isiXhosa

Xhosa

Bantu (Nguni)

FamilyBantu (Nguni) Speakers~20M ScriptLatin CountriesSouth Africa Official inSouth Africa Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3xho

Xhosa (isiXhosa) is South Africa's second-most-spoken home language, with ~8M L1 + ~12M L2 (~20M total). It is a Nguni Bantu language closely related to Zulu, Swati, and Northern Ndebele, with the most extensive click consonant inventory in the Bantu family — 18 click phonemes across dental (ǀ), lateral (ǁ), alveolar (ǃ) series with voiced/voiceless/aspirated/nasal variants, all borrowed from Khoisan substrate. The language has penultimate stress, 18+ noun classes with full concordial agreement, and a written tradition since the 1820s Lovedale Mission press. Mother tongue of Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Steve Biko, Thabo Mbeki, and many other shapers of post-apartheid South Africa.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Xhosa

Water

amanzi

amaːnzi

Fire

umlilo

umlilo

Sun

ilanga

ilaːŋɡa

Moon

inyanga

iɲaːŋɡa

Star

inkwenkwezi

iŋkʷeŋkʷezi

Night

ubusuku

ubusuku

Rain

imvula

imˈvula

Snow

ikhephu

ikʰepʰu

Wind

umoya

umoːja

Earth

umhlabathi

umɬaɓatʰi

Stone

ilitye

iˈlitʼje

Mountain

intaba

inˈtaːɓa

Sea

ulwandle

uˈlwandɮe

Mother

umama

umaːma

Father

utata

utaːta

Daughter

intombi

inˈtombi

I

mna

mna

You

wena

wena

We

thina

tʰina

Name

igama

iɡaːma

Person

umntu

ˈumntu

Head

intloko

intɬoːko

Eye

iliso

iliso

Ear

indlebe

indɮɛɓe

Nose

impumlo

impuˈmlo

Mouth

umlomo

umˈlomo

Tooth

izinyo

iziɲo

Tongue

ulwimi

ulwimi

Hand

isandla

isandɮa

Foot

unyawo

uɲaːwo

Heart

intliziyo

intɬizijo

Bone

ithambo

itʰambo

Blood

igazi

iɡazi

Poop

amasimba

amasimba

Love

uthando

utʰando

Tree

umthi

umtʰi

Dog

inja

indʒa

Cat

ikati

ikati

Fish

intlanzi

intɬanzi

Bird

intaka

inˈtaka

Butterfly

ibhabhathane

ibʱabʱaˈtʰaːne

Egg

iqanda

iǃaːnda

Bear

ibhere

ibʱere

Horse

ihashe

iˈhaʃe

House

indlu

indɮu

Milk

ubisi

uˈbisi

Honey

ubusi

ubusi

Salt

ityuwa

iˈtjuwa

Wine

iwayini

iwaˈjini

Rice

irayisi

iraˈjiːsi

Chocolate

itshokolethi

itʃʰokoletʰi

Iron

intsimbi

inˈtsimbi

Wheel

ivili

iˈvili

Silk

isilika

isiˈliːka

Book

incwadi

iŋˈǀʷaːdi

Eat

ukutya

ukutʲa

Drink

ukusela

ukusɛla

Sleep

ukulala

ukulala

One

inye

iɲɛ

Two

mbini

mbiːni

Three

kuthathu

kutʰatʰu

Four

kune

kune

Five

hlanu

ɬaːnu

Hundred

ikhulu

iˈkʰulu

Hello

molo

molo

Thank you

enkosi

ɛnkosi

Good

lungile

luŋɡilɛ

New

tsha

tʃʰa

Red

bomvu

ɓoːmvu

White

mhlophe

mɬɔːpʰe

Black

mnyama

mɲaːma

Green

luhlaza

luˈɬaːza

Blue

luhlaza

luˈɬaːza

Cuckoo

uphezukomkhono

upʰɛzukomˈkʰono

Computer

ikhompyutha

ikʰompjutʰa

Sushi

sushi

suʃi

Tea

iti

iˈti

Coffee

ikofu

iˈkoːfu

Sugar

iswekile

isweˈkiːle

Orange

iorenji

iorendʒi

Ninety-nine

amashumi asithoba anesithoba

amaʃumi asitʰɔɓa anesitʰɔɓa

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Bantu (Nguni)

Meaning XhosaZuluNorthern NdebeleSouthern NdebeleSwaziTsongaLozi
Water amanzi /amaːnzi/ amanzi /amanzi/ amanzi /amanzi/ amanzi /amanzi/ emanti /emanti/ mati /mati/ mezi /mezi/
Fire umlilo /umlilo/ umlilo /umlilo/ umlilo /umlilo/ umlilo /umlilo/ umlilo /umlilo/ ndzilo /ndzilo/ mulilo /mulilo/
Sun ilanga /ilaːŋɡa/ ilanga /ilaŋɡa/ ilanga /ilaŋɡa/ ilanga /ilaŋɡa/ lilanga /lilaŋɡa/ dyambu /dʒambu/ lizazi /lizazi/
Moon inyanga /iɲaːŋɡa/ inyanga /iɲaŋɡa/ inyanga /iɲaŋɡa/ inyezi /iɲezi/ inyanga /iɲaŋɡa/ nʼweti /ŋweti/ kweli /kweli/
Star inkwenkwezi /iŋkʷeŋkʷezi/ inkanyezi /iŋkaˈɲeːzi/ inkanyezi /iŋkaɲezi/ ikwekwezi /ikʷekʷezi/ inkhanyeti /iŋkʰaɲeti/ nyeleti /ɲeleti/ naleli /naleli/
Night ubusuku /ubusuku/ ubusuku /ubusuku/ ubusuku /ubusuku/ ubusuku /uɓusuku/ busuku /ɓusuku/ vusiku /vusiku/ busihu /busihu/
Rain imvula /imˈvula/ imvula /imˈvula/ imvula /imˈvula/ izulu /izulu/ imvula /imˈvula/ mpfula /ˈmpfula/ pula /ˈpula/
Snow ikhephu /ikʰepʰu/ iqhwa /iǃʰwa/ iliqhwa /iliǃʰwa/ iliqhwa /iliǃʰwa/ lichwa /liǀʰwa/ gamboko /ɡamboko/ litwa /ˈlitwa/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Xhosa
Ndifuna ukulinga isuti endayibona evenkileni ekhangelene ne hotele
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

Xhosa
Ndifuna ukulinga isuti endayibona evenkileni ekhangelene ne hotele
Ngifuna ukuzama isudi engayibona esitolo esibhekene ne hotela
Ndikufuna kuyesa suti yomwe ndinaiona m' shopu moyangʼanira hotelo
Ndashaka gupima ikositimu nabonye mu iduka imbere ya hoteli
Ndinoda kupfeka suti yandakaona muchitoro iri pakatarisana ne hoteru

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