Learn to speak Fon, for real
Learn to speak Fon (fɔ̀ngbè) step by step: short video lessons, the voice of a native speaker from Cotonou, and games that get you speaking. Understand your family, talk with your loved ones, feel at home in Benin. The first lesson is free.
From 5,000 FCFA · one-time payment, lifetime access · Mobile Money or bank card
You’re not learning words. You’re learning to use them.
Every lesson has a concrete goal: by the end, you can say something new. One short lesson a day is enough to make progress.
Watch
A video of about five to eight minutes. A French-speaking voice guides you and the native speaker says every Fon word: you hear the language as it is really spoken, not an artificial voice.
Understand
Every Fon form is shown with its translation. You understand what you are saying instead of reciting words without context.
Play and remember
Battle Rush, word searches, fill-in-the-blank sentences, word ordering: you review without feeling like you’re repeating a class. Forgotten words keep coming back until they stick.
6 chapters, 79 lessons
Chapters 1 to 4 are available (53 lessons); chapters 5 and 6 are coming soon, and Full Access includes them at no extra cost. Each chapter ends with a quiz: score 80% and you earn your certificate, verifiable online.
Chapter 1 · Greeting, introducing yourself
- Name the five times of day, greet and reply in the morning
- Say where you come from: city, country, people
- Understand why some names are not spoken, and chain together a greeting, introductions and a goodbye
See the 14 lessons
- Greeting in the morning (free)
- Greeting all day long
- Greeting according to the situation
- Everyday greetings
- The six pronouns
- Saying no, and the tone trap
- Asking and giving your name
- Where you come from, where you’re from
- Occupation and home
- Introducing yourself fully
- Introducing someone
- Introducing two people
- Asking questions about someone
- Veiled names
Chapter 2 · Talking about people
- Say brother or sister, specifying which side the relationship comes through
- Talk about several relatives and say where you live
- Describe someone’s character and explain why
See the 13 lessons
- Basic kinship words
- Younger and older
- How in-laws are named
- Having, and how many
- Asking about someone’s family
- The possessive goes after
- The plural, and habit
- The possessive goes inside the word
- The body, from head to toe
- Fon doubles its verbs
- Build and complexion
- Making words
- Describing character
Chapter 3 · Your needs, the market
- Say you’re hungry, thirsty, cold, hot, sleepy, or tired
- The first ten numbers, placed after the noun
- Say what you are doing (selling, buying, looking for) and ask about it
See the 13 lessons
- What the body goes through
- Object pronouns
- The pronoun that matches the sound
- Saying what you want
- Classroom words
- Asking how to say something
- Counting to ten
- Counting by fives
- After fifteen, nukun
- Money: dɔla and kpɔun
- Big prices, and bargaining
- At the market, and “I’ve run out of”
- The object comes before the verb
Chapter 4 · Your health, your places, your way
- Name parts of the body and say that one hurts
- Say why you are going somewhere, and ask about it
- Follow and give complete directions
See the 13 lessons
- The body speaks
- When it hurts right now
- Being sick, getting well
- What to say to someone who is suffering
- Places
- Going, coming
- Saying why: gbe
- Saying where you’re going
- Three questions with fitɛ
- Where it is: positions
- Giving an order
- The three endings, and the verbs of the road
- The complete route
Chapter 5 · The day, work, the seasons
- Say what you do when you get up
- Set a condition (“if it rains, we plant”) and talk about sharing tasks
- Make an appointment without mixing up the day
See the 13 lessons
- Waking up and morning routines
- Meals
- The five words that tell a story
- The whole day
- What time is it
- nabi, the word that counts everything
- Saying “if”
- The five seasons and the moon
- The month tells the season
- Rain, and weather words
- The future
- Counting days
- The calendar
Chapter 6 · Living among others
- Suggest an outing, and say yes
- Say “the father of…” in three different ways
- Say “not at all”, and recognize question, negation and prohibition at the end of a sentence
See the 13 lessons
- Inviting, and accepting
- Declining
- Where you’re going: the place of
- kú dó, and the distant future
- Happy events
- Unhappy events
- Bill’s father
- The four cries
- When someone comes
- Words of help
- Suggesting, and refusing without offending
- The reinforced imperative, and colors
- The five endings
For those who want to speak Fon, for real
The diaspora
You understand your parents a little, but you answer in French. The course gives you the structure you’re missing, and the tones your family never explained.
Those joining a Fon family
Greeting elders properly, understanding what is said at the table, introducing your family: chapters 1 and 2 are made for that.
Those living in Benin
At the market, at work, in a taxi: counting, bargaining, asking for directions, saying where it hurts. That’s chapters 3 and 4.
Beninese who speak another language
Fon is not your mother tongue, but it is all around you. The course starts from the very first word, assuming nothing.
What the course offers that other resources don’t
Free resources and books are useful for getting started; we publish hundreds of them on this site. What they lack is the voice, the order and the practice.
| Parlons Fongbe Academy | Free resources | Fon book | Language app | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native speaker’s voice | Yes, on every word | Sometimes | No | No Fon |
| Tones taught | Yes, a thread throughout the course | Rarely | In writing only | — |
| Step-by-step path | 6 chapters, 79 lessons | No | Yes | — |
| Games and review | Yes | Sometimes | No | — |
| Certificate | Yes, verifiable online | No | No | — |
Start small, or go all the way
One payment, no subscription. The first lesson is free for everyone.
Discovery
All of chapter 1, forever
- The 14 lessons of chapter 1: greeting and introducing yourself
- The games, quiz and certificate for chapter 1
- Upgrade later by paying the difference
Full Access
80,000 FCFA · offer reserved for site visitors
- All 6 chapters, 79 lessons in total
- Chapters 1 to 4 right away (53 lessons)
- Quizzes and certificates for every chapter
- Chapters 5 and 6 as soon as they are released, at no extra cost
Secure payment: MTN MoMo, Moov Money, Wave, Orange Money, or bank card (+10%). Access usually opens in less than a minute.
Before you sign up
Is it a subscription?
No. You pay once and the course is yours, with no time limit. Nothing renews, nothing to cancel.
Which plan should I choose?
The Discovery plan (5,000 FCFA) gives you all of chapter 1, forever: ideal for judging the method. Full Access gives you all 6 chapters (50,000 FCFA instead of 80,000 when you go through this site), including chapters 1 to 4 right away and the following ones as soon as they are released, at no extra cost. You can start with Discovery and upgrade later by paying the difference.
Can I try it for free?
Yes. The first lesson is free, with its games and quiz, so you can see the method before deciding.
Do I need to speak some Fon already?
No. The course starts from the very first word. If you already know some basics from your family, the first lessons go quickly: what you’ll gain most is spelling and tones.
What is a lesson like?
A short video of about five to eight minutes: a French-speaking voice guides you and the native speaker says every Fon word. Every Fon form is shown with its translation. Then games to review, and a quiz at the end of each chapter.
Why are tones so important?
In Fon, the pitch of your voice changes the meaning: à asks a question, ǎ says no. This is the real challenge for speakers of non-tonal languages, and the course trains your ear to hear it, lesson after lesson.
Do I get a certificate?
Yes. Each chapter ends with a quiz: with 80% correct answers, you earn your certificate, verifiable online.
Can I take the course on my phone?
Yes, it is designed for that first. Your progress follows you from one device to another: start on your phone, pick up on your computer where you left off.
How do I pay?
By Mobile Money (MTN MoMo, Moov Money, Wave, Orange Money) or by bank card (+10%), on a secure payment page. Access opens automatically as soon as payment is confirmed, usually in less than a minute.
What if my access doesn’t open after payment?
With Mobile Money, confirmation sometimes takes a few minutes. If nothing happens, write to [email protected] with your account’s email address: the team will check and unlock your access.
Choosing the right Fon course
Getting started in Fon: the 4-step method · Which Fon course to choose: six questions to ask · How much does a Fon course cost · On your own or with a course? · How a lesson works · Why a native speaker · Is Fon difficult?
Your first sentence in Fon, today
The first lesson is free, with its games and quiz. Try the method, then choose your plan: from 5,000 FCFA, no subscription, lifetime access.