isiZulu

Zulu

Bantu (Nguni)

FamilyBantu (Nguni) Speakers~28M ScriptLatin CountriesSouth Africa Official inSouth Africa Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3zul

Zulu (isiZulu) is South Africa's most widely spoken home language, with ~12M L1 + ~16M L2 (~28M total). It is a Southern Bantu Nguni language, closely related to Xhosa, Swati, and Northern Ndebele — together these form a dialect continuum across southern Africa. Phonologically distinctive for its 3 click consonant series (ǀ dental, ǁ lateral, ǃ alveolar) borrowed from Khoisan substrate during the Mfecane migrations of the 19th century. Has 17 noun classes with concordial agreement throughout the verb and modifier system; high tone-stress correlation makes word boundaries audibly clear. Lobola (bridewealth) and Ubuntu philosophy shape much of the cultural lexicon.

Where it is spoken

Wear this language Pick the words you like, printed in the same typeface the map uses. Make a T-shirt from Zulu words →

87 core words in Zulu

Water

amanzi

amanzi

Fire

umlilo

umlilo

Sun

ilanga

ilaŋɡa

Moon

inyanga

iɲaŋɡa

Star

inkanyezi

iŋkaˈɲeːzi

Night

ubusuku

ubusuku

Rain

imvula

imˈvula

Snow

iqhwa

iǃʰwa

Wind

umoya

umoːja

Earth

inhlabathi

inɬaɓatʰi

Stone

itshe

ˈiːtʃʼe

Mountain

intaba

inˈtaːɓa

Sea

ulwandle

uˈlwandɮe

Mother

umama

umama

Father

ubaba

uɓaɓa

Daughter

indodakazi

indodaˈkazi

I

mina

ˈmiːna

You

wena

ˈweːna

We

thina

ˈtʰiːna

Name

igama

iˈɡaːma

Person

umuntu

uˈmuntu

Head

ikhanda

iˈkʰanda

Eye

iso

iso

Ear

indlebe

indɮɛɓe

Nose

impumulo

impuˈmulo

Mouth

umlomo

umˈlomo

Tooth

izinyo

iziɲo

Tongue

ulimi

ulimi

Hand

isandla

isandɮa

Foot

unyawo

uːɲaːwo

Heart

inhliziyo

inɬizijo

Bone

ithambo

itʰambo

Blood

igazi

iɡazi

Poop

amasimba

amasimba

Love

uthando

utʰando

Tree

isihlahla

isiɬaɬa

Dog

inja

indʒa

Cat

ikati

ikati

Fish

inhlanzi

iɬanzi

Bird

inyoni

iˈɲoni

Butterfly

uvemvane

uvemˈvaːne

Egg

iqanda

iǃaːnda

Bear

ibhere

iˈbʱeːre

Horse

ihhashi

iˈɦaːʃi

House

indlu

indɮu

Milk

ubisi

uˈbisi

Honey

uju

udʒu

Salt

usawoti

usaˈwoti

Wine

iwayini

iwaˈjini

Rice

irayisi

iɾaˈjiːsi

Chocolate

ushokoledi

uʃokoˈleːdi

Iron

insimbi

inˈsimbi

Wheel

isondo

iˈsondo

Silk

usilika

usiˈliːka

Book

incwadi

iŋˈǀʷaːdi

Eat

ukudla

ukuɮa

Drink

ukuphuza

ukupʰuza

Sleep

ukulala

ukulala

One

kunye

kuɲe

Two

kubili

kuˈɓili

Three

kuthathu

kutʰaːtʰu

Four

kune

kuːne

Five

hlanu

ɬaːnu

Hundred

ikhulu

iˈkʰulu

Hello

sawubona

sawuɓona

Thank you

ngiyabonga

ŋɡijaɓoŋɡa

Good

kuhle

kuɬe

New

sha

ʃa

Red

bomvu

ɓoːmvu

White

mhlophe

ˈmɬɔːpʰe

Black

mnyama

ˈmɲaːma

Green

luhlaza

luˈɬaːza

Blue

luhlaza

luˈɬaːza

Cuckoo

uphezukomkhono

upʰɛzukomˈkʰono

Cock-a-doodle-doo

kikiligi

kikiˈliɡi

Computer

ikhompiyutha

ikʰompijutʰa

Sushi

sushi

suʃi

Tea

itiye

iˈtijɛ

Coffee

ikhofi

iˈkʰofi

Sugar

ushukela

uʃuˈkɛːla

Orange

iwolintshi

iwolintʃi

Ninety-nine

amashumi ayisishiyagalolunye nesishiyagalolunye

amaʃumi ajisiʃijaɡaloˈluɲe nesiʃijaɡaloˈluɲe

Dopamine

i-dopamine

idɔˈpʰamin

Sources

Words compared

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

Meaning ZuluNorthern NdebeleXhosaSwaziSouthern NdebeleTsongaLozi
Water amanzi /amanzi/ amanzi /amanzi/ amanzi /amaːnzi/ emanti /emanti/ amanzi /amanzi/ mati /mati/ mezi /mezi/
Fire umlilo /umlilo/ umlilo /umlilo/ umlilo /umlilo/ umlilo /umlilo/ umlilo /umlilo/ ndzilo /ndzilo/ mulilo /mulilo/
Sun ilanga /ilaŋɡa/ ilanga /ilaŋɡa/ ilanga /ilaːŋɡa/ lilanga /lilaŋɡa/ ilanga /ilaŋɡa/ dyambu /dʒambu/ lizazi /lizazi/
Moon inyanga /iɲaŋɡa/ inyanga /iɲaŋɡa/ inyanga /iɲaːŋɡa/ inyanga /iɲaŋɡa/ inyezi /iɲezi/ nʼweti /ŋweti/ kweli /kweli/
Star inkanyezi /iŋkaˈɲeːzi/ inkanyezi /iŋkaɲezi/ inkwenkwezi /iŋkʷeŋkʷezi/ inkhanyeti /iŋkʰaɲeti/ ikwekwezi /ikʷekʷezi/ nyeleti /ɲeleti/ naleli /naleli/
Night ubusuku /ubusuku/ ubusuku /ubusuku/ ubusuku /ubusuku/ busuku /ɓusuku/ ubusuku /uɓusuku/ vusiku /vusiku/ busihu /busihu/
Rain imvula /imˈvula/ imvula /imˈvula/ imvula /imˈvula/ imvula /imˈvula/ izulu /izulu/ mpfula /ˈmpfula/ pula /ˈpula/
Snow iqhwa /iǃʰwa/ iliqhwa /iliǃʰwa/ ikhephu /ikʰepʰu/ lichwa /liǀʰwa/ iliqhwa /iliǃʰwa/ gamboko /ɡamboko/ litwa /ˈlitwa/
Page 1/11

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Zulu
Ngifuna ukuzama isudi engayibona esitolo esibhekene ne hotela
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

Ndifuna ukulinga isuti endayibona evenkileni ekhangelene ne hotele
Zulu
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

Open the interactive map: Word Map · HanMap · Name Map · Word Order · Tree

Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.

Made by Heuron Inc. · GitHub · cho@heuron.com · LangMap home