DuolingoDuolingo's English courses are for speakers of other languages, and none of them is about Singlish. Singlish is the casual English that many people in Singapore use with friends and family. It borrows words from Hokkien, Malay, Tamil, and other languages, and it ends sentences with short particles like lah and lor. That makes it hard to find in apps, since few teach it. Our Singlish guide goes further.
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, your level and what you like, and she writes your Singlish lessons. If a sentence is hard to follow, ask Poppy to explain it.
With Regenerative Review™, words you save show up again in new lessons, so that you can review words in new contexts without having to use flashcards.
Try asking what an ending like lah means.
Bubblegum is mostly reading and listening, so see the tutors and partners below for the sound of Singlish.
- 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's Singlish vocabulary is a free 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. The list isn't complete, so check a word with someone from Singapore.
Tandem
Tell your partner you want to learn Singlish, and ask them to explain the words they use with friends.
- You can find English speakers in Singapore.
- Trade voice notes, or talk over video, and hear Singlish as people really say it.
MobileWeb
Preply
Preply has English tutors from many countries. If you find one from Singapore, tell them which situations you want to practice.
- Filter English tutors by country of birth.
- Watch a tutor's intro video before you book.
MobileWeb
italki
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 | How You Can Start |
|---|---|
| Tandem | The app is free to join, and Tandem Pro costs extra. |
| Preply | Each tutor sets their own price, and you pay per lesson. |
| italki | An account is free, and every lesson you book has a price set by the teacher. |
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. 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.
