arabic meets you where you are; and teaches you Arabic the way it's actually spoken. https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Learn Arabic Script! Premium4 screens
Parallel Arabic4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Parallel Arabic at Free against Learn Arabic Script! Premium's $1.99. On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Parallel Arabic is free to download; Learn Arabic Script! Premium costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
Learn Arabic Script! Premium versus Parallel Arabic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLearn Arabic Script! PremiumParallel Arabic
Price$1.99Free โ€” better
Update frequencyโ€”Every 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” better
Requires iOS15.014.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size8 MB389 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEthan HartzellSherif Elmetwally

In-app purchases

None

Learn Arabic Script! Premium

No in-app purchases

None

Parallel Arabic

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Learn Arabic Script! Premium free?
Learn Arabic Script! Premium costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Parallel Arabic free?
Parallel Arabic is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Learn Arabic Script! Premium or Parallel Arabic have ads?
Neither Learn Arabic Script! Premium nor Parallel Arabic shows ads.

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