Esperanto
Learn Esperanto – where to start and what to expect
Start with the alphabet, then phrases, grammar, the most common words – and talk to people as early as you can.
Start here
How to learn
A day-by-day plan for your first 30 days of Esperanto, what to do in months 2–12, where to practise speaking, and 8 common beginner mistakes.
Alphabet
Esperanto has 28 letters and each has one sound. Every letter with its name, IPA, an English sound-alike and an example word, plus the stress rule.
How long
No modern study has measured it. Old experiments suggest Esperanto takes several times less study than other languages; 150 hours is a rough estimate.
Common words
The 100 most common Esperanto words cover 55% of the words in everyday sentences, the top 1,000 cover 78%. List with meanings, CSV and Anki files.
Pictograms
Every word in our Esperanto course has a pictogram. The drawing is the root, the frame is the ending, small marks are tense, plural and other word parts.
Vocabulary
The 100 most frequent Esperanto words cover 52.7% of a 10-million-word corpus. Full list from the Tekstaro with translations and word types.
Resources
A free 12-lesson course here, plus Duolingo, lernu.net, Esperanto12, Kurso de Esperanto, podcasts and Pasporta Servo: free Esperanto resources compared.
Dictionaries
ReVo, PIV, Wells, ESPDIC, Wiktionary and more compared: entry counts, licences, audio and offline apps for each Esperanto dictionary in 2026.
Sample texts
Seven Esperanto texts with English translations, from a beginner dialogue to Zamenhof's 1887 Lord's Prayer and the anthem La Espero, each explained.
Exams
UEA's KER exams test Esperanto at CEFR levels B1 to C2, online or at congresses, for €30–130 per full exam. 2,888 certificates by end of 2025.
After Duolingo
Duolingo's Esperanto course has 69 units at CEFR A1 and little grammar explanation. See what it covers, where it stops and what to add, free.
Why learn it
Is Esperanto worth learning? A quick start, hosts in 121 countries and a real community – plus the limits: few speakers and mixed evidence.
Common verbs
The 100 most common Esperanto verbs from 822,296 Tatoeba sentences, each with its meaning, transitivity and an example. Verbs are 17.6% of all words.
Common adjectives
The 120 adjectives among the 1,000 most common Esperanto words, with meanings, opposites and examples. Adjectives are 3.2% of all words.
Common nouns
The 100 most common Esperanto nouns from 822,296 Tatoeba sentences, with meanings, word families and examples. Nouns are 8.7% of all words.
Reading list
Esperanto reading list by level: 18 books from graded readers to Zamenhof's Hamlet, with year, original or translation, and free legal texts.
Start with the alphabet and a few phrases, work through one complete beginner course, and talk to people as early as possible. Esperanto was published in 1887 to be learned quickly, and our free Saluton course teaches its core grammar and about 300 words in 12 lessons of 30–45 minutes. Fluency still takes regular practice.
A five-step path
| Step | What to learn | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The 28 letters and the stress rule | Alphabet and pronunciation |
| 2 | Greetings, "please", "thank you", simple questions | Basic phrases |
| 3 | Word endings, the accusative -n, verbs | Saluton course and Grammar |
| 4 | The words you will meet most often | 100 most common words and flashcards |
| 5 | Speaking with other people | How to learn Esperanto |
Do steps 1 and 2 in the first few days. Steps 3 and 4 overlap in every course. Start step 5 as soon as you can say a few sentences.
Why is Esperanto quick to learn?
Three features save time. Spelling: each letter has one sound, and the stress always falls on the second-to-last syllable. Grammar: a verb has the same form for every person (mi estas, vi estas, ili estas – "I am, you are, they are"), and there are no irregular verbs. Word building: prefixes and suffixes create families of words, so lerni "to learn" gives lernejo "school" and lernanto "pupil".
Several studies point the same way. A 2018 review of classroom studies with English primary-school pupils found that, for novice child learners, Esperanto was easier to learn than French (Roehr-Brackin and Tellier), though it found no measurable gain in language awareness or in later language learning. Older experiments from the 1920s to the 1980s, including the Paderborn experiment in Germany, reported large time savings – but reviewers note unclear goals, anecdotal reporting and weak methods. See How long does it take? for the numbers and their limits.
What is harder than it looks?
The accusative ending -n and the table of question and answer words take most learners some weeks. Most roots come from European languages, so speakers of Chinese, Japanese or Arabic recognise fewer words at first. Easy grammar does not replace practice. For the main objections to the language, see Criticism of Esperanto.
Common questions
Is Esperanto worth learning?
It depends on your goal. Esperanto gives access to an international community, free hosting through Pasporta Servo, and events in many countries. It will not help with jobs that require a national language.
Can I learn Esperanto for free?
Yes. Our Saluton course, the flashcards for the 1,000 most common words and the dictionary are free, and so are lernu.net, Duolingo, Esperanto12, Kurso de Esperanto and many video and audio courses. See Best free resources.
Do I need a teacher?
No. Many Esperanto speakers taught themselves with books, apps and online courses. A conversation partner helps more than a teacher once you know the basics.
Sources
- Fundamento de Esperanto – grammar in English (1905)
- Esperanto12 – Learn Esperanto in 12 Hours
- Roehr-Brackin, K. and Tellier, A. (2018). Esperanto as a tool in classroom foreign language learning in England. Language Problems and Language Planning 42(1)
- Wikipedia: Paderborn method
- Wikipedia: Esperanto – Third-language acquisition
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