Frequently asked questions

Tarsier is a Tagalog learning app for iPhone with 18 units and 144 short lessons. Each lesson teaches a few related words. Every unit ends in a scene, like ordering a coffee or asking a stranger where the bathroom is, where a character speaks Tagalog to you and you choose your replies. Short sheets explain the grammar in plain words, and the culture comes with the words: why a stranger can be kuya, and when to add po.

Yes. Tarsier is free to download and every lesson is free. Your energy is ube, which refills through the day. Super Tarsier gives you unlimited ube, unlimited practice and no ads for $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year.

Absolutely. Tarsier was built for heritage learners: people who grew up hearing Tagalog but never learned to speak it fluently. The first units cover greetings and the respect words po and opo. You'll recognize words your family uses and finally understand the grammar behind them.

Most language apps don't teach Tagalog at all. Tarsier ends every unit with a scene where you use its words with a character, explains the grammar in plain words, and shows how the language builds words, like luto (to cook) becoming nagluto (cooked). It comes with Filipino cultural context and the Taglish people actually speak.

The tarsier is a tiny primate native to the Philippines, known for its huge curious eyes. Our mascot Tarso is a tarsier who guides you through lessons. The name reflects the app's Filipino roots.

Tagalog words are built by adding prefixes and suffixes (affixes) to root words. For example, the root "luto" (cook) becomes "nagluto" (cooked), "magluluto" (will cook), or "lutuin" (to be cooked). Once you learn the affix patterns, you can understand and create hundreds of words. This is Tarsier's core teaching approach.

Tagalog is the regional language from the Tagalog regions of the Philippines. Filipino is the national language based on Tagalog with additions from other Philippine languages, Spanish, and English. In everyday conversation, they are nearly identical. Tarsier teaches both interchangeably, including Taglish (Tagalog-English mixing) which is how most Filipinos actually speak.

The Tagalog course has 18 units and 144 short lessons so far, from Making New Friends and Ordering Food at a Cafe to Going on a Date and A Regular Day, with more units on the way. The original Tagalog 1.0 course is still in the app too, with nine topics and over 170 lessons.

Yes. Tarsier plans to add Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), Ilocano and Cebuano in future updates. These are the most widely spoken Philippine languages after Tagalog, and there are very few apps dedicated to teaching them.

No. Every lesson, every word and your whole streak work without signing in, and they always will. An account does two things: it lets you get your progress back if you lose your phone, and it puts you on the leaderboard. You can start learning today and add an account later from Settings, without losing anything.

Yes. Tarsier backs your progress up to your own iCloud automatically, free for everyone, and it does not require an account. The backup is tied to the Apple Account signed into your iPhone, so as long as you are signed into iCloud it is running quietly in the background. You can check when it last ran, or back up on demand, under Settings, Account and Subscriptions.

Install Tarsier on the new phone and sign in with the same Apple Account. If a backup is found, Tarsier offers to restore it and takes you straight to your lessons, so you do not answer the setup questions again. If you also have a Tarsier account, signing in brings your handle and your Super subscription across at the same time.

Everyone gets a handle the first time they open Tarsier, something like bluetarsier2967, with no sign up needed. It is how you appear on the leaderboard. Once you have an account you can change it from Edit Profile. Changes are limited to once a week, and your old handle is held for four hours in case you change your mind.

Settings, then Account and Subscriptions, then Delete Account. It removes your handle and your leaderboard entry, erases your progress on the device, and clears your iCloud backup. None of it can be brought back, so it is worth being sure. Deleting your account does not cancel a Super subscription: that is billed by Apple, and you cancel it in your Apple Account settings.

Ignore it. A sign-in link does nothing unless someone opens it, and it expires after an hour. Tarsier only ever emails you a link because someone typed your address into the app, and having your address is not enough for anyone to reach your account. Our emails always come from tarsierlearn.com. If something looks wrong, write to support@tarsierlearn.com and we will check it.

Yes. All lessons, quizzes, and vocabulary are stored on your device. You can learn Tagalog without an internet connection.

Tarsier is on iPhone today, and iPad comes in the next update. The Android version is being built now, and the waitlist on the home page gets one email the day it lands.