Singlish is the casual English that many people in Singapore use with friends and family. It has words from Hokkien, Malay, Tamil, and other languages, and short particles like lah and lor at the end of a sentence. Our English app comparison covers apps for American, British, and other kinds of English.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Singlish. You learn from Singlish you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, that you're meeting your partner's family in Singapore next month. She writes a lesson at your level about a family lunch. Ask her what a word or an ending like lah means.
For the sound of Singlish, practice with people in Practice With People From Singapore.
- Lessons are in Singlish, the English people speak in Singapore day to day.
- 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 read-aloud voices have no confirmed Singapore accent yet, so listen to people from Singapore to hear how Singlish sounds.
- 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
Wikipedia has an article on Singlish vocabulary. It has an A to Z list of terms with their origins and examples, food and drink words from kopitiams, and English words that mean something different in Singapore. It also explains particles: lah goes at the end of a sentence, lor shows that a point should be obvious to the listener, and meh usually goes at the end of a negative question. The page says its list is not complete or fully accurate, so check a word with someone from Singapore.
If you need school or work English in Singapore, the Speak Good English Movement has guides to standard English. Bubblegum teaches that as Standard Singapore English.
Tandem
Tell your partner you want to learn Singlish, and ask them to explain the words they use with friends.
- Tandem has a page for English speakers in Singapore.
- Trade voice notes, or talk over video, and hear Singlish as people really say it.
MobileWeb
Preply
Preply lists English tutors from many countries. If you find one from Singapore, tell them which situations you want to practice, so the examples fit your life there.
- Filter English tutors by country of birth.
- Watch a tutor's intro video before you book.
MobileWeb
italki
On italki, you pick the teacher and the topics. Ask for a teacher from Singapore if you want to hear the way people there talk.
- Filter English teachers by where they're from.
- Book one-to-one lessons over video.
MobileWeb
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
Try one lesson in your language before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Supported language pairs |
| Preply | 19 | App Store |
| italki | 19 | App Store |
| Tandem | 14 | App Store |
Which Singlish app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Singlish, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Tandem if you want to hear Singlish from people in Singapore.
Is Singlish the same as English?
Singlish is a casual kind of English, with words from other languages and its own sentence endings. It is the way many Singaporeans talk with friends. For school, work, and writing, Singapore uses Standard Singapore English.
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: Singlish
- Wikipedia: Singlish vocabulary
- Tandem: Learn English in Singapore
- Speak Good English Movement (Singapore Language Councils)
- Preply: English tutors (country of birth filter)
- italki: English teachers (Teachers from filter)
- Tandem: what's free
- Preply: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- italki: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Tandem: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- italki: what's free
- Bubblegum
- Tandem
