Learn Xhosa

Where it's spoken

South Africa, especially the Eastern and Western Cape

Speakers

around 8 million first-language speakers

Writing system

Latin alphabet with c, q and x for clicks

Xhosa is a South African official language, closely related to Zulu, and famous for its click consonants.

What makes Xhosa different

• Three click letters, each with plain, aspirated and nasal versions.
• Mutually intelligible with Zulu in many everyday situations.
• Noun classes drive agreement across the whole sentence.

Your first Xhosa phrases

Each phrase is written the way it's spelled, then respelled for English speakers with the stressed syllable in capitals.

• MoloHello (to one person)/MO-lo/
• MolweniHello (to many)/mol-WEH-nee/
• EnkosiThank you/en-KO-see/
• Hamba kakuhleGoodbye (go well)/HAM-ba ka-KOO-shleh/
• EweYes/EH-weh/
• HayiNo/HA-yee/
• NcedaPlease/n-CEH-da/
• UxoloSorry/oo-KHO-lo/

Want the full list? Read the free Xhosa phrasebook with pronunciation, grab the free printable Xhosa starter kit, or compare SemaSoma with other African language apps.