Shipibo Joi.
The Shipibo language.
A modern, self-paced school built from documented sources, with recordings from Shipibo speakers being added through 2026 — interactive lessons you can start right now, live classes when you want a teacher in the room.
Lessons that stick
Flashcards with an honest "again" loop, matching games, typed recall, instant-feedback quizzes. One concept per lesson.
Every word sourced
The whole course links to a searchable dictionary where each entry cites its source and verification status.
Audio on the way
Native-speaker pronunciation for every word is being recorded — added free, for the life of the course.
Tuberculosis is a leading killer of mature and elderly Shipibo adults — and those are, in a physician-anthropologist’s words from thirty years on that river, the people holding the most knowledge of the old traditions, the songs, and the forest. That is the whole argument for doing this in 2026 rather than later. Not that the language is disappearing from the children first, though UNESCO records that it is. That the people who know the most are the ones dying earliest.
Warren M. Hern, “Shipibo,” Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology, vol. 2, 2004.
Shipibo Foundations
Two courses, 43 interactive lessons. Module 1 free.
Module 1 — Beginnings
Sounds, greetings, your name, feelings, thanks and goodbyes. Seven lessons, no signup.
Start lesson 1¿Eres shipibo? El curso es gratis para ti. Este es tu idioma — no nos pagas por estudiarlo. Escríbenos a info@thecommunitygarden.org.
If Shipibo is your language, the course is free. Write to us.
Modules 2–4
Describing the world · people and possession · verbs and real conversation. Sixteen more lessons, lifetime access.
See everything insideYour first ten phrases
Learn these and you will be greeted differently.
| Shipibo | English |
|---|---|
| Jakón yamékiri | Good morning |
| Jakón yantán | Good afternoon |
| Bekanwe! | Welcome — come in! (to several people) |
| Nokon jane riki… | My name is… |
| Jáwekeskarin mía? | How are you? |
| Éa ríki jakón | I am well |
| Irake | Thank you |
| Irake ichabires | Thank you very much |
| Kabanon | Goodbye (to one person) |
| Bobakanon | Goodbye (to a group) |
Cohorts & tutoring
When enough students are waiting, we run live online cohorts with a Shipibo teacher. Private tutoring follows, and certificates recognize your progress in the language.