Fon is Fun!...Really!  

Maintenant Disponible en français!       Ahora  disponible en español: 

Click here if you're having problems downloading the .WAV files 

Fon is Fun now has its own URL that's easier to remember!  It is www.fon-is-fun.org.  You may also continue to use www.geocities.com/fon_is_fun 

This Web Site is dedicated to teaching you to speak Fon or Fongbe, the predominant language of Southern Benin (English Pronunciation) Le Bénin (French Pronunciation), West Africa, which is spoken by about a million and half people.  If you don't know where Benin is, click here: Maps.  I also am using this site to share my experiences in Benin as a Peace Corps Volunteer with my photos, writings, favorite Benin related links, recipes, Q &A, Discussions, books and music.  I feel fortunate to have had such a unique opportunity to live in Benin for over two years, and I want to use this web site to share my experiences with everyone I can to help them see what an amazing place Benin is.

If you're planning a vacation to Benin, are planning on living in Benin,  (Peace Corps, government job, missionary work, NGO's, Intl. Aid Agencies etc.), or you want to learn more about Benin,  then this is the site for you!  

Fon is so much fun because being able to speak Fon, even if it's only a few words, will immediately endear you to the Beninese.  They'll usually say very excitedly, Ahh! Yovo se Fongbe!   "My God the Yovo speaks Fon!" because it is so rare that a foreigner will actually take the time to learn their language.  Fon is understood in most parts of Southern Benin (From Savalou / Savé areas and southward) so you can't go wrong learning at least a few words of Fon.  It may also help you win their respect when you're bargaining, leading to some better prices. Fon is a really simple and fun language and serves as window into a very fascinating culture (see my descriptions of each expression).  I am an RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) who lived in Allada for two years (from '95-'97), which is how I learned Fon.  I have recorded many expressions and useful words in Fon.  Click on the Fon links that will download small .wav files, and your default media player should automatically play them. Click here for technical help on listening to the .wav files.  Play each word or phrase several times and practice saying them yourself.  You have to speak it if you want to learn it and most of all Have Fon!

The Photo Has Seven Hot Spots: Click on a hot  spot to take you to another photo.  See if you can find them all.  

Sample .wav files:      

Mi Kwabo -Welcome (literally) but really means "Hello."  Where ever you may be, no matter how short a time you've been there, (i.e. even if you're riding a bike),  you can welcome another person to the space you're occupying.  "The Prefix "Mi" can be added to many greetings to make them formal or plural (when speaking to more than one person). 

Kwabo Welcome- Same as Mi Kwabo but in the informal sense.

Yovo Yovo Bon Soir, Ça va bien?  Merci!   (Real Live recording from Benin!- this is French not Fon) (156Kb) explanation

                 Use the buttons below to access over 400 sound files of Fon sound clips, pictures, links, recipes, essays, books, weather, and music- all related to Benin and / or the Peace Corps!

A great site for current news about Benin is: 

For a thorough and exhaustive site for learning the Fon language see http://www.langues-africaines.com/FONGBE/index.htm.  It is a site created by a doctor of linguistics who lives in Réunion ( a small French island off the coast of Madagascar).

Fon is Fun has been written about in several publications.  Read the articles at:  Fon is Fun in the Media  

Listen to Beninese Radio online at Golfe FM.com- 

Contact me  if you have any questions comments, concerns, or if you want to make a request how to say something in Fon that's not included here.  You can also leave public comments on the Guest Book.  Thanks for visiting!  

Fon is Fun turns six and has received 45,710 hits!   During the six years it has received on average 7,618 hits per year, 635 hits per month, and 21 per day!    Fon is Fun had the most hits ever with over 1097 hits in Feb 2006! Thanks for visiting and making Fon is Fun so successful.

View the page view report to see how the number of visitors of Fon is Fun has been growing since it's inception.  In Nov. 2003 we had the second most hits since May 2001. Page View Report

© 2003 All rights reserved to Chris Starace.  This site was last revised on Sunday, 29 November 2009 .    

Read Past newsletters sent on the above mailing list.

See the Friends of Benin Websites for more information on Benin and Returned Benin Peace Corps Volunteers.