Nong Hao (侬好)! 🦉
On October 15, 2026, Duolingo took to Little Red Book to officially announce the drop of its Shanghainese language course — the mobile language app’s third Chinese language after Mandarin and Cantonese.
Scroll to ‘Courses,’ choose ‘For Chinese speakers’ from the drop-down menu, and select ‘中文 (沪语).’
There’s a catch, however...
The course currently caters to students with an existing knowledge of simplified Chinese.
Exercises aren’t available in English — all the more reason to brush up your Mandarin proficiency skills.
DUO AT ICONIC SHANGHAI SITES
The 50-unit course covers plenty of ground, starting with food — a universal unifier — before moving on to clothing, housing, transport and other everyday essentials.
What’s especially lovable is its nod to Shanghai specificities — from coffee culture to longtang (lane) life.
A way to keep both language and culture alive? Hoo could resist?
TIME OUT TIP
Do your Duolingo homework and claim a reward: from Oct 26 - Nov 5, show a screenshot of your in-app progress at the Museum of Art Pudong (MAP) to collect a special Duo ‘Shanghai ID’.
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Cover and opening image by 三黄鸡太太 and SunCL on 小红书. Other visuals via Duolingo. This article is not to be replicated without prior consent from Time Out Shanghai.