Valencian
Valencian — Indo-European family, about 2.5 million everyday speakers (estimate, sociolinguistic surveys of the Valencian Community). Script: the Latin alphabet, 27 letters — the same as Catalan, but without vowel reduction.
Where to start
A young course: the words, the lessons and the recordings are all here, but a native speaker has not read it end to end yet. Spot a rough edge — tell us and we will fix it.
First words
Every conversation starts with them — and so does the first impression: one greeting in the local language and you stop being a stranger within a second.
- holahithe h is silent: comes out OH-la
- bon diagood morningLiterally good day. Before a masculine noun bo shrinks to bon: bon dia, bon cafè
- bona vespradagood afternoonSaid after lunch. Vesprada is feminine, so it takes bona, not bon. A word of its own: the central norm says bona tarda
- bona nitgood nightBoth a late-evening greeting and a wish before sleep — like the Spanish buenas noches
- adéugoodbyeFrom a Déu, to God — the same road Spanish adiós traveled. The everyday parting word
- fins arasee you soonLiterally until now — a goodbye for someone you expect to see again the same day
- gràciesthank youStress falls through the grave accent: GRA-sies. To boost it: moltes gràcies, literally many thanks
- si us plauplease (a request)Literally if it pleases you — three words fused into one politeness. It stands at the end of the request
About the language
| Native name | Valencià · valencia |
| Official in | Spain (Valencia, under its Statute) |
| Also spoken in | Cartagena (El Carxe) and the diaspora |
| How many speakers | about 2.5 million everyday speakers (estimate, [sociolinguistic surveys of the Valencian Community](https://www.academiavalencianadellengua.gva.es/)) |
| Family | Indo-European family, Romance group — the Valencian standard of the Catalan system |
| Writing | the Latin alphabet, 27 letters — the same as Catalan, but without vowel reduction |
| Writing direction | left to right |
Hard: the verb endings in -e and the markers of the standard that tell a Valencian apart.
Easy: vowels sound the same wherever they stand and final -r is pronounced: you can read aloud from day one.
What Russian speakers most often take it up for: moving to Valencia or the Costa Blanca, the JQCV exam for public service, school for the children.
How lessons work
A lesson is up to half an hour a day, split into three to five short sessions. A word comes back not on the course's schedule but at the moment you are about to forget it: the interval is computed by an algorithm from your own answers.
- The longer you want to keep a word, the rarer its repetitions should be. To hold it for a week, review every day; to hold it for a year, about once a month.checked many timesCepeda et al., 2008, Psychological Science 19(11) · Over 1,350 participants, tested after delays of up to a year. The best gap is about 20% of the target interval on a horizon of weeks, and 5–10% on a horizon of a year.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- Pay someone to study and they study less, not more. Praise and a clear explanation of their mistakes do the opposite — they help.checked many timesDeci, Koestner & Ryan, 1999, Psychological Bulletin 125(6) · 128 experiments. Material reward: d = −0.40 for taking part, −0.36 for finishing. Praise and feedback: +0.33.
Frequently asked
Where to start learning Valencian?
With the first everyday words and rescue phrases: the script is already familiar to you.
How many people speak it in Valencian?
About 2.5 million everyday speakers — an estimate from sociolinguistic surveys of the Valencian Community. Nobody runs an exact census of languages, and sources disagree by noticeable amounts.
Is Valencian hard?
The verb endings in -e and the markers of the standard that tell a Valencian apart. At the same time, vowels sound the same wherever they stand and final -r is pronounced: you can read aloud from day one.
Where is it spoken in Valencian?
An official language in: Spain (Valencia, under its Statute). Noticeable communities: Cartagena (El Carxe) and the diaspora.
Is Valencian in Duolingo?
No. As of September 18, 2026, Duolingo’s catalogue has no such course at all, from any language. We have Valencian in full: 3960 words, a phrasebook and grammar in plain words.
Is Valencian in Ling?
No. As of September 18, 2026, Ling’s catalogue has no such course at all, from any language. We have Valencian in full: 3960 words, a phrasebook and grammar in plain words.