The fastest way to learn Cantonese is to spend most of your study time on Cantonese you can mostly understand. That kind of Cantonese is called comprehensible input. What you read and listen to should change as you improve, so the plan below shows what to do at each level and how to split an hour of study.
What to Do at Each Level
Find the level that sounds like you. Its bar shows how to spend an hour of study.
- First Week
I can't read Jyutping yet.
Learn Jyutping 40 min. Listen 20 min.
Jyutping spells each Cantonese sound with letters you already know, plus a number from 1 to 6 for its tone. Learn it first, and listen to easy Cantonese while you do, so the tones start to feel familiar.
- Level 1
I'm just starting out and can't read much yet.
Read and listen 35 min. Review 15 min. Speak 10 min.
Read short dialogues with Jyutping above every character, audio, and a translation, and listen to each one twice. Review the words you saved, then copy the tones as you say a few lines out loud.
- Level 2
I can read basic characters and simple sentences.
Read and listen 40 min. Review 10 min. Speak 10 min.
Hide the translation and look up only the words that stop you. Read graded stories written in spoken Cantonese, and retell one to a tutor or a friend.
- Level 3
I can read short chats and stories in written Cantonese.
Read and listen 40 min. Review 5 min. Speak 15 min.
Turn Jyutping off for the characters you already know, and listen to each lesson once more without reading along. Talk about what you read for longer.
- Level 4
I can read longer texts about everyday life.
Read and watch 45 min. Review 5 min. Speak 10 min.
Watch one Hong Kong film or TV episode a week with subtitles written in spoken Cantonese, and read a lesson about it afterwards.
- Level 5
I can follow complex topics, but miss some details.
Listen and read 50 min. Speak 10 min.
Listen to the news on RTHK, Hong Kong's public broadcaster, and read Cantopop lyrics, looking up only the words that block the meaning.
- Level 6
I can follow detailed arguments and different writing styles in written Cantonese.
Read 50 min. Speak 10 min.
Read posts and comments on Hong Kong social media, and talk about the jokes and slang you find there.
Move up a level when your lessons start to feel easy, and move back down if you lose the thread by the third line.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Cantonese?
Cantonese takes about 2,200 class hours to reach professional fluency, according to the U.S. Foreign Service Institute. That puts Cantonese in its hardest group for English speakers, with Mandarin, Japanese, Korean and Arabic.
| Language | FSI group | Full-time weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish, French | Category I | 30 |
| German, Indonesian | Category II | 36 |
| Russian, Vietnamese | Category III | 44 |
| Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean | Category IV | 88 |
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) asks for at least 330 class hours for its full-time Cantonese Certificate and at least 759 for its Advanced Diploma. Here is how long those take at different amounts of study a week:
| Study per week | CUHK Certificate (330 hours) | CUHK Advanced Diploma (759 hours) | FSI professional fluency (2,200 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3½ hours | About 22 months | About 4 years | About 12 years |
| 7 hours | About 11 months | About 2 years | About 6 years |
| 14 hours | About 5½ months | About 1 year | About 3 years |
| 28 hours | About 3 months | About 6 months | About 1½ years |
These are class hours, so treat them as a rough guide. Time you spend understanding Cantonese on your own counts too.
What Slows Learners Down
- Standard Written ChineseHong Kong newspapers use standard written Chinese, which differs from the Cantonese people speak. Read Cantonese written the way people talk, with words like 係 for “is”.
- Tones on Their OwnDrilling tones one syllable at a time is slow. In a whole sentence, the meaning tells you which word you heard.
- Content Far Too HardA TVB drama where you know one word in five teaches you very little.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Cantonese app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Cantonese, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Our Cantonese app comparison covers courses, tutors and speaking apps too.
Can I learn Cantonese in three months?
You can learn Jyutping and enough Cantonese to order food and ask for directions. At 14 hours a week, three months is about 180 hours, which is just over half of the 330 class hours in CUHK's Cantonese Certificate.
How much should I study Cantonese each week?
Aim for three to five hours a week of Cantonese you understand, in sessions of at least 15 to 30 minutes. A longer session lets you get lost in a story, which teaches more than five minutes a day, and steady time each week matters more than a daily streak. Our post on deep sessions over daily streaks explains why.
Is Cantonese hard for English speakers?
Yes, by the Foreign Service Institute's measure: it is in the hardest group, with Mandarin, Japanese and Korean. Jyutping is the quick part, and most of the time goes into the characters and the words, which you pick up fastest from Cantonese you understand.
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.
The Jyutping course and the Cantonese lessons on this site are also free and need no account.
Sources
- Linguistic Society of Hong Kong, Jyutping scheme (tone numbers 1 to 6)
- U.S. Department of State, Foreign Language Training (FSI language categories)
- The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Yale-China Chinese Language Academy, Cantonese Daytime Intensive Programmes
- The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Yale-China Chinese Language Academy, Cantonese programme structure and course outline (newspapers in standard written Chinese)
- words.hk, 係
