Chichewa overview

Free Chichewa starter kit — 25 phrases you can print

A one-page Chichewa cheat sheet for absolute beginners. Every phrase shows the Chichewa spelling, what it means, and a respelling with the stressed syllable in capitals so you can say it out loud today. Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwearound 12 million.

First words

Greet someone and be polite

  • MoniHello/MO-nee/
  • ZikomoThank you/zee-KO-mo/
  • TakulandiraniWelcome/ta-koo-lan-dee-RA-nee/
  • Tsalani bwinoGoodbye/tsa-LA-nee BWEE-no/
  • IndeYes/EEN-deh/
  • AyiNo/A-yee/
  • ChondePlease/CHON-deh/
  • PepaniSorry/peh-PA-nee/

Free starter kit

Get all 25 Chichewa phrases

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Is Chichewa hard to learn?

  • Also called Chinyanja, especially in Zambia.
  • Spelling is regular and syllables end in vowels.
  • Noun classes control agreement throughout the sentence.