Southern Africa
Xhosa
isiXhosaOne of South Africa's official languages, famous for its click consonants borrowed from Khoisan neighbours. The language of Nelson Mandela, Miriam Makeba and the Eastern Cape.
- Family
- Niger–Congo (Bantu, Nguni)
- Script
- Latin
- Speakers
- ~19 million speakers
- Spoken in
- South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho
The course
Five units, one word at a time
0/5 mastered
Unit 1
Greetings
Xhosa hello is a small ceremony — never skip it.
- Molo — Hello (to one person)
- Molweni — Hello (to many)
- Unjani? — How are you?
- Ndiphilile — I am well
- Enkosi — Thank you
- Sala kakuhle — Goodbye (stay well)
Unit 2
People and family
Ubuntu starts with the word for person.
- Umntu — Person
- Abantu — People
- Umama — Mother
- Utata — Father
- Umhlobo — Friend
- Umntwana — Child
Unit 3
Numbers one to ten
Counting in isiXhosa.
- Inye — One
- Zimbini — Two
- Zintathu — Three
- Zine — Four
- Zintlanu — Five
- Lishumi — Ten
Unit 4
Food and the market
Buying, asking, and saying what you'd like.
- Amanzi — Water
- Ukutya — Food
- Isonka — Bread
- Yimalini? — How much?
- Ndifuna — I want
- Imarike — Market
Unit 5
Getting around
Directions and the polite basics.
- Iphi? — Where?
- Andiqondi — I don't understand
- Nceda — Please / help
- Ewe — Yes
- Hayi — No
- Masihambe — Let's go
How to sound right
- Three clicks: c is a tut-tut (dental), x is a side click like urging a horse, q is a sharp pop off the palate.
- Molo greets one person; molweni greets a group.
- Nouns carry class prefixes — isiXhosa is the language, amaXhosa the people, umXhosa one person.
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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