EastLanguage

EastLanguage

Learn Swahili, Luganda and more of East Africa’s languages, one word at a time.

Pick a country on the atlas, open today’s word, and practise it until it sticks. Free, with no account, and nothing leaves your phone.

Coming soon to the App Store

For iPhone and iPad with iOS 18 or later.

  • Learn now
  • Coming soon
Decorative map of Africa. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and DR Congo are raised cut-outs you can learn now; Nigeria, Ghana, francophone countries and the Maghreb are drawn dashed as coming soon. Mozambique Malawi Zambia Namibia Botswana Angola Eswatini Lesotho Egypt Libya W. Sahara Mauritania Sudan Gambia Guinea-Bissau Sierra Leone Liberia South Sudan Ethiopia Somalia Eritrea Zimbabwe South Africa
EastLanguage country page for Uganda: the country raised on a green stock, the greeting “Oli otya!”, capital Kampala, about 48 million people, and three languages to learn: Luganda, Lusoga and Runyankore-Rukiga.

A new word pops up every day

Today’s Pop is one word or phrase, opened like a pop-up card. You get how it’s said, what it means and when people use it.

Want to keep it? Fold it into My Book.

Word of the day

Habari

/ha-BA-ri/

Hello / How are you?

A general greeting used any time of day.

Practice that remembers for you

Cards come back just before you’d forget them. Rate each one and EastLanguage schedules the next review.

  • Again
  • Hard
  • Good
  • Easy

Right and wrong are shown with shape, not red and green. A card you know stands up; one you missed folds flat and comes back.

Practice screen: a Swahili review card asking “Say it in Swahili: Hello / How are you?” with the answer Habari, its pronunciation and meaning, and buttons to rate the card.

Short episodes, with the transcript underneath

Listen to short episodes. The transcript sits on the page behind: lift it to read along, word by word.

Lessons are written with review by native speakers, a phrase at a time.

My Book fills up as you learn

Every word you fold in becomes a piece on a page. It starts dashed, then pops up once you’ve rated it Good or Easy on two different days.

One page per topic, a count on each, so month three looks fuller than week one.

My Book screen: the Greetings page shows 6 of 10 Swahili words raised as learned pieces, such as Karibu, Habari, Asante and Rafiki, two dashed pieces still folding in, and two empty slots.

More countries are printed, not yet cut

On the atlas these are dashed outlines. Each one pops up when its first language is ready.

  • Nigeria

    Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa

  • Ghana

    Twi, Ewe, Ga

  • Francophone Africa

    Wolof, Bambara, Lingala, Dioula, Baoulé

  • Morocco

    Darija (الدارجة), Tamazight

Your progress stays on your phone

  • No accountOpen it and start.
  • No analyticsNothing is measured.
  • No adsNone, anywhere.
  • Works offlineThe app doesn’t use the internet.
  • On your deviceDelete the app and your progress goes with it.

Read the privacy policy

Questions

Which languages can I learn?

Swahili, Luganda, Lusoga, Luo and Runyankore-Rukiga. Pick one from the atlas through Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania or DR Congo, or from the language list.

Is it free?

Yes. EastLanguage 1.0 is free and has no ads. Optional language packs are planned.

Do I need an account or an internet connection?

No to both. There’s no sign-up, and the app works without a connection. Your progress is saved on your device.

Can I hear the words?

Not yet. Recorded audio isn’t included in this version. Today’s Pop shows a written pronunciation guide instead, like /ha-BA-ri/.

Which devices does it run on?

iPhone and iPad with iOS 18 or later. There’s a home-screen widget too. There’s no Android version.

When do the new countries arrive?

There are no dates yet. Languages from Nigeria, Ghana, francophone countries and Morocco are coming, and each one pops up on the atlas when it’s ready.