Swahili, or Kiswahili, is an official language in Tanzania and Kenya and a working language of the African Union. UNESCO puts its speakers at more than 200 million across East, Central, and Southern Africa. Many apps teach Swahili words and phrases, and fewer give you real Swahili to read and listen to once you know the basics.
Here are the apps and services that teach Swahili, grouped by what they help you do. You can start with one and add another when you need it.
Custom Lessons Made for You
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Swahili. You learn from Swahili you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Bubblegum builds Swahili lessons around your own life. Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, what you want to learn. She writes lessons for your level and helps you understand the words and grammar. You can read and listen, and ask her about anything that is unclear. News and stories give you more Swahili to read about music, food, family, and other things you care about.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum is not a person to talk with. For audio lessons with recorded speakers, Pimsleur and Mango are the better fit, and for conversation, try the apps in Learn With People.
- Lessons fit your level, interests, and goals.
- Read and listen to news and stories in Swahili about things you care about.
- Ask Poppy about a sentence while you read.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, so you review them by reading instead of using flashcards.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- You cannot import your own books or articles.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
Follow a Swahili Course
If you want someone to choose what comes next, start here. These apps give you an ordered path through Swahili words and sentences.
Duolingo
Duolingo offers short practice with first words and sentences. Add a grammar resource or a tutor when you want to know why Swahili words change.
- A free Swahili course for English speakers.
- Game-like lessons built for about five minutes of practice.
MobileWeb
Memrise
Memrise teaches Swahili words and phrases for real situations. You watch native speakers say them, and you can practice speaking with an AI partner.
- More than 300 lessons on topics such as travel, work, and food.
- More than 130 videos of native speakers.
MobileWeb
Mango Languages
Mango Languages teaches Swahili through conversations. You can compare your pronunciation with a native speaker's recording. Check your local library first, since many libraries include Mango.
- Grammar notes, culture notes, and thousands of native-speaker recordings.
- Many public libraries give free access with a library card.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Ling
Ling teaches Swahili in short lessons with grammar tips. In its Dialog feature, you take part in a conversation by picking the best reply.
- Speaking practice with real-life dialogues.
- Lessons you can download for offline practice.
- Flashcards
Mobile
Practice Speaking and Listening
Language Transfer
Language Transfer lets you listen as a teacher helps a beginner think through Swahili. Pause when the teacher asks a question and try your own answer. Learners recommend it when they want help understanding how sentences work.
- A free Swahili audio course with no ads or sign-up.
- Download lessons, save your progress, and listen with your phone locked.
MobileWeb
Pimsleur
Pimsleur suits learners who want to start speaking before they read much. You hear a prompt, answer out loud, and then hear the answer.
- 30 audio lessons of about 30 minutes each.
- Speak Easy Conversations and digital flash cards alongside the audio.
MobileWeb
SwahiliPod101
SwahiliPod101 lets you study through short recordings and lesson notes. Choose a lesson pathway and work through it at your own pace.
- Audio and video lessons taught by real teachers.
- Lesson notes explain the words and grammar in each dialogue.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Build Vocabulary
Drops
Drops lets you swipe and tap your way through Swahili words in short sessions. Topics include animals and food.
- More than 2,500 Swahili words and phrases.
- Five-minute word games with pictures.
Mobile
uTalk
uTalk uses short lessons with native-speaker audio and memory games. You can pick a topic to start with, or begin with first words and greetings.
- More than 2,500 words and phrases in more than 60 topics.
- Record your voice and compare it with native speakers.
MobileWeb
Clozemaster
Clozemaster asks you to fill in the missing word in a Swahili sentence. You can pick from choices or type the answer, and words you miss come back for review.
- Learn each Swahili word inside a real sentence.
- Sentences come in order from the most common words.
MobileWeb
Read and Listen to Swahili
LingQ
LingQ is a reading and listening app. You tap words you do not know to see what they mean and save them for review. It can also bring in Swahili from sources such as YouTube videos, podcasts, and ebooks.
- Swahili audio lessons with matching text, including a beginner Mini Stories course with 62 lessons.
- Save new words as you read and review them later.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
For more Swahili you can read, watch, and listen to at your level, see our Swahili comprehensible input comparison.
Learn With People
Choose a tutor if you want teaching and correction. Choose a language exchange if you want a practice partner and are happy to help with English in return.
italki
Read italki’s Swahili tutor profiles to compare teaching styles, experience, and the lessons on offer.
- Choose a Swahili tutor and book lessons that fit your schedule.
- Tutors offer conversation practice, grammar lessons, and beginner courses.
MobileWeb
Preply
Preply lists Swahili tutors, including tutors from Kenya. Read their profiles to find one who fits your level and goals.
- Filter Swahili tutors by price, availability, and background.
- Browse tutor pages for advanced learners, adults, and native speakers.
MobileWeb
HelloTalk
HelloTalk has a page for finding Swahili language partners. Chat by message, then join a voice room when you want to speak.
- Practice Swahili in voice rooms and live streams.
- Share posts and get corrections from the community.
Mobile
More Ways to Read, Listen, and Study
Free courses from public sources are easy to find for Swahili. Live Lingua hosts the Peace Corps Kiswahili Language Manual for Tanzania, which has 76 lessons with vocabulary, dialogues, grammar notes, and exercises. It also hosts three Swahili courses from the Foreign Service Institute, with audio you can practice along with.
For real Swahili at natural speed, try the news. The University of Wisconsin's list of useful Swahili websites recommends BBC News Swahili, DW Kiswahili, and Mwananchi, a Tanzanian news site.
When you need a word, MobiTUKI is a Swahili-English dictionary from the Institute of Kiswahili Research at the University of Dar es Salaam. It has more than 14,000 entries and works offline on iPhone and Android.
In a Swahili learner discussion, people suggest Language Transfer for beginner grammar and ask for more listening and speaking practice after an app course. Its free Swahili audio course is another place to start, especially when you want to understand how sentences work.
Learn Swahili in Your Language
These counts cover menu-language choices, including script variants. Other apps’ counts and full lists come from their iPhone listings. Lesson explanations and other platforms may differ.
| App | Supported Display Languages | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Full list
|
| Duolingo | 32 | Full list |
| Memrise | 22 | Full list |
| Mango Languages | 2 | Full list |
| Ling | 67 | Full list |
| Pimsleur | 3 | Full list |
| Drops | 16 | Full list |
| uTalk | 1 | Full list |
| Clozemaster | 37 | Full list |
| LingQ | 17 | Full list |
| italki | 19 | Full list |
| Preply | 19 | Full list |
| HelloTalk | 16 | Full list |
| SwahiliPod101 | 1 | Full list |
| Language Transfer | 1 | Full list |
Other Apps We Looked At (6)
- NKENNEAn app for African languages that includes Swahili, with conversational audio lessons, time-synced captions, a learner community, and live tutoring with native speakers.
- SebmitaA free app with short, game-like lessons for African languages, including Swahili, that cover speaking, reading, listening, and writing.
- GlossikaSentence-based audio training with Swahili levels from A1 to C1 and more than 5,000 words and sentences.
- TalkpalAn AI chat partner that gives feedback on your Swahili pronunciation.
- TandemLists Swahili among its languages, with language exchange pages for Dar es Salaam and Nairobi.
- Simply Learn SwahiliA free app with Swahili flashcards and spaced repetition.
Common Questions
Which Swahili app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Swahili, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Duolingo if you want a free course, or Drops if you want to learn words with pictures. Add Pimsleur if you want to speak from the start, or Mango if your library offers it. Swahili uses the Latin alphabet, so you do not need to learn a new script first.
Can I learn Swahili for free?
Yes. Duolingo's Swahili course is free, and many libraries give free access to Mango. Language Transfer has a free audio course, and Live Lingua hosts free Peace Corps and Foreign Service Institute courses. Bubblegum's lesson library is free to read too.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- UNESCO: World Kiswahili Language Day
- IOL: African Union adopts Swahili as official working language
- Live Lingua: Peace Corps Kiswahili Language Manual for Tanzania
- Live Lingua: Free FSI Swahili courses
- University of Wisconsin: Useful Swahili websites
- MobiTUKI Swahili-English dictionary
- Memrise: Swahili course and syllabus
- LingQ: Swahili Mini Stories course
- Reddit: Swahili language learning app discussion
- SwahiliPod101: current iPhone listing
- Bubblegum
- Duolingo
- Memrise
- Mango Languages
- Ling
- Language Transfer
- Pimsleur
- SwahiliPod101
- Drops
- uTalk
- Clozemaster
- LingQ
- italki
- Preply
- HelloTalk
Checked on October 10, 2026 against each app's own pages.
