Southern Africa
Shona
chiShonaThe most widely spoken language of Zimbabwe, and the language of the builders of Great Zimbabwe. Rich in proverbs (tsumo) that carry law, humour and advice in a single line.
- Family
- Niger–Congo (Bantu)
- Script
- Latin
- Speakers
- ~15 million speakers
- Spoken in
- Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia
The course
Five units, one word at a time
0/5 mastered
Unit 1
Greetings
Shona greetings come in pairs — a question and its expected answer.
- Mhoro — Hello
- Mangwanani — Good morning
- Makadii? — How are you?
- Ndiripo — I am well
- Maswera sei? — How was your day?
- Tatenda — Thank you
Unit 2
People and family
Family words, and the totem system behind them.
- Munhu — Person
- Vanhu — People
- Amai — Mother
- Baba — Father
- Shamwari — Friend
- Mwana — Child
Unit 3
Numbers one to ten
The basics for money, time and counting.
- Poshi / motsi — One
- Piri — Two
- Tatu — Three
- China — Four
- Shanu — Five
- Gumi — Ten
Unit 4
Food and the market
Sadza is the centre of the plate and the vocabulary.
- Sadza — Maize meal staple
- Mvura — Water
- Chikafu — Food
- Marii? — How much?
- Musika — Market
- Ndinoda — I want
Unit 5
Getting around
Asking the way, and asking someone to slow down.
- Kupi? — Where?
- Handinzwisisi — I don't understand
- Ndapota — Please
- Hongu — Yes
- Kwete — No
- Handei — Let's go
How to sound right
- Every syllable ends in a vowel, so words break cleanly: ma-ngwa-na-ni.
- 'Sv' and 'zv' are whistling sounds — try a soft whistle while saying s or z.
- Greetings are plural by default as a mark of respect.
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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