Cantonese vocabulary apps differ in where your words come from and how they show the sounds. Some look words up in a dictionary and turn them into cards, some teach picture-based word sets, and some let you write your own cards with Jyutping. Seven apps are below, with a closer look at four. For courses and tutors, see Best Apps to Learn Cantonese. For reading and listening, see our Cantonese reading and listening apps.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Cantonese. You learn from Cantonese you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Cantonese lessons. If a sentence is hard to follow, ask Poppy to explain it.
With Regenerative Review™, words you save show up again in new lessons, so you meet each one in new sentences without making flashcards.
- The Cantonese dictionary has more than 141,000 entries with English meanings.
- Poppy's Cantonese grammar notes cover 755 topics in English.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Learn every letter and its sound in the free Cantonese Jyutping course.
- You can't turn your own Cantonese books into lessons. However, you can paste a passage in the chat, and Poppy will explain it.
- Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches Jyutping
- Traditional characters
Mobile
Pleco
Pleco suits you if you want to look words up first and save the ones you meet. The iPhone Cantonese speech uses the system voice, and it is not a set of native recordings.
- The free CC-Canto add-on gives you Cantonese entries with Jyutping and English definitions.
- You look up an entry and tap to turn it into a flashcard.
- Flashcards
- Traditional characters
Mobile
Drops
Drops suits you if you like short game sessions with pictures. It teaches words and phrases, and it is not a grammar or sentence course.
- The Cantonese course teaches words and short phrases with pictures, and each word has audio.
- The Favorites, Dojo, Quiz and Word Collection tools are free, and the Drops page lists English among its word-hint languages.
- Doesn't teach Jyutping
Mobile
Anki
Anki suits you if you want full control over each card. Desktop Anki and AnkiWeb sync are free, and AnkiDroid is the Android app.
- You add the Cantonese words, your own English meanings, and a Jyutping field of your choice.
- Review follows spaced repetition, and the FSRS and SM-2 settings are documented in the manual.
- Flashcards
- Doesn't teach Jyutping
MobileWeb
Other Apps We Looked At (3)
- uTalkTopics of Cantonese words and phrases, with recordings by native speakers from Hong Kong, and recall games that bring back difficult words. The starter words are free, and wider topics are paid.
- QuizletYou make a study set or pick a shared one, and you type the Cantonese words, Jyutping and English meanings yourself. Basic flashcards are free, and Quizlet Plus adds more.
- yueyu1000A list of 1,000 Cantonese words in 25 categories, with Jyutping, example audio and spaced repetition, and a Simplified or Traditional choice. The download is free.
| App | Usable in English | Learning help in English | Words come from | Jyutping | Saved and reviewed | Free |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Yes | Partly | Lessons Poppy writes | Unconfirmed | Words return in new lessons | Lessons by other learners are free to read; unlimited custom lessons need Pro |
| Pleco | Yes | Yes | Dictionary lookups, imported lists | With the free CC-Canto add-on | Flashcards, a paid add-on on iPhone | Free app with free dictionaries |
| Drops | Yes | Yes | Picture topics | Unconfirmed | Favorites, Dojo, Quiz | 5 minutes every 10 hours |
| Anki | Yes | Partly | Cards you write | A field you fill in | Spaced repetition | Free on desktop and Android |
| uTalk | Yes | Yes | Topics | Unconfirmed | Recall games repeat hard words | Starter words |
| Quizlet | Yes | Partly | Sets you make or pick | A field you fill in | Flashcard review | Basic flashcards |
| yueyu1000 | Yes | Partly | A list of 1,000 words | Yes | Spaced repetition | Free download |
Which Cantonese vocabulary app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Cantonese, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. If you like picture games, Drops teaches Cantonese words by topic and plays audio for each one.
Which app shows Jyutping for Cantonese words?
Pleco shows Jyutping once you install the free CC-Canto dictionary, and yueyu1000 shows it with each word. In Anki and Quizlet you type the Jyutping yourself, so the card shows exactly what you entered.
Can I learn Cantonese words for free?
Drops is free for 5 minutes every 10 hours, with the review tools included. Pleco has two built-in dictionaries and free optional ones, including CC-Canto, and it gives 500 stroke-order characters for free. Desktop Anki is free, and AnkiMobile on iPhone is $24.99 in the US App Store.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Bubblegum: Cantonese and English language pair
- Pleco: Home
- CC-Canto: Cantonese dictionary
- Pleco: iPhone App Store listing (US)
- Drops: Learn Cantonese
- Drops: Free and Premium features
- Anki: Downloads and sync
- AnkiMobile Flashcards: iPhone App Store listing (US)
- uTalk: Learn Cantonese
- Quizlet: iPhone App Store listing (US)
- yueyu1000: iPhone App Store listing (US)
- Bubblegum
