# Lingua Latina per se Illustrata by Hans Ørberg

10 Hacker News commenters recommended Lingua Latina per se Illustrata by Hans Ørberg and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a Latin course where graded texts build reading fluency directly, without a dictionary-heavy slog.

## Why people recommend it

- Fun and motivating for reading Latin (3 comments): "it was the most useful and fun thing I used" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48045125)) "once I discovered LLPSI I was hooked" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49217293)) "finding the Ørberg book later in life made me WANT to go out and read some latin texts" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48055266))
- Builds fluency better than dictionary reading (3 comments): "it was a lot more beneficial to learning than trudging through classical texts with a dictionary" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48044997)) "Ørberg optimizes more for reading fluency and intuitive comprehension" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48045333)) "the probability of actually reading latin texts fluently today would have been orders of magnitude higher had instruction been coupled with Ørberg" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48046004))
- Natural method praised as best (3 comments): "I like the approach in Lingua Latina per se Illustrata (sometimes called the "natural method")." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48047229)) "there's nothing better than Ørberg's Lingua Latina per se Illustrata" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48044553)) "Ørberg may be the best, though." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47110686))
- Practical and useful to work through (2 comments): "which I've read through with good success" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47105406)) "his version is actually useful" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48046487))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Ōsweald Bera by Colin Gorrie](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sweald-bera.md): 4 recommend
- [Remembering the Kanji by James Heisig](https://hackerapproved.com/p/remembering-the-kanji.md): 3 recommend
- [The Fables of Orbilius by A.D. Godley](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fables-of-orbilius.md): 3 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Lingua+Latina+per+se+Illustrata+by+%C3%98rberg&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Lingua Latina per se Illustrata by Hans Ørberg", https://hackerapproved.com/p/lingua-latina-per-se-illustrata/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).