Xhosa vs Chewa
Countries
South Africa
Malawi, Zimbabwe
National Language
South Africa
Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Second Language
Lesotho, South Africa
Not spoken in any of the countries
Speaking Continents
Africa
Africa
Minority Language
Botswana, Lesotho
Zambia
Regulated By
Not Available
Not Available
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.
- Chewa is one of the 55 languages featured on the Voyager spacecraft.
- Most widely known language of Malawi is Chewa.
Similar To
Zulu, Swazi, and Ndebele
Zulu language
Derived From
Khoi-Khoi and San Languages
Not Available
Alphabets in
Xhosa-Alphabets.jpg#200
Chewa-Alphabets.jpg#200
Writing Direction
Not Available
Not Available
Language Levels
Not Available
Time Taken to Learn
Not Available
Thank You
Ndiyabulela
Zikomo
How Are You?
Unjani
Muli bwanji?
Good Night
Ulale kakuhle
Usiku wabwino
Good Evening
Ubusuku obuhle
Madzulo abwino
Good Afternoon
Uben' emva kwemini entle
Masana abwino
Good Morning
Molo
M'mawa wabwino
Sorry
Ndicela uxolo
pepani
Bye
Uhambe/Usale kakuhle
anatsanzikana
I Love You
Ndiyakuthanda
Ndimakukondani
Dialect 1
Gcaleka
Kasungu
Where They Speak
South Africa
Malawi, Zambia
Dialect 2
Thembu
Kikamtunda
Where They Speak
South Africa
Malawi, Zambia
Where They Speak
South Africa
Malawi, Zambia
Second Language Speakers
Not Available
Native Name
isiXhosa
Nyanja
Alternative Names
“Cauzuh” (pej.), Isixhosa, Koosa, Xosa
Chichewa, Chinyanja, Nyanja, Nyanja-Chewa
French Name
xhosa
chichewa; chewa; nyanja
German Name
Xhosa-Sprache
Nyanja-Sprache
Pronunciation
Not Available
Not Available
Ethnicity
amaXhosa, amaBhaca
Chewa people
Origin
16th Century
15th Century
Language Family
Niger-Congo Family
Niger-Congo Family
Subgroup
Benue-Congo
Benue-Congo
Early Forms
No early forms
No early forms
Standard Forms
isiXhosa
Chewa
Signed Forms
Signed Xhosa
Not Available
Scope
Individual
Individual
ISO 639 6
Not Available
Not Available
Glottocode
xhos1239
nyan1308
Linguasphere
99-AUT-fa
99-AUS-xaa – xag
Language Type
Living
Living
Language Linguistic Typology
Subject-Verb-Object
Not Available
Language Morphological Typology
Not Available
Not Available
Xhosa and Chewa Language History
Comparison of Xhosa vs Chewa language history gives us differences between origin of Xhosa and Chewa language. History of Xhosa language states that this language originated in 16th Century whereas history of Chewa language states that this language originated in 15th 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 Xhosa and Chewa Language History.
Xhosa and Chewa 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 Xhosa and Chewa greetings helps you to understand basic phrases in Xhosa and Chewa language. Xhosa word for "Hello" is Molo or Chewa word for "Thank You" is Zikomo. Find more of such common Xhosa Greetings and Chewa Greetings. These greetings will help you to be more confident when conversing with natives that speak these languages.
Xhosa vs Chewa Difficulty
The Xhosa vs Chewa difficulty level basically depends on the number of Xhosa Alphabets and Chewa 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 Xhosa and Chewa are the origin, speaking countries, language family, different greetings, speaking population of these languages. Want to know in Xhosa and Chewa, which language is harder to learn? Time required to learn Xhosa is 44 weeks while to learn Chewa time required is Not Available.