Colombian Spanish is the one to learn if you're moving to Colombia, studying there, or talking with Colombian friends and family. Speech there changes from city to city, from Bogotá in the mountains to the Caribbean coast. Many Spanish apps don't say which country their Spanish comes from. Our Spanish app comparison covers apps for every kind of Spanish.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Spanish. You learn from Spanish you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, that you're moving to Medellín for work. She writes you a lesson at your level about your first morning there, like ordering a tinto at a corner café. Ask her about any word you don't know.
Bubblegum focuses on reading and listening more than speaking, so for speaking practice, try a tutor or partner in Practice With People From Colombia.
- Lessons are in Colombian Spanish, with everyday Colombian words and prices in pesos.
- Lessons show how a Bogotá friend uses usted in a warm way, with no distance.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, and you can export them to Anki.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- The voices read lessons in standard Latin American Spanish, without a Colombian accent of their own.
- Lessons teach everyday Colombian Spanish and don't cover every regional way of speaking, like the coast.
- 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
uTalk
Each uTalk topic, like food or travel, is a set of short games. Its Latin American voices come from Mexico and Honduras, so use it for everyday words and add Colombian audio from the podcast below.
- Its Latin American Spanish course picks words that people understand across much of Latin America.
- Record yourself and compare your voice with the speaker's.
MobileWeb
italki
Some italki teachers say they're Colombian in their profiles. Ask one to role-play a day in Bogotá, like asking a taxi driver for a price.
- Filter Spanish tutors by where they're from.
- Book one-to-one lessons over video at a time that suits you.
MobileWeb
Tandem
Tandem's Bogotá page lists Spanish speakers who want a language partner, and it links to pages for Cali, Medellín, and Barranquilla. You trade a voice note in Spanish for one in your language.
- Leave a voice note for a partner, or call them by video.
- Partners can fix your Spanish messages with a correction tool.
MobileWeb
Spanish Colombiano is a podcast for intermediate learners. Jorge tells stories about life in Colombia in Spanish, and it has 189 episodes. RTVC Play streams free series, films, podcasts, and live channels from RTVC, Colombia's public media.
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Tandem | Free version | Signing up is free, and Tandem reviews each new member first. Many features are free, and Tandem Pro gives you all of them. |
Try one lesson in your language before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Supported language pairs |
| uTalk | 140+ | Full list |
| italki | 19 | App Store |
| Tandem | 14 | App Store |
Which Colombian Spanish app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Spanish, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with uTalk if you'd like to learn everyday Latin American words first.
Do people in Colombia use usted with friends?
In Bogotá, often yes. Friends there can say usted to each other in a warm, close way. In Medellín and Cali, many people say vos instead of tú, but vos isn't taught as the standard. Start with tú and usted, and listen for what people around you say.
Is Colombian Spanish the same everywhere in Colombia?
No. On the Caribbean coast, people often say the s at the end of a syllable like a soft h, so costa sounds like "kohta". Bogotá speech is more conservative. Pick a city to listen to first, and learn the rest as you travel.
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
- Bubblegum: Colombian Spanish lessons
- Wikipedia: Colombian Spanish (regional speech, ustedeo, s on the coast)
- uTalk: Latin American Spanish (voice artists from Mexico and Honduras)
- uTalk: Learn Spanish (courses offered)
- uTalk: Languages you can learn from
- uTalk on the App Store (free starter words)
- Tandem: Learn Spanish in Bogota
- Tandem: home page (what is free)
- Tandem on the App Store
- italki: Spanish teachers (Teachers from filter)
- italki: home page (what is free)
- italki on the App Store
- Spanish Colombiano podcast (Apple Podcasts)
- RTVC Play: free series, films, podcasts and live channels from Colombia
- Bubblegum
- Tandem
