It unlocks English
A well-known count of the words in a large English dictionary traced about 28 percent of them to Latin, and about 28 percent more to French, which grew out of Latin. Knowing a few Latin roots helps you guess what new words mean.
Jugami › School › High School Latin I
World Languages · Grades 9–12
High School Latin I
The language of Rome is still hiding in the words you use every day.
This is a free beginning Latin course for high school students. You don’t need to know any Latin yet, and you don’t need to be “good at languages.” If you can read this sentence, you already know hundreds of words that came from Latin.
We start with the basics: how to read and say Latin out loud, how to spot it inside English, and how to greet someone the way a Roman would.
Why learn Latin?
Nobody grows up speaking Latin at home anymore. So why do lots of students still learn it? Four reasons stand out.
It’s the parent of five big languages
Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian and Romanian all grew from the everyday Latin spoken across the Roman Empire. Learn Latin and you will see family resemblances everywhere.
It’s a key to 2,000 years of history
Caesar, Cicero, Virgil and Horace wrote in Latin. So did medieval monks, Renaissance scientists and Isaac Newton, whose great book on gravity, the Principia (1687), was written in Latin.
It trains careful thinking
In Latin, a word’s ending tells you its job in the sentence. Reading Latin is a bit like solving a puzzle: you look at the clues, test an idea, and check it.
Topics
Latin Basics
The Latin alphabet and Classical pronunciation, everyday Latin in English (roots, e.g., i.e., a.m., mottoes, legal and science terms), your first Latin words and phrases, and a 10-question quiz.
More topics are on the way
New topics will appear here as they are finished. Each one builds on the words and sounds you already know. This card will turn into a link when the next one opens.
How each topic works
- Plain-English explanations with Latin examples. Every Latin word comes with its meaning.
- Say-it guides like KIH-keh-roh so you can read Latin out loud with confidence.
- Long marks (macrons) on vowels, like the ā in Rōma, so you always know which vowels are long.
- A quiz with instant feedback. Your best score is saved on your own device only.
- Talk About It questions for class or for thinking on your own, and a list of sources so you can check our work.
About this course
High School Latin I is part of Jugami’s World Languages department. It is written in English for complete beginners. We teach the Classical pronunciation, the way scholars believe educated Romans spoke in the time of Cicero and Caesar, and point out the Church (Italian-style) pronunciation where it differs.
The tablet and laurel drawing is original SVG art made for this site.