Lingala · Spoken by 40 million people across Central Africa and the diaspora
A free memory game for learning Lingala. Flip cards, find the pairs, hear the words, and build a real connection to the language — one word at a time. No Lingala needed to start.
Web version live now. App coming soon.
Start with the building blocks. Build to real phrases. Go deeper into the culture. Each level brings you closer to Lingala.
Moboko
Start here. Pronouns, essential verbs, questions, and the small words that hold a sentence together. By the end of Level 1 you have the building blocks of real Lingala.
Play Level 1Maloba
Now you're building. Greetings, family, food, numbers, feelings, colours, time, places, weather. The vocabulary of daily life — the words that come up every time.
Play Level 2Masolo
Now you're talking. Full sentences you'd actually use — at home, at the market, meeting people, getting around, expressing yourself. This is where Lingala starts to feel like yours.
Play Level 3You'll see the cards. Then you won't. Find the pairs from memory — and surprise yourself with how much you pick up.
Kosakana! (Let's play) →Beyond the levels. Built around the language, the culture, and the daily habit of coming back.
The words from our elders. Real Congolese proverbs with pronunciation, meaning, and cultural context. Browse, save the ones that stay with you, and share them.
Hear the word. Then say it. Record yourself and compare your pronunciation to the example — at your own pace, in private. No pressure, no judgement.
A new Lingala word every day, with pronunciation and meaning. A small moment of connection. Something to carry with you.
Come back each day and build your streak. Miss a day? It pauses, not breaks. No guilt, no punishment — just a gentle reason to return.
Type anything and see it in Lingala, or the other way around. Handy for a phrase you don't have yet, or a word someone just said that you want to understand.
Everything you might be wondering before you start.
Lingala is a language spoken by tens of millions of people across the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, and diaspora communities around the world. It's central to Congolese identity, music, faith, and family life, but it's almost entirely absent from mainstream language-learning apps.
Not at all. Loba Lingala is built for everyone, from people who grew up hearing Lingala but never learned to speak it, to complete beginners with no prior exposure at all. Start at Level 1 and build up from there.
There's no set timeline, it depends how often you play. Many people notice they start recognising words and phrases within their first few sessions. The game is designed for small, regular moments rather than long study sessions, a few minutes a day adds up.
Every word, phrase, and proverb is reviewed by native Lingala speakers, including our own family, and by a linguistics professor, for cultural and linguistic accuracy. Some features use AI-assisted translation, which we're continuing to refine, if anything ever looks off to you, we'd genuinely love to hear about it.
Level 1 (Moboko) covers the foundations, pronouns, essential verbs, and questions. Level 2 (Maloba) covers everyday vocabulary like greetings, family, food, and time. Level 3 (Masolo) moves into full phrases you'd actually use in conversation.
Speak Mode lets you hear a word, then record yourself saying it back and compare your pronunciation to the example, at your own pace, in private, with no pressure or judgement.
Loba Lingala starts with Lingala, but the long-term goal is to expand to other DRC national languages, including Swahili, Kikongo, and Tshiluba. If you'd like to be part of that journey or help with future languages, get in touch, we'd love to hear from you.
Yes. Once Lingala is where we want it to be, the plan is to build out the same playful, community-reviewed approach for Swahili, Kikongo, and Tshiluba, the DRC's other national languages.
Yes, the core game is free and will stay free. We may introduce optional paid features and physical products in future, but the game itself will always remain accessible to everyone.
Right now Loba Lingala is a free web game that works great on your phone's browser, no download needed. An iOS app is in development, join the waitlist below to be notified when it launches.
It's in the works. We're developing a physical card deck alongside the app. Sign up to the waitlist below and we'll let you know as soon as it's ready.
We'll only use it to update you about the app launch and major product news, nothing else, no spam, no sharing with third parties. See our Privacy Policy for full details.
No. We don't sell your data to anyone, and we don't share it with third parties beyond what's needed to run the game itself (like our hosting provider). You can read exactly what we collect and why in our Privacy Policy.
We'd love to hear from you, share your feedback here, or reach out on WhatsApp or Instagram. Loba Lingala is shaped by the community playing it.
Yes, we'd love that. Whether it's cultural review, translation help, or just spreading the word, reach out via WhatsApp or Instagram, or email hello@lobalingalagame.com, and let us know how you'd like to be involved.
Loba Lingala is launching on iOS. Sign up for early access — and to hear about the physical card game too.
Physical card game also in the works. Sign up to hear about that too.
