Xhosa and Zulu
Countries
South Africa
South Africa
National Language
South Africa
South Africa
Second Language
Lesotho, South Africa
Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zimbabwe
Speaking Continents
Africa
Africa
Minority Language
Botswana, Lesotho
Not spoken in any of the countries
Regulated By
Not Available
Pan South African Language Board
Interesting Facts
- Xhosa has 15 click sounds, borrowed from the khoi-khoi and san languages of the South Africa.
- The same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meaning when said with different tones, so Xhosa is tonal.
- The meaning of word "Zulu" means "Sky"and Zulu was the name of the ancestor who founded the Zulu royal line in about 1670.
- Zulu language has many loanwords borrowed from Afrikaans and English Languages.
Similar To
Zulu, Swazi, and Ndebele
Xhosa Language
Derived From
Khoi-Khoi and San Languages
Not Available
Alphabets in
Xhosa-Alphabets.jpg#200
Zulu-Alphabets.jpg#200
Writing Direction
Not Available
Not Available
Thank You
Ndiyabulela
Ngiyabonga
How Are You?
Unjani
unjani
Good Night
Ulale kakuhle
okuhle ebusuku
Good Evening
Ubusuku obuhle
okuhle kusihlwa
Good Afternoon
Uben' emva kwemini entle
okuhle ntambama
Good Morning
Molo
okuhle ekuseni
Sorry
Ndicela uxolo
Ngiyaxolisa
Bye
Uhambe/Usale kakuhle
bye
I Love You
Ndiyakuthanda
Ngiyakuthanda wena
Where They Speak
South Africa
Gabon, South Africa
Dialect 2
Thembu
central KwaZulu-Natal Zulu
Where They Speak
South Africa
Georgia, South Africa
Where They Speak
South Africa
Zimbabwe
Native Name
isiXhosa
isiZulu
Alternative Names
“Cauzuh” (pej.), Isixhosa, Koosa, Xosa
Isizulu, Zunda
German Name
Xhosa-Sprache
Zulu-Sprache
Pronunciation
Not Available
Not Available
Ethnicity
amaXhosa, amaBhaca
Zulu people
Language Family
Niger-Congo Family
Niger-Congo Family
Subgroup
Benue-Congo
Benue-Congo
Early Forms
No early forms
urban Zulu
Standard Forms
isiXhosa
Deep Zulu
Language Position
Not Available
Signed Forms
Signed Xhosa
Not Available
Scope
Individual
Individual
ISO 639 6
Not Available
Not Available
Glottocode
xhos1239
zulu1248
Linguasphere
99-AUT-fa
99-AUT-fg
Language Type
Living
Living
Language Linguistic Typology
Subject-Verb-Object
Subject-Verb-Object
Language Morphological Typology
Not Available
Not Available
All Xhosa and Zulu Dialects
Most languages have dialects where each dialect differ from other dialect with respect to grammar and vocabulary. Here you will get to know all Xhosa and Zulu dialects. Various dialects of Xhosa and Zulu language differ in their pronunciations and words. Dialects of Xhosa are spoken in different Xhosa Speaking Countries whereas Zulu Dialects are spoken in different Zulu speaking countries. Also the number of people speaking Xhosa vs Zulu Dialects varies from few thousands to many millions. Some of the Xhosa dialects include: Gcaleka, Thembu. Zulu dialects include: Qwabe , central KwaZulu-Natal Zulu. Also learn about dialects in South American Languages and North American Languages.
Xhosa and Zulu Speaking population
Xhosa and Zulu speaking population is one of the factors based on which Xhosa and Zulu languages can be compared. The total count of Xhosa and Zulu Speaking population in percentage is also given. The percentage of people speaking Xhosa language is 0.11 % whereas the percentage of people speaking Zulu language is 0.16 %. When we compare the speaking population of any two languages we get to know which of two languages is more popular. Find more details about how many people speak Xhosa and Zulu on Xhosa vs Zulu where you will get native speakers, speaking population in percentage and native names.
Xhosa and Zulu Language Codes
Xhosa and Zulu language codes are used in those applications where using language names are tedious. Xhosa and Zulu Language Codes include all the international language codes, glottocodes and linguasphere.