Duolingo's course list showed one Japanese course on October 15, 2026, taught from 28 languages, and no course for Fukuoka Japanese.
Fukuoka Japanese, usually called Hakata-ben, is the dialect of Fukuoka City on the island of Kyushu. Someone from Fukuoka says 雨やけん for "because it's raining", where standard Japanese says 雨だから, and they use ばってん for "but". Apart from Bubblegum, we found no app with lessons written in Hakata-ben, so the rest of this list is about meeting people from Fukuoka. For guides and videos, see our Fukuoka Japanese guide.
Custom Lessons Made for You
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Fukuoka Japanese. You learn from Fukuoka Japanese you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your Japanese level and a topic you like. Ask for a bowl of ramen with a coworker at a food stall by the river, and she writes that scene in Hakata-ben. When a word or ending is new, tap it or ask her about it.
Bubblegum has no way to meet people, so use one of the apps below to talk with someone.
- Fukuoka Japanese has its own journey, with lessons written in Hakata-ben.
- Grammar cards cover Hakata forms like と at the end of a question and ばい at the end of a statement.
- Every kanji has its reading shown above it.
- With Regenerative Review™, a word you save shows up again in a later Hakata-ben lesson.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- You can't import your own texts.
- 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 lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches Fukuoka speech
Mobile
Learn With a Tutor From Fukuoka
italki
With a teacher from Fukuoka, you can hear a line in Hakata-ben and then the same line in standard Japanese. Ask in your trial lesson how much dialect they'll use.
- You take private video lessons with Japanese tutors you choose.
- Each learner can book up to three discounted trial lessons, one per tutor.
MobileWeb
Find a Language Partner in Fukuoka
A language exchange is a trade: you spend half the time in Japanese and the other half in your partner's new language.
Tandem
Start on Tandem's Fukuoka page to look for partners there. Tell your partner you want to hear how people in Fukuoka talk.
- Send voice notes or start a video call.
- Partners can correct the messages you write.
MobileWeb
HelloTalk
On HelloTalk, you can chat by text, voice, or video, and other members can correct the posts you share.
- One tap translates any message, so you can follow a chat in Japanese.
- Voicerooms let you join a group talk by voice.
MobileWeb
How to Start With Each App
| App | How You Can Start |
|---|---|
| italki | Signing up is free, and you pay for each lesson. Trial lessons cost less. |
| Tandem | The app is free, and Tandem Pro is a paid option. |
| HelloTalk | HelloTalk costs nothing to download, and VIP adds the City filter. |
Common Questions
Which Fukuoka Japanese app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Fukuoka Japanese, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or book lessons on italki with someone who grew up in Fukuoka if you'd rather learn by speaking. For free reading, the blog of Genki JACS, a Japanese school in Fukuoka, has a series of posts on Hakata-ben.
Is Hakata-ben the same as Fukuoka-ben?
Mostly, yes. Hakata-ben began in Hakata, the old merchant district of Fukuoka City, and has spread through the whole city and its suburbs. Because many Japanese see it as the typical dialect of Fukuoka Prefecture, it is sometimes called Fukuoka-ben.
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.
Sources
- Duolingo: course list (read October 15, 2026)
- Duolingo: Japanese course for English speakers
- Wikipedia: Hakata dialect
- Genki Japanese and Culture School: What is Hakata-ben?
- italki: Japanese teachers and trial lessons
- Tandem: Learn Japanese in Fukuoka
- Tandem: current iPhone listing
- HelloTalk: Learn Japanese
- HelloTalk: which search filters need VIP
- HelloTalk: current iPhone listing
- Bubblegum
Checked on October 15, 2026 against each app's own pages.
