If you want to learn Bengali for kids at home, begin with sound and play. This page brings together seven free Bengali games: the বর্ণমালা (bornomala, alphabet), numbers from এক to একশো, and picture words for animals, fruits, vegetables, colours and body parts. Every word is spoken aloud in Bengali and English, so a three-year-old who cannot read can still tap, listen and find. Grown-ups who speak Bangla but never learned to read it will find an English spelling for every word in the word lists.
Bengali, or Bangla, is one of the most spoken languages in the world, with well over 250 million speakers in Bangladesh, West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and large communities in London, New York, Toronto, Dubai and Sydney. It is so loved that International Mother Language Day, 21 February, remembers the Bengali Language Movement of 1952. For a small child, though, Bangla starts with মা (maa), বাবা (baba), দুধ (dudh, milk) and ভাত (bhaat, rice).
What is inside: seven Bengali games for kids
- Bengali alphabet for kids: 11 স্বরবর্ণ (shorborno, vowels) and 39 ব্যঞ্জনবর্ণ (byanjonborno, consonants), from অ for অজগর to ঁ for চাঁদ.
- Numbers in Bengali: a 1 to 100 chart. Tap to hear এক, দুই, তিন, or press Count with me.
- Animals name in Bengali: 60 animals, from গরু (goru, cow) to the বাঘ (bagh, tiger).
- Fruits name in Bengali: 30 fruits, from আম to লিচু.
- Vegetables name in Bengali: 30 vegetables and shaak from the bazaar.
- Colours in Bengali: 12 colours, from লাল to আকাশি.
- Body parts in Bengali: 30 words, from মাথা (matha, head) to পায়ের পাতা (foot).
Each game has three modes. Listen: tap a picture to hear the Bengali name, then the English. Find it: Golu, our glass marble friend, asks for a word in Bengali and your child taps the picture. Memory: find the pairs. The games never say "wrong". A wrong tap hears the name of what was tapped and the right picture glows. Every finished round drops a marble in the Goli Jar, which your child can count in Bangla.
Where to start: a Bengali plan by age
| Age | Start with | Realistic goal |
|---|---|---|
| 2-3 | Animals, fruits and body parts in Listen mode, on your lap | Understands 10-20 Bengali words, says a few like মাছ (maachh, fish) |
| 3-4 | Colours; Find it with 2-3 choices; count 1 to 10 | Names everyday things, counts এক থেকে দশ |
| 4-5 (nursery, KG) | Shorborno অ to ঔ; numbers to 20 | Knows vowels, matches letters to words |
| 5-6 (KG, class 1) | Byanjonborno, then কার signs; numbers to 100 | Reads short words like কলা, জল |
Speaking comes long before reading. A child who hears Bangla every day will learn letters quickly later, so for the youngest, let the pictures and sounds do the work.
How to teach Bengali to kids at home
- Pick one Bangla time each day. Meals, bath or bedtime. Five to ten minutes is plenty.
- Name real things. After tapping কলা (kola, banana) on screen, hand over a real one and say it again.
- Sing and recite. আয় আয় চাঁদ মামা and other old chora (rhymes) have taught Bangla to generations. Sukumar Ray's funny verses are perfect for 5- and 6-year-olds.
- Tell stories. A short গল্প (golpo) at bedtime, perhaps from Thakurmar Jhuli, builds listening and new words.
- Stop while it is fun, and come back tomorrow.
Many families start writing with হাতেখড়ি (hatekhori), a child's first letters traced on Saraswati Puja. If your child has had hatekhori, the Bengali alphabet page is a natural next step.
Bengali for kids growing up abroad
Many families in London, New York or Toronto say the children understand Bangla but answer in English. That is normal and still a real start. Ideas that help:
- Keep one grown-up speaking mostly Bangla. Calls with দিদা, ঠাকুমা, নানু or দাদু count.
- Use Bangla for warm moments and festivals: Pohela Boishakh, Durga Puja, Eid, pitha in winter.
- Set the language button to Bengali first, English second, so your child hears Bangla before the easier word.
- Repeat, do not correct: "Yes, বিড়াল! A cat!"
Families from West Bengal and Bangladesh sometimes use different everyday words, like জল and পানি for water, or দিদা and নানু for grandmother. Both are real Bangla. Use your family's words; this site uses a common standard form. Children in bilingual homes are not confused by two or three languages. If you have worries about speech, talk to your paediatrician; there is no need to drop Bangla.
A word on screen time
Short sessions with a grown-up beside the child work best. Play together, talk about what you see, then put the phone away and find the real thing. For children under two, real objects, books and your voice are better than any screen.
অভিভাবকদের জন্য
আপনার সন্তান বাংলা বলুক, এটা কি আপনি চান? প্রতিদিন অল্প একটু সময়ই যথেষ্ট। এই খেলাগুলোতে প্রতিটি শব্দ বাংলা আর ইংরেজিতে শোনা যায়। ছবিতে ছুঁলেই নাম শোনা যায়।
আগে কথা বলা, তারপর পড়া। বাড়ির জিনিসের নাম বাংলায় বলুন: দুধ, ভাত, বল, বিড়াল। শিশু ভুল বললেও হাসিমুখে ঠিক শব্দটা আবার বলুন। বকবেন না।
বিদেশে থাকা পরিবারের জন্য: দাদু-দিদার সঙ্গে বাংলায় কথা বলতে দিন। পয়লা বৈশাখ, পুজো বা ঈদে বাংলা ছড়া আর গান শোনান। এই ওয়েবসাইট সম্পূর্ণ বিনামূল্যে, নাম লেখানোর দরকার নেই।
How to use this page at home
Say it, then find it
Play for a few minutes, then look for the same thing away from the screen: bengali words on the shelf, in the kitchen, on the way to school. A child learns a word properly when they meet it twice, once on the screen and once in their hand.
Ten minutes is enough
Short and happy beats long and tired. Stop while your child still wants more, and come back tomorrow: the same page on five short days teaches far more than one long sitting. Nothing here is scored, so there is no reason to push.
Use both languages
Tap the language button at the top to hear the words in your home language first and the second language after. Hearing the same picture named in two languages is one of the few things research agrees builds attention as well as vocabulary.
