CantoGo vs Duolingo: Which App Should You Use to Learn Cantonese?

The short answer: Duolingo doesn't teach Cantonese to English speakers. Its only Cantonese course is taught from Mandarin. If you speak English and want to speak Hong Kong Cantonese, CantoGo is made for you. If you want to learn Mandarin, or dabble in several languages at once, Duolingo is a great pick.

Does Duolingo have Cantonese?

Sort of. Duolingo lists a Cantonese course, but it's for people who already speak Mandarin: the instructions, hints and translations are in Mandarin Chinese. If you search the English course list, Cantonese isn't there.

That's a problem for most people who want to learn Cantonese: heritage learners who grew up hearing it at home, people with a partner or in-laws from Hong Kong, people moving to Hong Kong, and anyone who loves Hong Kong food, films or Cantopop. Many of them don't speak Mandarin, and shouldn't have to learn it first.

Duolingo stopped building courses with volunteers in 2021, and new courses now need its own staff. It hasn't announced a Cantonese course for English speakers.

CantoGo vs Duolingo at a glance

Where CantoGo is different

It's built around speaking

Cantonese is a spoken language first. Most of what you'll hear in Hong Kong, from the cha chaan teng to the MTR, is said in ways that never get written down. So CantoGo starts with your ears and your mouth:

1. Hear it. Every word is spoken in a natural Hong Kong voice. Play it again, or slower, as often as you like.
2. Say it. Tap the mic and say it back out loud.
3. See how it went. Each character lights up: green when it's right, amber when the tone is off, red when it's wrong or missed.

You can try this right now, no download needed, on the CantoGo home page.

Tones, checked one character at a time

Cantonese has six tones, and a wrong tone changes the word. 晨 san4 is "morning", but say it with a different tone and you've said something else entirely. Most apps tell you whether a whole sentence was "correct". CantoGo turns what you said into Jyutping and checks it against the line, sound by sound and tone by tone, so you know exactly which syllable to fix.

Hong Kong words, the way Hongkongers say them

CantoGo teaches the Cantonese you'll actually hear in Hong Kong: 唔該 m4 goi1 for "thanks" when someone helps you, 早晨 zou2 san4 for "good morning", and how to order a hot latte to go and pay with your Octopus card. Every word comes with Traditional characters, Jyutping and English.

Flashcards that come back at the right time

Words come back just before you'd forget them (spaced repetition). Then you use them in a real conversation, playing one side of the scene.

Cantonese on your home screen

Put a phrase and your speaking streak on your home screen, on iPhone or Android. Tap the phrase to hear it.

A tutor in your messages

Rammy, the CantoGo ram, is also a Cantonese tutor you can text in iMessage: ask how to say something, send a photo of a menu, and get it back in characters and Jyutping, with voice notes in a Hong Kong voice.

Where Duolingo is better

We'd rather you pick the right app than the wrong one, so here's where Duolingo wins:

• Lots of languages. If you want Spanish this year and Japanese next year, Duolingo has 40+ courses in one app.
• Mandarin. Duolingo has a full Mandarin course for English speakers. CantoGo only teaches Cantonese.
• Game features. Leagues, friends, quests and a huge community keep a lot of people coming back every day.
• A bigger library. Duolingo has been around since 2012. CantoGo is newer and focused on one language, and we add new decks and conversations as they're ready.
• Already speak Mandarin? Then Duolingo's Cantonese course is a real option for you, and you can use CantoGo alongside it for speaking and tone practice.

Can you use both?

Yes, and plenty of people do. A common setup: Duolingo for Mandarin or another language, and CantoGo for a few minutes of Cantonese speaking practice a day. If you already speak Mandarin, Duolingo's Cantonese course can help with reading while CantoGo trains your ear and your tones.

Which should you choose?

• You speak English and want to speak Cantonese: CantoGo.
• You want Hong Kong Cantonese specifically: CantoGo.
• You keep getting your tones wrong and want to know which ones: CantoGo.
• You want Mandarin, or lots of languages: Duolingo.
• You already speak Mandarin and want to read Cantonese: Duolingo's Cantonese course, plus CantoGo for speaking.

Try CantoGo

CantoGo is on iPhone and Android. It's free to start, and you'll say your first Cantonese word in under a minute.

Duolingo is a trademark of Duolingo, Inc. CantoGo isn't affiliated with Duolingo. Details about Duolingo are based on its public course list at the time of writing and may change.