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Learn Cantonese

Learn the tones, particles and phrases of real spoken Cantonese.

Free to start. Built from a single prompt. No credit card.

Cantonese is a Chinese language spoken in Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau and many overseas communities. It shares the Chinese writing system with Mandarin but is not mutually understandable with it in speech. Cantonese is usually taught with six tones, and keeps final consonants -p, -t and -k that Mandarin lost. It is written in traditional characters in Hong Kong, plus characters used only in Cantonese, such as 嘅, 咗 and 冇. Romanization systems like Jyutping help you learn the sounds. Everyday speech is full of sentence-final particles that add tone and attitude. Learnr builds a personalized Cantonese course from a single prompt and teaches it in short lessons.

How to learn Cantonese, step by step

Learn Jyutping and the six tones. Jyutping numbers the tones 1 to 6, as in si1, si2, si3, si4, si5 and si6, which mean different words such as poem, history and try. Practice tone pairs with native audio until you can hear and repeat them reliably.
Practice final consonants and new sounds. Cantonese keeps unreleased finals like -p, -t and -k, as in sap6 (ten) and baat3 (eight). It also has the ng sound at the start of words like ngo5 (I), though many younger speakers drop it.
Learn spoken Cantonese vocabulary. Cantonese uses different everyday words from Mandarin, such as 食 (sik6) for eat, 佢 (keoi5) for he or she, and 係 (hai6) for to be. Learn these colloquial forms from the start rather than translating from Mandarin.
Use measure words and aspect markers. Measure words like 個 (go3) and 本 (bun2) are needed with numbers, and can also mean "the": 本書 (the book). Add aspect markers like 咗 (zo2) for completed actions and 緊 (gan2) for ongoing ones.
Learn sentence-final particles. Particles such as 啦 (laa1), 喎 (wo3) and 㗎 (gaa3) change the mood of a sentence, adding emphasis, softening or surprise. Copy them from native speakers, because they make your speech sound natural.
Add characters gradually and practice daily. Learn traditional characters for common words, including Cantonese-only ones like 嘅 and 冇. Short daily Learnr lessons keep tones and vocabulary fresh, while Hong Kong films and podcasts train your ear.

What you'll learn

Hear and produce the six Cantonese tones
Read and write Cantonese using Jyutping romanization
Use common sentence-final particles naturally
Use measure words, aspect markers and basic sentence patterns
Handle everyday conversations about food, shopping and directions

What's inside your Cantonese course

A sample path Learnr builds for Cantonese. Your real course adapts to your goal and level.

1. Cantonese sounds, Jyutping and the six tones
2. Greetings and everyday phrases
3. Sentence structure, pronouns and questions
4. Measure words and aspect markers
5. Sentence-final particles and natural speech
6. Characters, reading and real conversations

How long does it take to learn Cantonese?

The US Foreign Service Institute lists Cantonese among the languages that take English speakers longest. Basic phrases come within weeks, simple conversations within several months of daily study, and comfortable fluency usually takes several years. Mandarin speakers learn characters faster but must relearn pronunciation.

What you need before you start

No prior language is needed. Some knowledge of Mandarin or Chinese characters helps with reading, but it is not required to start speaking.

Common mistakes to avoid

Ignoring tones because context helps, which leads to frequent misunderstandings with short syllables.
Translating from Mandarin and using written-style words instead of everyday Cantonese vocabulary.
Avoiding sentence-final particles, which makes otherwise correct sentences sound abrupt or robotic.

How Learnr builds your course

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Cantonese questions, answered

How many tones does Cantonese have?

Cantonese is usually taught with six tones. Some descriptions count nine by including the checked tones of syllables ending in -p, -t or -k, but six distinct pitch patterns are what learners need.

Should I learn Cantonese or Mandarin?

It depends on your goals. Cantonese is used in Hong Kong, Macau, Guangdong and many overseas communities, while Mandarin is the standard language of mainland China and Taiwan. Learn the one you will actually use.