More than 80 million people speak Cantonese, and in Hong Kong 93.7% of people can speak it. Even so, far fewer apps teach Cantonese than Mandarin, and most Chinese apps mean Mandarin when they say Chinese. Here are the apps and services that teach Cantonese, grouped by what they help you do.
Custom Lessons Made for You
Bubblegum
Many textbooks teach the formal written Chinese used in newspapers, which people in Hong Kong read aloud but do not speak. Bubblegum's lessons are written the way people talk, with words like 係, 唔, and 冇, and set in Hong Kong. Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes lessons for you about dim sum, the MTR, or anything else. If a sentence is hard to follow, ask her to explain it.
- Read Cantonese lessons for free.
- Lessons are written in everyday spoken Cantonese, in traditional characters.
- Jyutping or Yale shows the reading above every word.
- Read and listen to news from Hong Kong and stories about things you like.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, so you review them by reading instead of using flashcards.
- You cannot bring in your own books, articles, or shows.
- AI voices read each lesson, not recorded Cantonese speakers.
- The free plan gives you one new custom lesson each day.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches Jyutping
- Traditional characters
Mobile
Follow a Cantonese Course
If you want lessons in order, start here.
ChineseSkill
ChineseSkill added a full course for Cantonese as spoken in Hong Kong in 2026. It suits learners who want short daily lessons, with handwriting and tone practice built in.
- A Hong Kong Cantonese course beside its Mandarin courses.
- Speech recognition checks your tones.
- Graded stories and native-speaker videos fit your level.
- Flashcards
- Teaches Jyutping
- Traditional characters
MobileWeb
CantoneseClass101
CantoneseClass101 is one of the courses learners mention most. Its lessons are short podcasts with English explanations, from your first words to advanced conversations.
- Thousands of short audio and video lessons with Jyutping.
- Word lists and flashcards for each lesson.
- Premium PLUS adds a personal teacher.
- Flashcards
- Teaches Jyutping
MobileWeb
Ling
Ling teaches Cantonese through short, game-like lessons. It suits beginners who want a little practice at a time.
- Lessons, dialogues, and games with native audio.
- Readings and flashcards use Jyutping.
- A chatbot lets you practice short conversations.
- Flashcards
- Teaches Jyutping (partly)
Mobile
Mango Languages
Mango Languages teaches Cantonese through dialogues you can hear and repeat. Many public libraries give their members free access, so check yours first.
- Conversation-based lessons with native-speaker dialogues.
- Compare your voice with a native speaker's.
- Review words with spaced repetition, plus culture notes.
- Flashcards
- Doesn't teach Jyutping
MobileWeb
Practice Speaking and Listening
Pimsleur
Pimsleur suits learners who want to start speaking before they read. You hear a prompt, answer aloud, and then hear the answer.
- Five levels of 30-minute audio lessons in Hong Kong Cantonese.
- Answer aloud as you listen, with an AI voice coach in the app.
- Doesn't teach Jyutping
MobileWeb
Glossika
Glossika trains your listening and speaking with sentences that get harder as you go. It suits learners who like steady repetition.
- More than 5,000 sentences from beginner to advanced.
- Native-speaker audio with traditional characters and Jyutping.
- Sentences come back on a spaced schedule.
- Doesn't teach Jyutping
- Traditional characters
MobileWeb
Read, Listen, and Watch Cantonese
Cantonese Conversations
Cantonese Conversations, from StoryLearning, lets you listen to natural Cantonese at a learner's pace, with everything you need to follow along.
- 29 real conversations between people from Hong Kong, as audio and video.
- Transcripts in characters and Jyutping, with English translations.
- Word lists and bonus Anki decks.
- Doesn't teach Jyutping
- Traditional characters
Web
Migaku
Migaku helps you learn from real Cantonese shows and videos. It suits learners who already know some Cantonese and want to watch TVB dramas or YouTube.
- Interactive subtitles for Cantonese shows on Netflix and YouTube.
- Make cards with native audio in one click.
- Read text from images with built-in character recognition.
- Flashcards
- Doesn't teach Jyutping
- Traditional characters
MobileBrowser extension
For reading, Hambaanglaang offers graded readers written in spoken Cantonese with Jyutping. For listening, learners often recommend YouTube channels such as Cantonese Corner, Manki Cantonese, 5 Minute Cantonese, Comprehensible Cantonese, and CantoLounge, and later RTHK radio and TVB shows.
Look Up Words
Pleco
Pleco is the app Cantonese learners recommend most. Add its free Cantonese dictionaries, and it becomes a Cantonese dictionary with flashcards.
- Add free Cantonese dictionaries, like CC-Canto and words.hk.
- Show readings in Jyutping or Yale.
- Look up words by typing, drawing, or pointing your camera.
- Flashcards
- Doesn't teach Jyutping
- Traditional characters
Mobile
words.hk 粵典
words.hk (粵典) explains how Cantonese words are really used, with example sentences. It is also one of the dictionaries you can add to Pleco.
- A Cantonese dictionary written by the community, with more than 50,000 entries.
- Search in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Jyutping, or Yale.
- Free apps for iPhone and Android.
- Doesn't teach Jyutping
- Traditional characters
MobileWeb
Jyut Dictionary
Jyut Dictionary suits learners who study on a computer and want many Cantonese dictionaries at once.
- Combines CC-Canto, words.hk, Wiktionary, and more in one search.
- Shows Jyutping, Yale, pinyin, and zhuyin.
- Free and open source.
- Doesn't teach Jyutping
- Traditional characters
Web
Build and Review Vocabulary
Anki
Anki suits learners who like control over their review. Many Cantonese learners pair it with a course or with words they meet in shows.
- Shared Cantonese decks with audio and Jyutping.
- Make cards for the words and sentences you want to remember.
- Flashcards
- Doesn't teach Jyutping
MobileWeb
Drops
Drops is one of the few big vocabulary apps that includes Cantonese. It suits learners who enjoy quick word games.
- Pictures help connect Cantonese words with meanings.
- Words come with Jyutping and traditional characters.
- Doesn't teach Jyutping
Mobile
Learn With People
italki
italki is the tutor site Cantonese learners mention most. It suits learners who want personal feedback on their tones and speaking.
- Choose a Cantonese teacher whose lessons fit your goals.
- Get live practice and feedback from a person.
MobileWeb
Preply
Preply is another way to find a Cantonese tutor. Read profiles and watch introductions to find someone who fits your level and schedule.
- Compare more than 150 Cantonese tutors by their profiles.
- Work with a tutor on the Cantonese you need.
MobileWeb
HelloTalk
HelloTalk suits learners who want everyday contact with Cantonese speakers. Leave room to help your partner learn, too.
- Meet Cantonese speakers who want a language exchange.
- Use messages and voice notes to practice together.
- Your partner is a fellow learner, not necessarily a trained teacher.
Mobile
Tandem
Tandem is also built around language exchange. It suits learners who want a regular conversation partner.
- Practice through messages, voice notes, and calls.
- Partners can help correct each other's writing.
- Finding someone with matching interests and free time can take a few tries.
MobileWeb
Learn Cantonese in Your Language
These counts cover menu-language choices, including script variants. Other apps’ counts and full lists come from their iPhone listings. Cantonese Conversations and Jyut Dictionary are in English. Word meanings, lesson explanations, and other platforms may differ.
| App | Supported Display Languages | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Full list
|
| ChineseSkill | 17 | Full list |
| CantoneseClass101 | 1 | Full list |
| Ling | 67 | Full list |
| Mango Languages | 2 | Full list |
| Pimsleur | 3 | Full list |
| Glossika | 2 | Full list |
| Migaku | 4 | Full list |
| Pleco | 1 | Full list |
| words.hk | 3 | Full list |
| AnkiMobile (iPhone) | 25 | Full list |
| Drops | 16 | Full list |
| italki | 19 | Full list |
| Preply | 19 | Full list |
| HelloTalk | 16 | Full list |
| Tandem | 14 | Full list |
Other Apps We Looked At (13)
- LingoraAn independent app with 500 sentence-based lessons, Jyutping or Yale, tone quizzes, and an AI tutor. It is popular on Reddit and still growing.
- Language PlayerThousands of Cantonese videos with dual subtitles and tap-to-look-up words. It used to be called Chinese Zero to Hero.
- LingQA Cantonese library you can read and listen to, and you can import your own content.
- CantoDictA much-loved Cantonese dictionary website with Jyutping and example sentences.
- Hanping CantoneseA Cantonese dictionary for Android with audio and handwriting input.
- DuolingoDuolingo's Cantonese course is popular, with more than 8 million learners, but it is taught from Chinese for people who already speak Mandarin.
- ClozemasterFill-in-the-blank sentence practice for Cantonese, free to start.
- MemriseWord lists for Cantonese made by other learners.
- Hong Kong university appsFree apps from Hong Kong universities, like CanTONEse from CUHK for the six tones, CanPro from EdUHK for pronunciation, and CanTalk from HKUST for beginners.
- Cantonese by Nemo and uTalkPhrase apps with native audio that let you record yourself and compare.
- TypeDuck and GboardKeyboards that let you type Cantonese with Jyutping.
- Google TranslateAdded Cantonese in 2024, which helps when you need a quick translation.
- HilokalFree live audio rooms where you can listen to and practice Cantonese.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many tones does Cantonese have?
Jyutping marks six tones, numbered 1 to 6. Traditional descriptions count nine, because they add three short tones on syllables that end in p, t, or k. Bubblegum's free Jyutping course teaches the tones and the romanization in your browser.
Is written Cantonese the same as written Chinese?
Not quite. Newspapers and formal writing in Hong Kong use standard written Chinese, which is close to Mandarin and read aloud in Cantonese. Everyday writing, like messages and comics, uses written Cantonese with characters such as 嘅, 咗, and 喺.
Does Duolingo teach Cantonese?
Only to people who speak Mandarin. Its Cantonese course is taught from Chinese, so English speakers need one of the apps above.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. You can read the free lesson library and ask Poppy for one new custom lesson each day on iPhone and Android. Become a Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons and to support our team. The Jyutping course and the Cantonese guides on this site are also free and need no account.
Sources
- Hong Kong 2021 Population Census, Main Results
- Linguistic Society of Hong Kong, Jyutping scheme
- Pimsleur Cantonese (about 86 million speakers)
- Bubblegum
- ChineseSkill
- CantoneseClass101
- Ling
- Mango Languages
- Glossika
- Cantonese Conversations
- Migaku
- Pleco
- words.hk 粵典
- Jyut Dictionary
- Anki
- Drops
- italki
- Preply
- HelloTalk
- Tandem
Checked on October 2, 2026 against each app's own pages.
