{"slug": "pimsleur", "name": "Pimsleur", "category": "other", "category_name": "Other software", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 4, "warners": 1, "score": 1.718, "rising": -0.98, "first": "2025-12-18", "latest": "2026-04-30", "why": "starting with something like Pimsleur which is the same idea", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 0, "compare": 0, "warn": 1}, "spark": [0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "starting with something like Pimsleur which is the same idea", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.pimsleur.com", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Pimsleur"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 767442160, "item_id": 47965135, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47965135", "by": "hellcow", "date": "2026-04-30", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I learned with Pimsleur for native pronunciation", "excerpt": "I used an immigration service to help me through the process. Alongside that I spent several months learning the language then weeks traveling through PT before making the decision. You can do the immigration process yourself, but it's a long process with a lot of i's to dot and t's to cross. It was helpful to have experts guiding me through the process. Learning the language also helped a ton. The Portuguese in citi", "context": "", "use_case": "language learning", "switched_from": "", "story": "For the first time in history, more Americans are moving to EU than vice versa"}, {"id": 744481600, "item_id": 46530100, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46530100", "by": "ChadNauseam", "date": "2026-01-07", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I usually recommend pimsleur to people.", "excerpt": "Haha, thanks for checking it out! I really appreciate the feedback. > First thing I got was \u201cbrowser not supported\u201d on mobile. Yeah, I use some APIs that were only implemented in Safari on iOS 26. Kind of annoying but I use Android so I didn't realize until too late. I should fix it, but it's not a priority given the numerous other things that need improvement (as you noticed!) > The voices in Portuguese are particul", "context": "", "use_case": "language learning", "switched_from": "", "story": "The creator of Claude Code's Claude setup"}, {"id": 741129152, "item_id": 46320572, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46320572", "by": "andai", "date": "2025-12-18", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "starting with something like Pimsleur which is the same idea", "excerpt": "There's a language learning method where you just listen to audio, until you develop a basic familiarity with the language. (Then learn reading and writing later.) You listen to audio you don't understand yet, and over time your brain begins to pick up the patterns. It takes a lot of time but you can do it in the background, because that processing happens subconsciously. So you can get that time \"for free\". I learne", "context": "", "use_case": "Structured audio language learning", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Learning a Language Using Only Words You Know"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 741178928, "item_id": 46323683, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46323683", "by": "bpev", "date": "2025-12-19", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "is a pretty poor tool if you want to actually learn a language", "excerpt": "As someone who did most of Pimsleur Spanish and Mandarin (and did a single unit in various other languages), and has since continued learning these languages (I'm currently taking 4-5 hours of Spanish class a day in Spain), my two cents is that Pimsleur is fine for gaining confidence in the basic phrases of a language, but is a pretty poor tool if you want to actually learn a language. imo it focuses too much on set ", "context": "taking 4-5 hours of Spanish class a day in Spain", "use_case": "Spanish and Mandarin courses", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Learning a Language Using Only Words You Know"}]}], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["language learning", "spanish and mandarin courses", "structured audio language learning"], "compared": [{"slug": "anki", "name": "Anki", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46274287", "title": "Show HN: Learning a Language Using Only Words You Know", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47960953", "title": "For the first time in history, more Americans are moving to EU than vice versa", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46470017", "title": "The creator of Claude Code's Claude setup", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {"recommend": 1, "warn": 1}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 767442160, "item_id": 47965135, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47965135", "by": "hellcow", "date": "2026-04-30", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I learned with Pimsleur for native pronunciation", "excerpt": "I used an immigration service to help me through the process. Alongside that I spent several months learning the language then weeks traveling through PT before making the decision. You can do the immigration process yourself, but it's a long process with a lot of i's to dot and t's to cross. It was helpful to have experts guiding me through the process. Learning the language also helped a ton. The Portuguese in citi", "context": "", "use_case": "language learning", "switched_from": "", "story": "For the first time in history, more Americans are moving to EU than vice versa"}, {"id": 744481600, "item_id": 46530100, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46530100", "by": "ChadNauseam", "date": "2026-01-07", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I usually recommend pimsleur to people.", "excerpt": "Haha, thanks for checking it out! I really appreciate the feedback. > First thing I got was \u201cbrowser not supported\u201d on mobile. Yeah, I use some APIs that were only implemented in Safari on iOS 26. Kind of annoying but I use Android so I didn't realize until too late. I should fix it, but it's not a priority given the numerous other things that need improvement (as you noticed!) > The voices in Portuguese are particul", "context": "", "use_case": "language learning", "switched_from": "", "story": "The creator of Claude Code's Claude setup"}, {"id": 741178928, "item_id": 46323683, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46323683", "by": "bpev", "date": "2025-12-19", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "is a pretty poor tool if you want to actually learn a language", "excerpt": "As someone who did most of Pimsleur Spanish and Mandarin (and did a single unit in various other languages), and has since continued learning these languages (I'm currently taking 4-5 hours of Spanish class a day in Spain), my two cents is that Pimsleur is fine for gaining confidence in the basic phrases of a language, but is a pretty poor tool if you want to actually learn a language. imo it focuses too much on set ", "context": "taking 4-5 hours of Spanish class a day in Spain", "use_case": "Spanish and Mandarin courses", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Learning a Language Using Only Words You Know"}, {"id": 741129152, "item_id": 46320572, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46320572", "by": "andai", "date": "2025-12-18", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "starting with something like Pimsleur which is the same idea", "excerpt": "There's a language learning method where you just listen to audio, until you develop a basic familiarity with the language. (Then learn reading and writing later.) You listen to audio you don't understand yet, and over time your brain begins to pick up the patterns. It takes a lot of time but you can do it in the background, because that processing happens subconsciously. So you can get that time \"for free\". I learne", "context": "", "use_case": "Structured audio language learning", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Learning a Language Using Only Words You Know"}]}