Yoruba is written in Latin letters with dots under three of them (, ọ and ṣ) and with accent marks that show its three tones. A word like ọkọ́ (hoe) changes meaning with the tone, so audio matters. Only a few apps teach Yoruba. This page lists them, plus textbooks with audio, stories and news from Nigeria.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Yoruba. You learn from Yoruba you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Yoruba lessons. Ask her about a word or a sentence, and she answers in the same lesson.
- Pick a topic and a level, and Poppy writes the Yoruba to match.
- Each lesson has AI audio to play while you read.
- Tap a word to see what it means, or ask Poppy to explain a whole line.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, and you can export them to Anki as flashcards.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Lessons use Standard Nigerian Yoruba, so the local words your family uses may look different from the page.
- You can't turn your own Yoruba books into lessons. However, you can paste a page into 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™
Mobile
These apps give you lessons in a set order, so you don't have to choose what comes next.
Ling
Ling teaches Yoruba through short lessons on pronunciation, vocabulary and conversation. It suits learners who like a guided path they can follow on a phone.
- Lessons come with audio recorded by speakers of Yoruba, plus game-style challenges.
- A dialog feature lets you practice a conversation.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Memrise
Memrise's Yoruba course is built around short videos in which speakers use the words you are learning. It suits learners who want to see and hear a word before they say it.
- 110+ lessons and 1000+ words, with 60+ videos of Yoruba speakers.
- The course is labeled free, and it has 75+ AI conversations for speaking practice.
MobileWeb
Bluebird
Bluebird, from Pronunciator, teaches Yoruba with video lessons, 2,000 high-frequency words and quizzes on listening, reading and writing. It suits learners who want a large course they can also use by ear.
- About 2,000 pre-recorded video lessons, narrated in any of 146 languages.
- A hands-free listen-and-repeat format.
MobileWeb
uTalk
uTalk teaches Yoruba words and phrases through games, one everyday topic at a time. It suits learners who want vocabulary for a trip or for talking with family.
- 60+ topics and 2,500+ words and phrases.
- You can compare your pronunciation with recordings of Yoruba speakers.
MobileWeb
Drops
Drops teaches Yoruba vocabulary in short game-style sessions. It suits learners who want to pick up words in a few spare minutes.
- Short game-style sessions built around pictures.
- Audio for pronunciation, with lessons on the Yoruba alphabet, its dot-below letters and the three tones.
Mobile
Other Apps We Looked At (2)
- iSabi Yoruba+A pronunciation app: you listen to a Yoruba speaker, repeat, and compare. It covers phrases for more than 100 situations and works offline. The iPhone version was last updated in 2019.
- Yoruba101Lessons and games for beginners, with Yoruba matched to English, Spanish or Portuguese. Its listing says it also covers Yoruba words used in Lucumí and Candomblé.
italki
italki lists 5 Yoruba tutors on its Yoruba page. It suits learners who already have a few words and want to say them to someone.
- One-on-one lessons with a tutor you pick from its Yoruba page.
- Its Yoruba page lists trial lessons for $5 or $6.
MobileWeb
Preply
Preply lists many more Yoruba tutors than italki. It suits learners who want to compare several tutors before they book.
- 189 Yoruba tutors to choose from.
- A 25- or 50-minute trial lesson, and two more tutors to try for free if the first isn't a match.
MobileWeb
For more Yoruba you can read, watch and hear at your level, see our Yoruba comprehensible input comparison.
Two textbooks come with audio. Colloquial Yoruba by Antonia Schleicher is a Routledge book with dialogues and grammar in every unit, and the audio is a free download. Yorùbá Yé Mi is a free textbook from the University of Texas at Austin, with 12 chapters, dialogues and an audio archive, and it includes techniques for learning the tones.
Storybooks Nigeria has free picture stories, and Yoruba is one of its languages. BBC News Yorùbá publishes news and videos in Yoruba, and Yoruba Wikipedia has more than 40,000 articles. YorubaName.com is a database of more than 10,000 Yoruba names.
If you would rather take a class, the SOAS Language Centre in London teaches Yorùbá beginners courses online or in a blended format.
| App | Free? | What's Free |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Free version | 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. |
| Ling | Some lessons free | The first two beginner units are free in every language. Ling Pro opens all the lessons, and the yearly plan starts with a 7-day free trial. |
| Memrise | Free version | The Free Plan includes the official courses and video clips of real people. Memrise Pro adds every learning feature and removes ads. |
| Bluebird | Free version | Part of Bluebird is free and has no ads, including new free lessons each day. The optional Premium plan opens all languages, all levels and more lessons. |
| uTalk | Some lessons free | Every language has free starter words, and getting full marks in the games opens one more topic for free. For the rest, you subscribe or buy a language or topic. |
| Drops | Free version | The free version lets you learn for five minutes every 10 hours. Drops Premium gives you unlimited time and all the content, and the yearly plan starts with a 7-day free trial. |
| italki | Paid | You pay for each lesson, and each teacher sets their own price. Practicing with the community and taking the level test are free. |
| Preply | Paid | You pay for each lesson, and each tutor sets their own price. If your first tutor isn't a good fit, you can try two more for free. |
| iSabi Yoruba+ | Not stated | It is free to download, and an in-app purchase unlocks all features. Its page does not say what is free before that. |
| Yoruba101 | Some lessons free | It is free to download, and the other lesson sets are in-app purchases. |
Each number is how many languages you can use the app in, including script variants.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Full list
|
| Ling | 68 | Full list |
| uTalk | 140+ | Full list |
| Memrise | 22 | Full list |
| Drops | 16 | Full list |
| Bluebird | 146 | Full list |
| iSabi Yoruba+ | 1 | Full list |
| Yoruba101 | 25 | Full list |
| italki | — | — |
| Preply | — | — |
Which Yoruba app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Yoruba, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Colloquial Yoruba or Yorùbá Yé Mi if you want a textbook with audio, or with Ling if you want a guided course on your phone.
Is Yoruba on Duolingo?
We found no Yoruba course on Duolingo, and the course table on Wikipedia's Duolingo page does not list one. Ling, uTalk, Memrise, Drops and Bluebird each have a Yoruba course page of their own.
Do I need the dots and accent marks?
Yes. The dots make , ọ and ṣ separate letters, and the accents show the tone. Four words that differ only in tone are ọkọ́ (hoe), ọkọ (husband), (vehicle) and ọ̀kọ̀ (spear). Play the audio for each word as you read it.
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
- Wikipedia: Yoruba language (where it is spoken, three tones, alphabet, dot-below letters)
- Yorùbá Yé Mi (COERLL, University of Texas at Austin): free textbook with audio
- Routledge: Colloquial Yoruba, The Complete Course for Beginners
- Routledge: free audio for Colloquial Yoruba
- Wikipedia: Duolingo (course table; no Yoruba)
- Ling: Learn Yoruba
- Ling: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- uTalk: Learn Yoruba
- uTalk: languages you can learn from on uTalk
- Memrise: Yoruba course (110+ lessons, 1000+ words, 60+ videos)
- Memrise: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Drops: Learn Yoruba
- Drops: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Bluebird: Learn Yoruba, iPhone App Store listing (Pronunciator)
- iSabi Yoruba+: iPhone App Store listing
- Yoruba101: iPhone App Store listing
- italki: Yoruba tutors
- Preply: Yoruba tutors
- Storybooks Nigeria: free stories with text and audio, Yoruba among the languages
- Storybooks Nigeria: Kíka àwọn ẹranko (Level 1, Yoruba)
- BBC News Yorùbá
- Yoruba Wikipedia
- YorubaName.com: a database of Yorùbá names
- Wiktionary: ọkọ́, ọkọ, ọkọ̀ and ọ̀kọ̀ (hoe, husband, vehicle, spear)
- SOAS Language Centre: Yorùbá Beginners Course
- Ling: what's free
- Ling: what the paid plan adds
- Bluebird: what's free
- Bluebird: what's free
- uTalk: what's free
- Drops: what's free
- Drops: what the paid plan adds
- italki: what's free
- Bubblegum
