🌿Learn Yoruba online

Learn Yoruba online — speak Yorùbá in minutes a day.

The fun, mobile-first Yoruba app. Learn with structured Courses, bite-sized flashcards, quizzes and streaks built on 2,600+ everyday Yorùbá words, 71 curated phrases and 768 example sentences. Free to start.

2,600+ words across five levels · free to start
Sample lessonYorùbá · Phrases
Báwo
Hello
Ẹ kàárọ̀
Good morning
Ẹ ṣé
Thank you
Ẹ káàbọ̀
Welcome
Mo nífẹ̀ẹ́ rẹ
I love you
+25 XP per lesson
5 min a day 🔥

Why learn Yoruba?

Spoken by millions

Yorùbá is spoken across Southwest Nigeria, Benin, Togo and the diaspora — one of West Africa's most influential languages.

Reconnect with culture

From Fela to Burna Boy, Yorùbá powers Nigerian music, film and food. Learn the language behind the culture.

Easier than you think

With three tones and a Latin alphabet, you can read and pronounce Yorùbá from day one — we guide you through every step.

Who it's for

Built for everyone learning Yoruba

Whatever brought you to Yoruba — family, love, heritage, travel or curiosity — NaijaTongues meets you where you are.

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Diaspora parents

Raising kids abroad and want them to grow up speaking Yoruba? Short, fun daily lessons your whole family can do together — no textbooks, no lectures.

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Married into a Yoruba family

Surprise your spouse, in-laws and elders with real Yoruba — greetings, prayers, jokes and the words that matter at weddings, naming ceremonies and Sunday dinners.

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Nigerians learning another Nigerian language

Yorùbá speaker picking up Igbo? Hausa speaker learning Yorùbá? Bridge across Nigeria's languages and connect with friends, colleagues and customers nationwide.

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Reconnecting with your roots

Second- or third-generation and never got the chance to learn Yoruba at home? Start from zero — no judgement, just steady progress toward the language of your heritage.

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Travellers & expats

Heading to Nigeria for work, family or fun? Learn the everyday Yoruba that opens doors in markets, taxis, churches, mosques and homes.

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Students & culture lovers

Studying African languages, Nollywood, Afrobeats or West African history? Build real fluency in Yoruba alongside your coursework or fandom.

What you'll learn

From your first Báwo to full sentences.

  • Structured Courses — units unlock in order, from greetings to numbers, with a test at the end of each unit. Open the Yoruba course
  • Yorùbá proverbs — explore literal readings and what each proverb actually means. Browse proverbs
  • Greetings & courtesy phrases — Báwo, Ẹ kàárọ̀, Ẹ ṣé
  • Numbers — count and price, with a number-to-words calculator
  • Days of the week & telling the time — vocabulary and phrases, no clock drills
  • Tone marks — every word written with its high, mid and low tones
  • Common words, nouns, verbs and adjectives — five levels each
  • Everyday verbs — go, come, eat, want, love
  • Sentence Builder — rebuild real sentences, from 3 words up to 20

Phrase preview

Báwo
Hello
Ẹ kàárọ̀
Good morning
Ẹ ṣé
Thank you
Ẹ káàbọ̀
Welcome
Mo nífẹ̀ẹ́ rẹ
I love you
Ṣé daadaa ni?
Are you well?

Three steps. Zero textbook stress.

1. Pick a lesson

Start with greetings and survival Yoruba phrases — no prior knowledge required.

2. Practice daily

Bite-sized flashcards and quizzes drill vocabulary in 5 minutes a day.

3. Track streaks

Earn XP, unlock badges, and climb the global leaderboard.

Structured course

A step-by-step Yoruba course, not just drills

Three units so far — greetings & courtesy, names & introductions, and numbers 1–20. Each unit has eight lessons and ends with a test: 80% to pass, and no skipping ahead. More units are in the works, and the course content is still awaiting native-speaker review.

Open the Yoruba course
Common Yoruba words

Start with the words you'll use most

Browse all Yoruba vocabulary

Every game mode is free.

Flashcards, quizzes, Word Match, Numbers, Sentence Builder, Phrases, Battles, Word Builder, Survival Streak and Proverbs are free. Proverbs currently covers Yorùbá and Igbo. You just need an account to save your scores.

Frequently asked questions

Is Yoruba hard to learn?

Not at all. Yorùbá uses the Latin alphabet, so reading is easy from day one. Tones take a little practice, but our tone-marked flashcards and quizzes make it click fast.

Do I need to know the tones?

Yes, eventually — Yorùbá uses high, mid and low tones to distinguish words. We introduce them gradually so you build a natural ear, not memorize rules.

Can I learn Yoruba as a complete beginner?

Absolutely. Level 1 starts with the words you'll use most — go, come, eat, good, big, house, family — and Sentence Builder takes you up to full sentences.

Is there a structured Yoruba course?

Yes. The Yoruba course has three units that unlock in order, from greetings and introductions to numbers. Each unit has eight lessons and ends with a test; you need 80% to pass. The content is still awaiting native-speaker review. Open the Yoruba course

How do you know the content is correct?

We have a reviewer platform where invited, vetted speakers correct text and record audio. Every correction is logged, and nothing goes live until it is personally approved. We are still bringing reviewers on, so most content has not yet been through this process.

Is this Yoruba app free?

Yes. Every game mode is free: flashcards, quizzes, Word Match, Numbers, Sentence Builder, Phrases, Battles, Word Builder, Survival Streak and Proverbs. A free account saves your scores.

Does it work on my phone?

Yes. NaijaTongues is mobile-first and runs in any modern browser on phone, tablet or desktop — no install required.

Does Duolingo have Yorùbá?

No — Duolingo has no Yorùbá course and none has been announced. Here's what it does offer, and the apps that do teach Yorùbá. Read the full answer

Ready to speak Yoruba?

2,600+ words, five difficulty levels and 71 everyday phrases. Your first lesson is free.

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