South African English is the one to learn if you're moving to South Africa to live, study, or work, or talking with South African friends and coworkers. Many English apps use American or British English. Our English app comparison covers apps for any kind of English.
English is one of South Africa's several official languages. Afrikaans is a separate language, and our Afrikaans app comparison covers it.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn English. You learn from English you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, that you're starting a job in Cape Town next month. She writes you a lesson at your level about a braai with your new coworkers. Play it, and ask her about any word you don't know.
To practice speaking with people, try a tutor or partner in Practice With People From South Africa.
- Lessons are in South African English, read aloud in Cape Town English accents.
- Lessons keep British spellings, like colour and centre, and use local words like braai when a scene calls for them.
- 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.
- Lessons teach everyday South African English and don't cover every regional or home-language accent.
- 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
Preply
Preply has thousands of English tutors. Practice the conversations you'll have at work or when you rent a home, like asking a landlord about the lease.
- Filter English tutors by country of birth.
- Filter tutors by the other languages they speak.
MobileWeb
italki
On italki, tell your teacher which city you're moving to, so the examples fit your life there.
- Choose an English teacher from South Africa.
- Book one-to-one lessons over video.
MobileWeb
Tandem
On Tandem, you help someone with your language while they help you with English. Tandem lists members in Cape Town, and its page also points to Pretoria and Sandton.
- Find language partners who live in Cape Town.
- Trade voice notes, or talk over video.
MobileWeb
The Dictionary of South African English is a free online dictionary from the Dictionary Unit for South African English at Rhodes University. It lists more than 4,700 words from three centuries of South African English, and you can browse them by letter. Use it when a word in a lesson or on the street is new to you.
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 |
| Preply | 19 | App Store |
| italki | 19 | App Store |
| Tandem | 14 | App Store |
Which South African English app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning English, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with a tutor on Preply or italki if you'd like to practice speaking with someone from South Africa from day one.
How is South African English different?
South African English uses British spelling, like colour, and it has words of its own. A braai is a barbecue, lekker means nice or tasty, and a bakkie is a pickup truck.
Can I learn South African English for free?
Yes. The Dictionary of South African English is free to browse, and the table above shows what each app lets you do for free.
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: South African English
- Preply: English tutors (country of birth filter)
- italki: English teachers (Teachers from filter)
- Tandem: Learn English in Cape Town
- Dictionary of South African English (Dictionary Unit for South African English, Rhodes University)
- Wiktionary: braai (South Africa)
- Wiktionary: lekker (South Africa)
- Wiktionary: bakkie
- italki: what's free
- 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)
- Bubblegum
- Tandem
