Most Guarani you can read and hear was made for people who already speak it. This page lists the places where a learner can start, from lessons written at your level to news, poetry and TV from Paraguay. Reading and listening to things you mostly understand is called comprehensible input.
When Paraguayans talk, they mix in Spanish. They call that mix Jopara, so the TV you hear can sound different from the written pages below. To compare courses and dictionaries, see our Guarani app comparison.
To check the level, read a few sentences. If most have about one new word, keep reading. If you can't tell what's happening, pick something easier.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Guarani. You learn from Guarani you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Guarani lessons. Bubblegum also has Guarani news.
To read a whole poem or a news site, go to Free Guarani to Read and Hear.
- Every lesson is written at your level, about things you like.
- Lessons come with audio, so you hear a line as you read it.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, and you can export them to Anki as flashcards.
- Ask Poppy about any sentence while you read.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- You can't turn a Guarani article you found into a lesson. However, you can paste a paragraph into the chat, and Poppy will explain it.
- Lessons use everyday Paraguayan Guarani, with the Spanish words Paraguayans use when they speak it. Formal written Guarani comes in at Levels 5 and 6, so a newspaper or a school book may use other words.
- 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™
Mobile
Other Apps We Looked At (2)
- StoryWeaverA free library of children's stories that has three Guarani stories, two at Level 1 and one at Level 2, including Amelia lénte ndahuvicháiva.
- Guarani AyvuA free Android app whose 3,200 words each have an audio recording. It also has the Paraguayan constitution in Guarani with audio, a long text to listen to once you know the basics.
Agencia IP, Paraguay's public news agency, publishes a news section in Guarani. Its headlines mix in Spanish words, so you can pick out names and numbers you already know. ABC Remiandu is a section of the ABC Color newspaper written in Guarani. The newest articles we found are from 2021, and Estigarribia suggests comparing news articles in Guarani with the Spanish versions. Vikipetã, the Guarani Wikipedia, has 6,036 articles, so start with a topic you already know.
For poems, Oremba'e is a free digital library of more than 14,000 poetic works that were published in Ysyry between 1942 and 1995. Susy Delgado, a Paraguayan poet, translated Juan Rulfo's novel Pedro Páramo into Guarani. ABC Color reported in 2024 that printed copies would go to public libraries in Paraguay, and it did not say the book is for sale or online.
For listening, Paraguay TV's program Ñemongeta covers health, education and technology in Guarani and Jopara. Estigarribia also lists the YouTube channels ayvuguarani, cafeterambarete, Guarani Ñeʼẽ and Paraguay TV, and notes that many Guarani videos on YouTube are by missionaries and researchers from other countries, so he recommends hearing Paraguayans when you can.
Each number is how many languages you can use the app in, including script variants. A dash means the page does not say, or the item is a website or a TV program.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Full list
|
| StoryWeaver | — | — |
| Guarani Ayvu | — | — |
| Agencia IP | — | — |
| ABC Remiandu | — | — |
| Vikipetã | — | — |
| Oremba'e | — | — |
Which Guarani app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Guarani, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with the three Guarani stories on StoryWeaver if you want something short to read aloud.
How do I choose Guarani at the right level?
Read a few sentences. If most have about one new word and you can still tell what's happening, it's a good level. If you can't, pick something easier.
Is there Guarani news I can read?
Yes. Agencia IP publishes news in Guarani, ABC Remiandu has articles in Guarani (the newest we found are from 2021), and Bubblegum has Guarani news.
Which Guarani will I hear?
Mostly Jopara, the mix of Guarani and Spanish. Estigarribia writes that outside formal settings you will most likely hear it, and that Paraguayans tend to speak Spanish to visitors, so ask people to speak Guarani with you.
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
- Estigarribia (2020), A Grammar of Paraguayan Guarani, UCL Press (open access): pointers for students, Jopara, resources
- StoryWeaver: Guarani stories
- Agencia IP: news in Guarani
- Agencia IP: Secretaría de Políticas Lingüísticas award for Agencia IP and the Paraguay TV program Ñemongeta (health, education and technology in Guarani and Jopara)
- ABC Remiandu: articles in Guarani from ABC Color
- Vikipetã, the Guarani Wikipedia (6,036 articles)
- Asunción Times: Oremba'e digital library of Guarani poetry (free to the public)
- Oremba'e: Biblioteca Virtual de Literatura Latinoamericana y Guaraní
- ABC Color: Susy Delgado translated Juan Rulfo's Pedro Páramo into Guarani (2024)
- Guarani Ayvu: Google Play listing (3,200 words with audio; the constitution in Guarani with audio)
- Secretaría de Políticas Lingüísticas: dictionaries (Academia de la Lengua Guaraní dictionary online)
- Bubblegum
