All languages
Southern Africa
Chichewa (Nyanja)
Chichewa / ChinyanjaThe national language of Malawi and a major lingua franca in Zambia, where it is usually called Nyanja — 'the language of the lake'.
- Family
- Niger–Congo (Bantu)
- Script
- Latin
- Speakers
- ~14 million speakers
- Spoken in
- Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
The course
Five units, one word at a time
0/5 mastered
Unit 1
Greetings
The warm-hearted greetings of the Warm Heart of Africa.
- Moni — Hello
- Muli bwanji? — How are you?
- Ndili bwino — I am fine
- Zikomo — Thank you / excuse me
- Takulandirani — Welcome
- Tsalani bwino — Goodbye (stay well)
Unit 2
People and family
Family words in a matrilineal society.
- Munthu — Person
- Anthu — People
- Amayi — Mother
- Abambo — Father
- Mnzanga — My friend
- Mwana — Child
Unit 3
Numbers one to ten
Counting kwacha and days.
- Chimodzi — One
- Ziwiri — Two
- Zitatu — Three
- Zinayi — Four
- Zisanu — Five
- Khumi — Ten
Unit 4
Food and the market
Nsima, fish from the lake, and prices.
- Nsima — Maize staple
- Madzi — Water
- Nsomba — Fish
- Ndalama zingati? — How much money?
- Msika — Market
- Ndikufuna — I want
Unit 5
Getting around
Lakeside and roadside essentials.
- Kuti? — Where?
- Sindikumva — I don't understand
- Chonde — Please
- Inde — Yes
- Ayi — No
- Tiyeni — Let's go
How to sound right
- Stress lands on the second-to-last syllable, as in most Bantu languages.
- Add -ni to make a greeting polite or plural: moni becomes a respectful hello.
- Zikomo does double duty as both 'thank you' and 'excuse me'.
The audio button in lessons uses your device's speech engine, which rarely has a native African voice. Treat it as a rough guide and trust the written pronunciation hints and the coach instead.
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