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Your tutor for real Cantonese

Master everyday conversations, tones, and vocabulary with native audio and instant speech recognition. No Mandarin filler, just pure Cantonese.

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Structured lessons built for real life

Curated units from "Dim Sum Basics" to full conversations. Vocabulary cards, matching, sentence building, and quick exercises keep you progressing daily.

Speak like a local with speech recognition

Native Hong Kong Cantonese audio on every word. Tap, listen, then record yourself. Get instant feedback on tones so you sound natural fast.

Smart spaced repetition flashcards

Cards appear exactly when you're about to forget them. Proven system for lasting memory with way less review time.

Your personal AI Cantonese tutor

Ask anything 24/7: pronunciation, grammar, slang, greetings, or practice full dialogues. Like having a private teacher in your pocket.

Jyutping + Yale romanization

Switch instantly between both systems and choose traditional or simplified characters. Perfect for every learning style.

Gamified to keep you hooked

Daily streaks, XP, levels, and unlockable badges. Real progress you can see and feel.

Common questions

Is YumCha free?

Yes, YumCha is free to download from the iOS App Store. Lessons, the dictionary, audio, and speech recognition are available without payment.

Is Cantonese hard to learn?

Cantonese is moderately challenging for English speakers, mainly because of the six tones and unfamiliar final consonants. The grammar is actually simpler than English: no verb conjugations, no plurals, no grammatical gender. Most learners reach conversational ability in 1 to 2 years with consistent daily practice.

How is YumCha different from Duolingo?

Duolingo does not offer a Cantonese course at all, only Mandarin. YumCha is built specifically for Cantonese, with native Hong Kong audio, six-tone practice, both Jyutping and Yale romanization, and a 120,000+ entry dictionary. Other multi-language apps treat Cantonese as a secondary addition; YumCha treats it as the main language.

Does YumCha teach Jyutping or Yale?

Both. YumCha lets you toggle between Jyutping (with tone numbers, e.g. nei5 hou2) and Yale (with diacritics, e.g. néih hóu) at any time. Traditional and simplified character display also toggle independently, so each learner picks the system they prefer.

How long does it take to learn Cantonese?

With 15 to 30 minutes of daily practice, most learners reach basic conversational ability in 6 to 12 months and comfortable fluency in 2 to 4 years. Heritage speakers who grew up hearing Cantonese often progress faster because they already have passive comprehension.

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