Every sentence you decode is a sentence you learn.
Decode Lingala sentences by deduction, one letter at a time. Every sentence you solve comes with its translation, its pronunciation and its story.
mokili ezalí mbánga ya ntaba
“The world is like a goat’s jaw.”
How it works
The numbers
Every letter of the sentence becomes a number. The message is there, hidden under the digits.
The deduction
You spot the repeats, the short words, the patterns. Every number you find reveals another.
The reveal
The sentence appears. With it, its translation, its pronunciation and its story.
What you actually learn
The game is the sugar. Underneath it lies a real way of learning.
mokili ezalí mbánga ya ntaba
“The world is like a goat’s jaw.”
Cultural context: fortune turns the way a grinding jaw does, so this is no time to mock whoever is down.
For those who understand without speaking.
The Lingala of your parents, of your grandparents, of the music played at home. If you understand it without speaking it, Langila helps you take the step. If you are starting from nothing, it starts at the beginning.
Seven chapters to play
Three levels each, twelve puzzles per level. More chapters are on the way.
Ba Proverbes
Wisdom in a single sentence.
3 levelsRumba Odemba
Love, the night, the orchestras.
3 levelsRue de Kinshasa
The language as you hear it outside.
3 levelsGénération Ndombolo
Dance, the body, the energy of the neighbourhoods.
3 levelsNouvelle Vague
Today's scene, between Lingala and French.
3 levelsNzambe
Faith and wisdom, in everyday words.
3 levelsMboka na Biso
The country, the river, the Leopards.
3 levelsLangila is available.
Free, playable without an account, and the whole game works offline.
iPhone and iPad from iOS 15, and Android. Rated 4+, nothing to buy in order to play.