Learn Tibetan Online with the Vocabo Chrome Extension
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Master Tibetan vocabulary while browsing the web. Free Chrome extension for language learners. Tibetan is spoken by estimated 6 million people. Tibetan gives direct access to one of the largest bodies of Buddhist philosophical and religious literature in the world, much of which has never been translated, as well as to a living culture spread across the Himalayas from Ladakh to Bhutan.
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About Tibetan
Tibetan orthography has barely changed since the 7th or 8th century even though pronunciation has shifted dramatically, so the spelling of many words is essentially a fossil of Old Tibetan. The country's own name, written bod, is now pronounced closer to 'pö' in Lhasa speech, freezing roughly a thousand years of sound change into the spelling.
Also known as: Lhasa Tibetan, Standard Tibetan
Speakers
estimated 6 million
Language Family
Sino-Tibetan (Tibeto-Burman, Bodish)
Writing System
Tibetan script (an Indic abugida, with U-chen printed and U-me cursive forms)
Difficulty
Very Hard
Spoken in
Why Learn Tibetan?
Tibetan gives direct access to one of the largest bodies of Buddhist philosophical and religious literature in the world, much of which has never been translated, as well as to a living culture spread across the Himalayas from Ladakh to Bhutan.
Common Tibetan Words
Start your Tibetan journey with these essential words and phrases.
བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས
Hello (an all-purpose greeting meaning 'blessings and good luck')
TA-shee day-LEK
ཐུགས་རྗེ་ཆེ
Thank you
too-JAY-cheh
ཡིན
Yes
yin
མིན
No
min
ཆུ
Water
choo
ཁ་ལག
Food
kha-LAHK
གྲོགས་པོ
Friend
DROH-po
དགའ་བ
Love
GAH-wa
ཁང་པ
House
KHANG-pa
ཉི་མ
Sun
NYEE-ma
བོད་སྐད
The Tibetan language
pö-KAY
History of Tibetan
Tibetan script was adapted from an Indic script in the 7th century, traditionally credited to the minister Thonmi Sambhota under king Songtsen Gampo, specifically in order to translate Buddhist texts from Sanskrit. This gave Tibetan an early, prestigious literary standard that has stayed remarkably stable in spelling ever since, even as the spoken language split into the Ü-Tsang, Kham, and Amdo dialect areas. Standard, or Lhasa, Tibetan became the modern prestige variety through its use in government, education, and media, both within the Tibet Autonomous Region and among the exile community centered in Dharamshala, India.
Is Tibetan Hard to Learn?
This entry covers Standard Tibetan, based on the Lhasa dialect of the Ü-Tsang region, but spoken Tibetan varies enormously across the Ü-Tsang, Amdo, and Kham dialect areas, to the point that some varieties are not mutually intelligible with each other. Tibetan spelling preserves consonant clusters from Old Tibetan that are no longer pronounced, so the country's own name is spelled bod but said closer to 'pö', meaning learners must essentially learn two versions of every word, the written form and the spoken one. Tibetan is also tonal, marks grammatical evidentiality (showing whether the speaker knows something firsthand, by inference, or by hearsay), and uses an ergative case system with no real equivalent in English.
Learning Tibetan Online: FAQ
Can I learn Tibetan online for free?
Yes — Vocabo is a free Chrome extension that teaches you Tibetan vocabulary while you browse the web. It replaces words and short phrases on pages you already read with their Tibetan equivalents, so you pick up vocabulary passively — no sign-up, no ads, and no daily lesson grind.
Is Tibetan on Duolingo?
No — Duolingo doesn't currently offer a Tibetan course for English speakers. You can still learn Tibetan online for free: Vocabo supports Tibetan and builds your vocabulary naturally while you browse.
Similar Languages to Tibetan
If you're interested in Tibetan, you might also want to explore these related languages:
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