Ubbi Dubbi is a playful language game where you hide English words by inserting “ub” into them according to a simple pattern. It became especially well known from the PBS show ZOOM , which used it as a secret-sounding kids’ code.

What Ubbi Dubbi Is

  • Ubbi Dubbi is a language game, not a full language with its own grammar.
  • The basic idea: add the syllable “ub” before each vowel sound in a word or syllable.
  • It is used much like Pig Latin, as a fun “code” so outsiders cannot easily follow what is being said.

Core Rule: Add “ub” Before Vowels

The key rule most guides agree on is:

  • Find each vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y) in a word.
  • Insert “ub” immediately before that vowel sound.

Examples:

  • “hi” → “hubi”
  • “friends” → “frubiends”
  • “door” → “duboor” or often shortened in speech to “dubor.”
  • “hello” → “hubellubo” (stress falls where “hello” is normally stressed).

Many speakers follow the simpler child‑friendly version: “add ‘ub’ before every vowel in the written word,” which leads to similar results and is easier to teach.

Step‑by‑Step: How To Speak It

  1. Say the word normally in your head.
    • Example: “cat”.
  2. Locate the vowel sounds.
    • “cat” has one vowel sound: “a”.
  3. Insert “ub” before each vowel sound.
    • “cat” → “c” + “ub” + “at” = “cubat” (usually pronounced “cubat” or “cabat” depending on accent; many speakers keep consonants tightly joined to “ub”).
  1. Try full short sentences.
    • “Hi friends” → “Hubi frubiends”.
 * “Sing me a song” → “Subing mube uba subong”.
  1. Practice saying it faster and more smoothly.
    • The more you practice, the more it sounds like a real secret code and less like slowed‑down spelling.

More Example Phrases

Some ready‑made Ubbi Dubbi sentences show how it flows:

  • “Sing me a song” → “Subing mube uba subong.”
  • “Hop on one foot” → “Hubop ubon ubone fuboot.”
  • “Act like a robot” → “Ubact lubike uba rubobubot.”

These examples all follow the same basic pattern of placing “ub” before vowel sounds, even when there are several in a word like “robot.”

Tips, Variants, And Context

  • Some players ignore silent vowels (like the final “e” in “bike”) and only mark the sounded vowel: “bike” → “bubike,” not “bubikeu.”
  • Stress usually stays on the part of the word that was stressed in normal English, just with “ub” inserted, such as “hubellubo” for “hello.”
  • There are related “language games” that use different inserted syllables, like inserting “op” instead of “ub,” or adding chunks like “laf” in a variant sometimes called “doubletalk.”

Ubbi Dubbi has remained a nostalgic, slightly retro kids’ code that still pops up in online videos and short tutorials, especially when people revisit ZOOM clips or share quick “how to speak Ubbi Dubbi” guides.

TL;DR:
To speak Ubbi Dubbi, say your sentence in English and systematically add “ub” before each vowel sound: “Hi friends” → “Hubi frubiends.”

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.