Every free Hausa app stops in a different place. Learn Hausa For Beginners gives you its first nine lessons, NKENNE gives you 45 minutes or more of Hausa audio lessons, and uTalk gives you starter words. HelloTalk is free for meeting partners, and Bubblegum has free library lessons. This page shows what stays free in each one and what the paid plan adds. For courses and tutors, see our Hausa app comparison. For reading and listening, see our Hausa comprehensible input comparison.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Hausa. You learn from Hausa you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Hausa 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 that you can review words in new contexts without having to use flashcards.
- Library lessons in Hausa are free to read.
- Poppy explains hard Hausa sentences in English, and Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons.
- Saved words can go to Anki too.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Unlimited custom Hausa lessons need Pro. You also can't turn a Hausa book or video you own into a lesson, but Poppy will explain a page you paste in.
- 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™
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HelloTalk
HelloTalk suits learners who want to chat with Hausa speakers who are learning a language you already speak.
- Hausa has its own HelloTalk page for finding partners.
- Free exchange access is described on that page, and the paid VIP plan adds features.
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NKENNE
NKENNE is an audio course with captions, downloads and word practice, and it suits learners who want to hear Hausa first.
- The free plan has 45 minutes or more of Hausa lessons.
- Cultural blogs, podcasts and TRiiBE are free too.
- Flashcards
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Memrise
Memrise suits learners who want short Hausa topics with video clips of people speaking.
- Memrise has an official Hausa course page with topic words and speaker videos.
- Free covers the courses, videos, tests and review.
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Other Apps We Looked At (3)
- Learn Hausa For BeginnersAn offline Hausa app with an alphabet, words and everyday phrases, in English, and no account is needed. The first nine lessons are free. The rest need a one-time purchase or a subscription.
- uTalkHausa words and phrases you hear, record and compare in games, with English as the base language. The starter words cost nothing, and perfect game scores can open one more topic. Everything else is a paid course.
- Bluebird HausaAn Android app with Hausa audio and video lessons that sells in-app purchases. Its store page does not list what stays free.
| App | What stays free | Where the limit is | Paid plan | English help | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Library lessons | Unlimited custom lessons | Pro | Partly | iPhone, Android, web |
| HelloTalk | Free exchange access | Not listed | VIP adds features | Partly | iPhone, iPad, Android, web |
| NKENNE | 45 minutes or more of Hausa lessons, blogs, podcasts, TRiiBE | The wider lessons | Premium adds wider lessons and tutor features | Yes | iPhone, Android |
| Memrise | Courses, videos, tests, review | Not listed for Hausa | Pro adds all features and removes ads | Yes | iPhone, iPad, Android, web |
| Learn Hausa For Beginners | The first nine lessons | The rest of the lessons | One-time purchase or subscription | Yes | iPhone, iPad |
| uTalk | Starter words, plus an extra topic for perfect game scores | The wider course | Paid course | Yes | iPhone, iPad, Android, web, Mac, PC |
| Bluebird Hausa | Not listed | Not listed | In-app purchases | Yes | Android |
Which free Hausa app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Hausa, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or try the first nine lessons of Learn Hausa For Beginners, which work offline and need no account.
Is a free download the same as a free Hausa course?
No. NKENNE, Memrise and Learn Hausa For Beginners are free to install, but each one stops its Hausa lessons at a point. In Learn Hausa For Beginners that point comes after the ninth lesson.
Can I get free Hausa audio?
NKENNE includes 45 minutes or more of Hausa audio lessons on its free plan, and uTalk's starter words come with listening games. Bubblegum's library lessons are read aloud too.
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.
