Stefanos Lignos
Creator of Tulipa
I'm a software engineer who has been living in the Netherlands for about 7 years now. I live in Leiden with my wife and two kids.
Like a lot of expats, I always wanted to learn Dutch properly, but never quite found the right tool. Most apps felt generic, too gamified, or didn't go deep enough into grammar. So one day I decided to just build my own.
AI has gotten remarkably good at generating structured educational content, so I used it to create a full 180-lesson curriculum — and then carefully reviewed and refined every lesson myself. The result is Tulipa: a structured, no-nonsense Dutch course that takes you from absolute zero to confident conversations.
Every lesson is structured with theory, grammar, vocabulary, exercises, listening practice, and review — all in about 25 minutes. The curriculum follows a logical progression from A1 (complete beginner) to B2 (upper intermediate) over 6 months.
The lesson content was generated using AI and then reviewed by me for accuracy, flow, and pedagogical quality. It's not perfect — no course is — but it's honest, well-structured, and constantly improving.
Tulipa is not a business. It's a passion project. All 180 lessons, grammar explanations, vocabulary, exercises, progress tracking, and streaks are completely free.
The only paid feature is AI conversation practice. That's because every conversation uses paid API calls to large language models, and those costs add up. The Pro subscription exists solely to cover those costs — not to generate profit.
Tulipa is a tool for practicing and learning Dutch. It's great for building a daily habit, understanding grammar, expanding vocabulary, and getting comfortable with the language.
It's not a replacement for a human teacher, immersion, or real-world practice. Think of it as a structured companion for your Dutch learning journey — something you do for 25 minutes each day alongside everything else.
If it helps even a few people get more comfortable with Dutch, then it was worth building.