Language lesson
🇿🇦 isiZulu
isiZulu is South Africa's most widely spoken home language. It belongs to the Nguni family and shares click sounds with isiXhosa.
- Spoken in
- South Africa
- Speakers
- About 12 million first-language speakers
- Language family
- Niger-Congo · Nguni Bantu branch
Lesson one
How it sounds.
Three clicks: c (tongue behind teeth, like 'tsk'), q (tongue on the palate, a bottle-pop), x (side of the tongue, like urging a horse).
Say it out loud
Seven phrases to start with.
- SawubonaHello (I see you)say it: sah-woo-BO-na
- NgikhonaI am here (the reply)say it: ngee-KO-na
- Unjani?How are you?say it: oon-JAH-nee
- NgiyaphilaI am wellsay it: ngee-ya-PEE-la
- NgiyabongaThank yousay it: ngee-ya-BON-ga
- UxoloSorry / excuse mesay it: oo-KHO-lo
- Sala kahleStay well (goodbye)say it: SA-la GAH-shleh
Behind the words
Culture notes.
- 'Sawubona' literally means 'I see you' — the answer 'Ngikhona', 'I am here', is Ubuntu in one exchange.
- Ubuntu — 'umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu', a person is a person through other people — is the root of our name and our work.
- Zulu beadwork colours carry coded messages about love, status and belonging.
Practise today: Say 'Sawubona' and wait for 'Ngikhona' — then ask 'Unjani?'.