Qissa قصہ

Learn to speak Urdu,
not to tap pictures.

Say real lines out loud and play yours back next to them. For people who grew up hearing Urdu and want to answer in it.

Download on the App Store Join the waitlist

Coming soon to iPhone.

Starts with a free trial.

Join the waitlist

The first screen of the story: someone is calling, it's your nani, and an Answer it button.

Before launch

Join the waitlist.

Leave your email and we will tell you the day it is ready.

Which phone do you use? (optional)

The waitlist opens soon.

Why this exists

You can understand your nani on the phone. You just can't answer her.

The words are in there somewhere, under years of answering in English. Most apps hand you a cartoon owl and teach you that the cat drinks milk. Your problem is a phone call you keep cutting short because you run out of Urdu three sentences in.

Qissa starts from that call. You practice the things you would actually say, out loud, then play yours back next to the line and judge it yourself. Your accent is welcome here.

What you do

01

بولو

Bol

Speak

Say it out loud, play it back next to the line, and decide for yourself.

02

سنو

Suno

Listen

Urdu at the speed your family speaks it.

03

قصہ

Qissa

Story

Where each word comes from, and the poem it turns up in.

04

پڑھو

Parho

Read

Nastaliq, when you're curious. Every lesson works without it.

Speak first

You hear yourself
next to the line.

Say it, play yours back right after the line, and judge it yourself, as many times as you like. Switch on the words check and it also tells you which words it heard. If it misses one you said, one tap says so.

Most apps
A red X and a buzz.
Qissa
Your take, played back next to the line.
The Speak screen: say it back, a transliteration, and a Say it button.

Story & history

Every word carries
where it came from.

You have two grandmothers, and Urdu gives each of them her own word. Qissa tells you why, and where the word came from before it reached your family. Knowing the story is what makes the word stay.

An incoming call screen: it's your nani, your mother's mother, and an Answer it button.

Silsila · the chain

Fifteen minutes,
one word at a time.

Silsila means a chain, an unbroken line. Each day there is one word to meet and a short session built around it, and Qissa counts the words you have met. Miss a day and nothing nags you.

The Qissa home screen: today's drop, your silsila calendar, and a start-today button.

Fair questions.

I can't read Urdu script. Is that a problem?

No. Every core lesson works in roman letters, the way you would text it. The script is there when you get curious, and it is never a gate.

I understand Urdu but freeze when I have to speak. Is this for me?

You are who it was built for. Qissa skips the beginner picture cards and starts with things you would say on a call with family, out loud, from the first session.

Who decides if I said it right?

You do. You play yours back next to the line and judge it. If you switch on the words check, it also tells you which words it heard, and if it misses one you know you said, one tap says so and the attempt counts.

What happens to my voice recordings?

The microphone is on only while you hold the record button, and your take stays on your phone so you can play it back. If you switch on the words check, a take goes to our server, which checks which words it heard and then deletes it. No audio is kept. That switch is off until you turn it on. The privacy policy has the full detail.

Is this a Hindi course with the script swapped?

No. Qissa is Urdu only, in the Persian and Arabic register your family speaks.

What does it cost?

It starts with a free trial. Plans and prices are shown in the app before you pay anything, billing goes through Apple, and you can cancel in your iPhone settings.

Start the chain

Pick up the phone.

Be ready for the next call. Start with a free trial and say the first word out loud today.

Get Qissa for iPhone Join the waitlist

Coming soon to iPhone.

Contact

Write to us.

Questions, ideas, or something broke? We read every message.

Prefer email? support@learnqissa.app

So we can reply. Nothing else.