Home
Languagevs


Swahili vs Shona


Shona vs Swahili


Countries

Countries
African Union, Democratic Republic of the Congo, East African Community, Kenya  
Zimbabwe  

Total No. Of Countries
4  
11
1  
14

National Language
Burundi, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan, Tanzania  
Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe  

Second Language
Not spoken in any of the countries  
Not spoken in any of the countries  

Speaking Continents
Africa  
Africa  

Minority Language
Not spoken in any of the countries  
Not spoken in any of the countries  

Regulated By
Chama cha Kiswahili cha Taifa (Kenya)  
Not Available  

Interesting Facts
  • Swahili language has borrowed many words from Arabic language.
  • The oldest written scripts in swahili language were found in 18th century.
    •   
  • Shona language is tonal language.
  • The African people in Zimbabwe is made of 10 ethnic groups, each speaking a different languages, shona is spoken by 60 percent of population.
  

Similar To
Burundi, Rwanda, Malawi Languages  
Kalanga and Nambya Language  

Derived From
Arabic Language  
Not Available  

Alphabets

Alphabets in
Swahili-Alphabets.jpg#200  
Shona-Alphabets.jpg#200  

Alphabets
24  
6
Not Available  

Phonology
  
  

How Many Vowels
5  
2
5  
2

How Many Consonants
21  
11
46  
34

Scripts
Latin  
Latin  

Writing Direction
Not Available  
Not Available  

Hard to Learn
  
  

Language Levels
3  
2
4  
3

Time Taken to Learn
36 weeks  
10
Not Available  

Greetings

Hello
Habari  
Mhoro  

Thank You
Asante  
Waita zvako  

How Are You?
Habari gani?  
Wakadini zvako?  

Good Night
Usiku mwema  
Urare zvakanaka  

Good Evening
Habari za jioni  
Manheru  

Good Afternoon
nzuri Alasiri  
Masikati  

Good Morning
Habari za asubuhi  
Mangwanani  

Please
tafadhali  
Ndinokumbirawo  

Sorry
pole  
Ndineurombo  

Bye
bye  
bye  

I Love You
nakupenda  
Ndinokuda  

Excuse Me
Samahani  
Pamusoro  

Dialects

Dialect 1
Kiunguja  
Hwesa  

Where They Speak
Zanzibar island  
Zimbabwe  

Dialect 2
Kimrima  
Karanga  

Where They Speak
Dar es Salaam  
southern Zimbabwe  

Dialect 3
Kimgao  
Zezuru  

Where They Speak
Kilwa  
central Zimbabwe, Mashonaland  

Total No. Of Dialects
12  
12
4  
4

How Many People Speak

How Many People Speak?
150.00 million  
13
25.00 million  
40

Speaking Population
Not Available  
0.13 %  
99+

Native Speakers
15.00 million  
40
8.30 million  
99+

Alternative Names
Kisuaheli, Kiswahili  
Chishona, “Swina” (pej.), Zezuru  

French Name
swahili  
shona  

German Name
Swahili  
Schona-Sprache  

Pronunciation
Not Available  
Not Available  

Ethnicity
Swahili people or Waswahili  
Not Available  

History

Origin
6th century  
20th century  

Language Family
Niger-Congo Family  
Niger-Congo Family  

Subgroup
Benue-Congo  
Benue-Congo  

Branch
Bantu  
Bantu  

Language Forms
  
  

Early Forms
No early forms  
Not Available  

Standard Forms
Swahili  
Not Available  

Language Position
Not Available  
107  
99+

Signed Forms
Not Available  
Not Available  

Scope
Individual, Macrolanguage  
Individual  

Code

ISO 639 1
sw  
sn  

ISO 639 2
  
  

ISO 639 2/T
swa  
sna  

ISO 639 2/B
swa  
sna  

ISO 639 3
swa  
sna  

ISO 639 6
Not Available  
Not Available  

Glottocode
swah1254  
core1255  

Linguasphere
99-AUS-m  
99-AUT-a  

Types of Language
  
  

Language Type
Living  
Living  

Language Linguistic Typology
Not Available  
Not Available  

Language Morphological Typology
Not Available  
Not Available  

Countries >>
<< All

Swahili and Shona Language History

Comparison of Swahili vs Shona language history gives us differences between origin of Swahili and Shona language. History of Swahili language states that this language originated in 6th century whereas history of Shona language states that this language originated in 20th century. Family of the language also forms a part of history of that language. More on language families of these languages can be found out on Swahili and Shona Language History.

Compare Easiest Languages to Learn

Swahili and Shona Greetings

People around the world use different languages to interact with each other. Even if we cannot communicate fluently in any language, it will always be beneficial to know about some of the common greetings or phrases from that language. This is where Swahili and Shona greetings helps you to understand basic phrases in Swahili and Shona language. Swahili word for "Hello" is Habari or Shona word for "Thank You" is Waita zvako. Find more of such common Swahili Greetings and Shona Greetings. These greetings will help you to be more confident when conversing with natives that speak these languages.

Swahili vs Shona Difficulty

The Swahili vs Shona difficulty level basically depends on the number of Swahili Alphabets and Shona Alphabets. Also the number of vowels and consonants in the language plays an important role in deciding the difficulty level of that language. The important points to be considered when we compare Swahili and Shona are the origin, speaking countries, language family, different greetings, speaking population of these languages. Want to know in Swahili and Shona, which language is harder to learn? Time required to learn Swahili is 36 weeks while to learn Shona time required is Not Available.

Easiest Languages to Learn

Easiest Languages to Learn

» More Easiest Languages to Learn

Compare Easiest Languages to Learn

» More Compare Easiest Languages to Learn