Lingua Latina per se Illustrata
Lingua Latina per se Illustrata by Hans Ørbergby Hans Ørberg
The most recommended of 4 language learning books
People recommend it as a Latin course where graded texts build reading fluency directly, without a dictionary-heavy slog.
People recommend it as a Latin course where graded texts build reading fluency directly, without a dictionary-heavy slog.
11 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 91%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 10 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fun and motivating for reading Latin
“it was the most useful and fun thing I used”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “The Vatican's Website in Latin” “once I discovered LLPSI I was hooked”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “Ancient Library – 1,060 Greek/Latin texts, click any word to parse it” “finding the Ørberg book later in life made me WANT to go out and read some latin texts”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “The Vatican's Website in Latin” Builds fluency better than dictionary reading
“it was a lot more beneficial to learning than trudging through classical texts with a dictionary”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “The Vatican's Website in Latin” “Ørberg optimizes more for reading fluency and intuitive comprehension”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “The Vatican's Website in Latin” “the probability of actually reading latin texts fluently today would have been orders of magnitude higher had instruction been coupled with Ørberg”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “The Vatican's Website in Latin” Natural method praised as best
“I like the approach in Lingua Latina per se Illustrata (sometimes called the "natural method").”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “The Vatican's Website in Latin” “there's nothing better than Ørberg's Lingua Latina per se Illustrata”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “The Vatican's Website in Latin” “Ørberg may be the best, though.”
Comment from 22 Feb 2026 in “How far back in time can you understand English?” Practical and useful to work through
“which I've read through with good success”
Comment from 21 Feb 2026 in “How far back in time can you understand English?” “his version is actually useful”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “The Vatican's Website in Latin”
Other language learning books people recommend
The three most recommended other language learning books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lingua Latina per se Illustrataby Hans ØrbergThis page | 10 | 1 | 91% | 3 | — | — |
| Ōsweald Beraby Colin Gorrie | 4 | 1 | 80% | 1 | — | — |
| Remembering the Kanjiby James Heisig | 3 | 1 | 75% | 2 | — | — |
| The Fables of Orbiliusby A.D. Godley | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 14 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“once I discovered LLPSI I was hooked”
“finding the Ørberg book later in life made me WANT to go out and read some latin texts”
“his basic idea (a text that gets progressively more grammatically complex) is important and good, but not without exercises, grammatical elucidation, drills, etc.”
“I like the approach in Lingua Latina per se Illustrata (sometimes called the "natural method").”
“his version is actually useful”
“the probability of actually reading latin texts fluently today would have been orders of magnitude higher had instruction been coupled with Ørberg”
“Ørberg optimizes more for reading fluency and intuitive comprehension”
“It's very popular online, but it's methodologically bunk.”
“it was the most useful and fun thing I used”
“it was a lot more beneficial to learning than trudging through classical texts with a dictionary”
“there's nothing better than Ørberg's Lingua Latina per se Illustrata”
“Ørberg may be the best, though.”
“I wish more languages had media utilizing it”
“which I've read through with good success”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.