How Many Lessons Are in Duolingo French?
- Sazzadur Rahman
- Sep 7
- 5 min read
There isn’t one fixed number. Duolingo’s French course (“Learning Path”) is continuously updated and A/B tested. A respected community snapshot currently lists ~272 units containing ~7,594 short tasks (“lessons”)—but the exact total you see can differ by account and platform. (According to duolingo data)
We wrote this guide to clarify why counts vary, show a clean 2025 snapshot, and give you an easy way to check your own total today.
Why the numbers don’t match around the web
Duolingo replaced the old “skill tree” with a guided Learning Path (sections → units → steps). That shift—and frequent course refreshes—means blog posts from different years can cite different totals and still be “right” for their date. Duolingo itself explains the Path redesign and its goal: a simpler, linear route through a course.
Two common reasons you and a friend see different counts:
Rolling updates & experiments. Duolingo ships changes continuously (content swaps, re-bundling steps, new formats), sometimes to a subset of users first.
Terminology drift (“lesson” ≠ one thing). In the Path era, what many people call a “lesson” is now a step (a short task). Steps can be regular practice, Stories, Radio, speaking, adventures, etc.—so “how many lessons” depends on what you’re counting.
2025 snapshot: Duolingo French size at a glance
Source: DuolingoData, a long-running community tracker that enumerates the Path’s units and tasks by course. It’s not official, but it’s the most granular public snapshot available. (We recommend quoting it with the date.) (According to duolingo data)
French (from English) — snapshot dated June 20, 2025:
Metric | Count |
Units | ~272 |
Total tasks/steps (“lessons”) | ~7,594 |
Stories | ~773 |
Radio tasks | ~1,190 |
Adventures | ~50 (web availability varies) |
Last checked: September 7, 2025. Note: Platform features (e.g., Adventures on web) can differ; totals change as courses evolve.
How “lessons” work now (Path structure in plain English)
Sections → Units → Steps. The Path you scroll is organized into sections (big arcs), units (topics), and steps (short tasks most people call “lessons”). Duolingo’s own explainers and community guides break this down and show how the new Path replaces the old crown/skill system.
Steps aren’t all identical. A “step” could be core practice, a Story, Radio, a speaking drill, a review chest, etc. That’s why third-party snapshots list totals by subtype.
A short timeline (why older posts say 202–219 units)
If you read 3–4 articles, you’ll find different numbers depending on the year:
2023 (spring): Reviewers reported ~202 units across ~8 sections.
Late 2023: Forum trackers listed ~219 units and documented counts by section.
Mid-2025: Community snapshot shows ~272 units and ~7.6k steps, reflecting added tasks and content formats.
Different dates, different totals—by design.
How to check your exact progress today
“Number of lessons” isn’t the only—and often not the best—progress measure now. Duolingo introduced the Duolingo Score, a single metric showing how much of the course you’ve completed and what level you’ve reached. Use it alongside a quick Path scan.
Do this:
Open your course → Profile → Duolingo Score. Note the % of course completed and your Score level (Duolingo’s blog explains how this works).
Scroll the Path to preview upcoming units and see how far the section banner is; this gives you a tangible sense of what’s left. (Duolingo’s Path overview post shows the layout.)
If you need a concrete count for research, compare your Path to the current snapshot table (above) knowing it may differ due to experiments.
How long would it take to finish everything?
No estimate fits every learner, but you can ballpark:
Let a single task (“lesson step”) take ~3–6 minutes on average.
Using the current snapshot’s ~7,594 steps, that’s ~380–760 hours if you literally attempt every step. (Reality varies: many learners skip optional modes or add outside practice.)
Daily study time | Rough time to attempt all steps* |
10 min/day | ~2–4 years |
20 min/day | ~1–2 years |
30 min/day | ~1.3–2.7 years |
60 min/day | ~7–13 months |
*Based on 380–760 hours total. Your time can be shorter if you focus on core steps, or longer if you repeat for mastery.
Will finishing Duolingo French make me fluent or B2?
Treat Path completion (or a high Duolingo Score) as coverage, not fluency. You still need live speaking, feedback, and targeted practice—especially for exams or professional use. Duolingo’s recent articles emphasize the new Score as a way to understand progress and compare across courses, but it’s not a CEFR certificate. Pair the app with conversation practice and real-world tasks for faster gains.
What we recommend: use Duolingo for daily input and pattern exposure; then work with a tutor weekly to turn that input into output (speaking, writing, exam strategies).
Read more: How can I learn to Speak French
FAQs
How many lessons are in Duolingo French right now?
There isn’t a permanent number. A current community snapshot shows ~272 units and ~7,594 steps (including Stories, Radio, etc.). Your count can differ due to ongoing updates and experiments.
Why does my friend see more (or fewer) units than I do?
Duolingo regularly A/B tests and refreshes the Path. Different accounts and platforms can show different unit/step bundles at the same time.
Do Stories and Radio “count” as lessons?
Yes. In the Path era, a “lesson” is a step/task; Stories, Radio, Adventures and reviews are all steps that contribute to progress.
How do I see my overall progress?
Check your Duolingo Score for % completed and level, then scroll your Path to see remaining sections/units.
Is there a set number of sections?
Historically, community trackers have listed ~8–10 sections at various times, but Duolingo can rebalance content—so section counts are also not fixed.
How We Can Help
Duolingo is phenomenal for daily momentum. But turning “I completed 200 units” into confident conversation, exam success, or work-ready French requires targeted speaking practice, error correction, and context relevant to your life.
We’re Gaëlle & French Tutors—a London-based team of native tutors. We can:
audit your Duolingo Score and Path to see what you’ve really mastered,
build a short, 4–8 week plan to convert that knowledge into speaking and writing,
coach you for GCSE, A-level, DELF/DALF, or Business French, in person (London) or online.
Book a free consultation and we’ll map your Duolingo progress to a personalised study plan with clear weekly wins.
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