Duolingo Units and Checkpoints: In-Depth Guide 2024

I have been using Duolingo for a long time. Thus, I know about all its features. When I started a course, I realized that all courses are created in a specific manner. Each course is divided into different sections having different sets of exercises in the form of lessons. However, what confused me the most was what Duolingo units and Checkpoints are. As I went along with the tree, I cleared my doubt.

If you have started using Duolingo, you may also be confused about this. But not anymore. Here, I will help you understand about the units and the checkpoints. So, let us jump in to get a better understanding of them.

What are the units on the Duolingo tree?

Duolingo is a platform that helped me learn the language from starting. The old version of Duolingo was known as the Duolingo tree. When I was on the Duolingo tree, there were several units. The Duolingo tree was like a path that helped me learn basic and Advanced content. To help you with language learning, you will get a lot of units based on different skills.

Each unit has several lessons that help to learn the language properly. When you see the unit in the tree, there are castles with towers. The number of towers in a castle is based on the unit you are at. So if you are in unit one,  you will see 1 tower. Whereas if you are in unit 5, you will see 5 towers.

When you select the unit, you will see the number of crowns you have earned. If you really want to complete the whole unit, you must unlock every crown level. What I felt was the most difficult part was that I needed to get at least one crown in the current unit for the next unit.

NOTE: When the new learning path was launched, some users were still on the Duolingo tree. But now with time, everyone has a new learning path.

What are the units on Duolingo’s new learning path?

Although I had a habit of Duolingo Tree, it took some time to get used to it. The new learning path works almost similarly to the Duolingo tree but the units are much smaller and easy to complete. I also noticed that they are arranged in a more precise manner that helps the users to go through the content.

Based on the course you have chosen, all the units will follow different themes. These units also involved lessons with funny statements. It made the exercises more exciting. Further in the old version, there was a separate tab for stories, but with the new update, these stories become a part of the unit. I also received a guidebook that contains tips for each of the different units. It helped me to understand the meaning of words and find the grammar rules for that unit.

What are Duolingo checkpoints on the old Duolingo tree?

Duolingo checkpoints were the best feature as they helped me to test my knowledge for a particular unit. They were the end-unit exams, you need to pass if you want to move on to the next unit. To take this exam select the wooden doors with big fat locks. When you tap on it you will directly land on the checkpoint challenge. As these checkpoints will help test your knowledge in the course, it will help you not lose motivation.

What are Duolingo checkpoints on the new learning path?

With the new update, Duolingo has removed the Duolingo tree and the checkpoints. Now, you do not need to take up these challenges. Instead, you will find different challenges at the end of each unit that contain 8 different levels. However, you only need to complete the first level to move to the next unit. Further, you can jump on the next unit by tapping on JUMP HERE, at the start of each unit. When you tap on it, you will have to take a test to test how much knowledge you have.

What is the difference between the Duolingo Units and Checkpoints?

It is common to get confused between the units and the checkpoints. Thus, I have given a table showing the difference between the Duolingo units and Checkpoints-

Duolingo Units	Duolingo Checkpoints
Duolingo units are part of your language learning journey which you have to complete to excel in your targeted language. Each unit has a different number of lessons having multiple exercises.	Dulingo checkpoints were the end-unit exams, you need to pass to go to the next level.
Units are available on both: Duolingo Tree and New Learning Path.	Checkpoints are only available on the older version i.e Duolingo tree

How to unlock the checkpoint on Duolingo?

If you are still on the old tree, you may want to know how to unlock the checkpoints on the platform. To unlock the checkpoint of Duolingo, tap on the Checkpoint and choose the option to start. Once you click on it, you will take part in the challenge. It is the set of questions that you need to take part in. There are usually 30 questions that you need to take up in the challenge.

Don’t expect these questions like the exercises in the normal lessons. They do not come with the tip section just like the legendary level. Remember, no need to pass all 30 questions for the next unit. You will get 4 hearts for taking up the challenge. The best part is that there is no discrimination between the free and plus users. So whether you are a Duolingo Plus member or not, you will only get four chances. So when you make a mistake, you will not find that question again. However, if you lose your 4 hearts before completing the challenge, you have to take the test again. 

Remember: There are no more checkpoints on the platform.

How many Duolingo checkpoints are there for each course?

Based on the course you take, you will get several units and checkpoints. If we talk about French or Spanish they have the highest number of units and thus have the highest number of checkpoints i.e. 10. On the other side, the Chinese language has four different checkpoints. Further, we have discussed the table below which will help you to know the number of checkpoints for each language –

Language	Number of Checkpoints
Spanish	10 Checkpoints
French	10 Checkpoints
Norwegian	8 Checkpoints
German	6 Checkpoints
Japanese	6 Checkpoints
Dutch	6 Checkpoints
Korean	5 Checkpoints
Welsh	5 Checkpoints
Greek	5 Checkpoints
Scottish Gaelic	5 Checkpoints
Yiddish	5 Checkpoints
Esperanto	4 Checkpoints
Turkish	4 Checkpoints
Chinese	4 Checkpoints
Swedish	4 Checkpoints
Polish	4 Checkpoints
Indonesian	4 Checkpoints
Russian	4 Checkpoints
Portuguese	4 Checkpoints
Hebrew	4 Checkpoints
Danish	4 Checkpoints
Czech	4 Checkpoints
Vietnamese	4 Checkpoints
Hungarian	4 Checkpoints
Swahili	3 Checkpoints
Klingon	3 Checkpoints
Arabic	3 Checkpoints
Ukrainian	3 Checkpoints
Irish	3 Checkpoints
Romanian	3 Checkpoints
Hawaiian	2 Checkpoints
Finnish	2 Checkpoints
High Valyrian	2 Checkpoints
Hindi	2 Checkpoints
Latin	2 Checkpoints
Haitian Creole	2 Checkpoints
Navajo	1 Checkpoint

What happens when you complete the Checkpoint on Duolingo?

Once you complete the Checkpoint on the Duolingo tree, you can go on to the next lesson. But the reason why I loved Checkpoints was, that it always gave me 50 XP. It is much higher than you earn for completing the normal lessons. There are different things you get from the Checkpoint, depending on where you were earlier in the course.

If you skip the levels on the checkpoint, you will be unlocking the crowns in each skill. Due to it not only will your crown level increase but you will unlock the stories as well. You may also be able to unlock different quests like Friends quests.

When will you be taking Checkpoint?

I am always confused about when I get to the checkpoints. With time, I have noticed that the best time to take up Checkpoint is when I was at my first level crown of each skill. With the help of it, I become familiar with the content in the checkpoint. Although there are no hard rules for taking up Checkpoints these checkpoints are very similar to the exercises in the lessons.

How difficult are the Duolingo Checkpoints?

The courses on Duolingo have different Checkpoints that you reach after completing the levels. Each checkpoint has 30 questions, that you must complete without making errors. However, there are 4 hearts, for you at each checkpoint. Thus you will only have four chances of making the mistakes in the checkpoints. It makes all sense to say that the Duolingo checkpoints are way harder and are used for testing your advanced level.

Conclusion

With the current learning path, there are a lot of things that have been changed on Duolingo. The courses are now more in a structured manner. But there is one thing that is still common which is Duolingo units. Units are the set of lessons that help you to learn the language. When I was in the tree, these units were represented in the form of a castle with towers. The number of towers in the castle was based on the number of units. However, in the new learning path, the units are based on different themes.

Another prominent feature that has changed in Duolingo is the checkpoints. In the Duolingo tree, checkpoints were the end tests for each unit. For each checkpoint, you get 30 different questions with four hearts. When you complete them, you get 50XP for it. But unfortunately, they have vanished from the new learning path.

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