Circassian is learned as one of two dialects: Kabardian (East) or Adyghe (West). Pick yours below and start with Lesson 1: hello is ФIэхъус in Kabardian and Сэлам in Adyghe.
First, pick your dialect
The lessons
Lesson 1, the first five words
Left column: Kabardian (East Circassian), right: Adyghe (West Circassian). Tap a speaker to hear the app’s audio; the Latin line is the app’s own spelling.
| In English | Kabardian | Adyghe |
|---|---|---|
| hello | ФIэхъусF'eĥus | СэламSelam |
| how are you | Дауэ ущыт?Dawe ushchyt? | – |
| good | фIыщf'yshch | дэгъуdeghu |
| and you? | Уэ щэ?We shche? | оры?orə? |
| I am well | СыузыншэщSyuzynsheshch | СыпсауSypsaw |
An empty cell is a word of the app’s lesson that this page leaves out until a second source confirms it.
The whole lesson: Lesson 1, greetings and politeness.
How the lessons work
Each lesson on this site is one unit of the Circassian app’s course: the words with the app’s audio, whole sentences from the audio course, and a five-question quiz. In the app the same lessons come with questions of several kinds, hearts and spaced review, and the course goes on for 119 lessons in each dialect.
Questions
Which Circassian should I learn?
Your family’s dialect: Kabardian (East Circassian) or Adyghe (West Circassian). The Circassian tribes page shows which tribes speak which.
Are the Circassian lessons free?
Yes. The lessons on this site are free, and so are all 119 lessons of each course in the Circassian app.
How long is a lesson?
A few minutes. The first lessons of the app have four to seven new words each; a lesson on this site is one unit, two app lessons.
Can I learn both dialects?
Yes. They are two separate courses in the app; you can switch whenever you like, and the lessons on this site show both side by side.
Free on iPhone & Android
The whole course, free
119 lessons in each dialect, the alphabet with native recordings, the audio course and an AI tutor.
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Sources
- Lessons: the Circassian app, units “Hello!” (app version 5.9.0, October 2026).
- Audio course lines (sentences and words marked “course”): the app’s audio course, as in the phrasebook.
- Kabardian dictionary in the app (Apazhev and Kokov, Kabardino-Cherkess–Russian Dictionary, Nalchik 2008): ФIэхъус (p. 471), Упсэу (p. 455), кхъыIэ (p. 288).
- Adyghe dictionary in the app (dovlet.info): дэгъу, Тхьауегъэпсэу.
- Course facts (10 sections, 119 lessons per dialect, alphabet lessons, hearts, spaced review, audio course): the app’s own data, version 5.9.0, checked October 11, 2026.
Learn Circassian in a few minutes a day
Short lessons in Kabardian or Adyghe. Hear how the words sound, learn to read the alphabet, then practice with an AI tutor who replies in Circassian.
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