LearnFrisian

Frisian is a language from Friesland in the Netherlands. LearnFrisian.com offers a free Frisian learning program, which includes audio for listening practice, exercise points, and competitive features for motivation. It’s a great resource for those exploring Frisian language and culture.

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Why you should learn Frisian

Closest language to English

Makes it the easiest language to learn as an English speaker.

The Coolest Words

Frisian’s vowel system has some unique features that make it distinct from other Germanic languages.

Oldest living Germanic language

Frisian is the oldest living Germanic language.

Viking-Age Heritage

The Frisians share a fascinating warrior heritage with the Scandinavians and were known as fierce seafarers themselves.

Join a community of only 500,000 speakers

The Frisian language has around 500,000 speakers.

Explore a whole new world

Explore the Frisian history, myths, folktales, culture and much more.

Start learning Frisian today.

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What can you learn?

Introduction

Frisian Words

Pronouns

Basics

Countries

Interested in Frisian articles?

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Frisian Articles

The Frisian Flag

The Frisian flag is one of the most distinctive regional flags in Europe. With its diagonal blue and white stripes and scattered red shapes, it looks like nothing else you’ll see flying from a European flagpole. But those red shapes aren’t what most people think they are, and the flag’s history is more complicated than…

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Frisian Articles

Frisian Literature: The Tiny Language That Punched Above Its Weight

Here’s something wild. Frisian has fewer speakers than many American cities have residents. Yet somehow, this tiny language has produced a literary tradition that would make languages ten times its size jealous. We’re talking about a language spoken by maybe 450,000 people tops. That’s smaller than the population of Malta. And yet Frisian literature has…

Read More Frisian Literature: The Tiny Language That Punched Above Its Weight
Frisian Articles

How old is Frisian?

When people ask how old Frisian is, the answer depends on what you mean by “Frisian.” If you’re asking about the language as it’s spoken today in Friesland, it’s a few centuries old. But if you’re asking when Frisian first branched off as its own distinct language, you’re looking at well over a thousand years….

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Frisian Articles

Frisian Blood Around the World

Frisians didn’t just stay on their flat, windswept coast. Over the centuries, they left — sometimes by choice, sometimes driven by poverty or opportunity — and ended up in places far removed from the North Sea. The Frisian diaspora is scattered wider than most people realize. The Anglo-Saxon Migrations The earliest mass migration of Frisians…

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Frisian Articles

Frisian Slang: The Street Language That’s Keeping Frysk Young

Here’s something nobody tells you about Frisian: it has slang. Real, modern, constantly-evolving street language that would make your Frisian textbook blush. Most people think of Frisian as this ancient, preserved-in-amber language that grandparents speak in quiet villages. And sure, that’s part of the story. But walk through Leeuwarden on a Friday night, or listen…

Read More Frisian Slang: The Street Language That’s Keeping Frysk Young
Frisian Articles

Frisian Cities in England

Scattered across eastern England, there are towns, villages, and place names that hint at a Frisian presence dating back over a thousand years. The Frisians were part of the great migration of Germanic peoples to Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries, and later maintained trading connections with England well into the medieval period. Their…

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Common Questions

Everything you want to know about the Frisian language and this website.

Yes, it’s completely free to use.

www.learnfrisian.com is an online platform dedicated to teaching and promoting the Frisian language. Designed for both beginners and advanced learners, the website offers comprehensive resources, interactive lessons, and engaging content to help users grasp the nuances of Frisian. Whether you’re curious about Frisian culture, aiming to communicate with native speakers, or simply want to add another language to your repertoire, www.learnfrisian.com is your go-to destination to start your linguistic journey.

An account is only necessary for those who wish to track and save their progress, as well as for a more streamlined navigation experience.

We focus on teaching West Frisian, the dialect predominantly spoken in the Netherlands.

No, Frisian is considered one of the oldest Germanic languages, with its roots predating Dutch. Both languages, however, have evolved considerably over the centuries.

There are three main Frisian languages: West Frisian (spoken in the Netherlands), East Frisian (spoken in a small part of Germany), and North Frisian (spoken in parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany).

The ease of learning Frisian largely depends on your linguistic background. For English or Dutch speakers, certain aspects of Frisian might be easier to grasp due to some similarities in vocabulary and structure.

Frisian and English share a common Germanic origin. As a result, they have linguistic similarities, and some say that Frisian is the closest living language to English. However, they have also diverged over time and are distinct languages.

While both Frisian and Dutch are West Germanic languages and share some vocabulary, they have different phonetics, grammar, and vocabulary. They are distinct languages and are not mutually intelligible.

Frisian is a minority language, but efforts are being made to promote and preserve it. In Friesland, for instance, it’s taught in schools and used in public life.

Most Dutch people outside of Friesland do not understand Frisian. However, in Friesland, many residents are bilingual and can speak both Dutch and Frisian.

Frisian has ancient roots, tracing back to the early Germanic languages around the 1st century AD. It has evolved over the centuries and has distinct historical phases like Old, Middle, and Modern Frisian.

Like all living languages, the exact number of words in Frisian is difficult to pin down as it continually evolves. However, it has a rich vocabulary that serves the needs of its speakers in daily communication, literature, and other forms of expression.

Learning Frisian not only allows you to communicate with native speakers but also provides insight into a rich cultural heritage and history. It can also enhance cognitive abilities, as learning any language does.

‘â’ ‘aw’ as in ‘Dawn’
‘ê’ ‘he’ as in ‘Where’
‘g’ ‘g’ as in ‘Girl’
‘i’ ‘i’ as in ‘Bin’. Can also sound like ‘e’.
‘i’/‘y’ ‘e’ as in ‘He, She, We’
‘j’ ‘y as in ‘You’
‘û’ ‘o’ as in ‘Two’
‘w’ in Frisian is a sound in between ‘v’ and ‘w’ at the beginning of words.

‘oe’ ‘oo’ as in ‘Good’
‘ie’/’ii’ ‘ea’ as in ‘Leader’
‘ij’ ‘y’ as in ‘By’
‘ei’ it is near to ‘y’ as in ‘My’
‘oa’ ‘o’ as in ‘Bore’
‘ea’ ‘ea’ as in ‘Gear’
‘ch’ as in Scottish ‘loch’
‘iuw’ like ‘ee’ in ‘bee’ and ‘oo’ in ‘boot’ said together quickly.

The letters b, d, t, f, h, k, l, m, n, s are (nearly) the same as English.
The little ‘hat’ (circumflex) on top of these letters: â, ô, ê make the sound of the regular ‘a’, ‘o’, ‘e’ longer. This is not always the case with ‘û’.

While Frisian is predominantly spoken in the Netherlands, especially in Friesland, understanding the language can be beneficial in regions of Germany where East and North Frisian are spoken.

Yes, West Frisian, the variety taught on our platform, has a standardized orthography. However, like all languages, there are dialectal variations.

Frisian has its own set of phonetic rules which differ from both Dutch and English. Our platform provides guides and exercises to help learners with correct pronunciation.