Most language apps leave Singapore’s dialects out. Tio Boh? uses Claude to help you practise what you’ve learned, and to bring our lessons to more of Singapore’s language communities.
Practice chat
Example answer
Learner’s answer in Hokkien
Lí tsia̍h-pá buē?
Claude checks the answer
Words from this chapter
Grammar
Grammar checked
Claude picks out the Hokkien words you used, checks them against the chapter you’re on, and gives feedback on your grammar.
We use Claude where a simple keyword match isn’t enough and meaning depends on context. The lessons themselves are still written and checked by native speakers.
In the practice chat, you type your own reply in Hokkien instead of picking from a list. Claude finds the key words in what you wrote, checks whether they match what the chapter has covered, and looks at your grammar.
So the feedback is about what you were trying to say.
Claude translates the English parts of our curriculum into Malay and Tamil. Malay is Singapore’s national language, and Tamil is one of our four official languages.
You shouldn’t need English to start learning a dialect.
Everyone writes Hokkien a little differently. Learners mix romanisation systems, space words in different ways, and slip in the Singaporean expressions they grew up with. A good tutor has to understand what you meant while sticking to what the chapter has taught. We use both Claude Opus and Haiku, and pick whichever one suits the task.
Claude also lets us keep a single curriculum and share it in more than one language. That matters for a small team like ours, making free tools for communities that most language apps overlook.
Claude helps with practice and translation, but it doesn’t replace the people who know the language. Every Tio Boh? lesson is written and checked by native speakers, and teaches Hokkien and Teochew the way they’re spoken in Singapore.
Made in Singapore
Tio Boh? is a non-profit project supported by Singapore’s National Youth Council through the Youth Action Challenge. The app launched in 2026 on iOS and Android, and both the Hokkien and Teochew lessons are free, forever.
We’re a small team building free tools for Hokkien and Teochew learners. If you’d like to partner with us, work on research together or support the project, we’d love to hear from you.
