Symbols
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Kaonde letters
The plain Latin letters of everyday Kaonde writing, one row per letter, in A to Z order. No letter carries an accent and tone is not written. Sounds such as ny and sh are written with two ordinary letters. H, Q, R, V and X turn up only in names and borrowed words.
The ng’ apostrophe
Zambian school spelling puts an apostrophe in ng’ for the ng of singer, so it is not read as n + g. Either form works: the straight keyboard ' or the curly ’ that phones type.
Punctuation and quotation marks
Kaonde punctuation follows Zambian English: double curly quotes outside, single ones inside.
Where Kaonde is spoken
Zambia's North-Western Province, home to nearly every speaker, and the neighbouring part of DR Congo.
Emoji that go with Kaonde
🙏 for Twasanta (thank you), 📖 for the Kaonde Bible and hymn book, 🥁 for ceremonies such as Nsakwa Yaba Kaonde.
On the map
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Kaonde language letters: Latin alphabet, including ñ
Kaonde (Kikaonde in the language itself, and sometimes Chikaonde in English or other Zambian languages) is written with the Latin alphabet, which includes the special letter ñ . H and V are used in Kaonde, while Q, R and X are excluded. The grid on this page lists some Kaonde letters: a b c d e f g i j k l m n o p s t u w y z, in capital and small form, but omits h, v and ñ. Kaonde also uses the digraphs ch, ny and sh.
Some sounds are written with two letters: ch represents the ch sound in church, ny is the ny of canyon, and sh the sh of shoe. The vowels a e i o u are said roughly as in Spanish or Italian. Kaonde, like most Bantu languages, uses pitch to tell words apart, but standard spelling does not mark tone. Readers rely on context; standard Kaonde spelling still uses the special letter ñ .
The ki- at the start of Kikaonde is a noun-class prefix that means "language of", much as Swahili is Kiswahili and Luba-Katanga is Kiluba. The Bemba and Nyanja names use ci- or chi- instead, hence Chikaonde.
How Kaonde writes the ng sound
Kaonde spelling distinguishes the velar nasal /ŋ/ (the sound in English singer) from /ŋɡ/ (as in finger). The standard alphabet writes the velar nasal with ñ ; some writers also use ng’ for it, while ng represents /ŋɡ/.
Any apostrophe works. A computer keyboard types the straight one ', while phones and word processors usually turn it into the curly ’ ; readers treat them the same. On Windows the curly one is Alt0146 on the number pad, on a Mac OptionShift], and in HTML ’. Kaonde’s standard spelling uses ñ ; some Kaonde writing also uses ng’, while linguists use ŋ to represent the sound.
Kaonde words and greetings: Twasanta, mwane, bingi
A Kaonde word many people look up is Twasanta, thank you. Add bingi, very much or a lot, and you get Twasanta bingi, thank you very much. Mwane is a respectful way to address an elder, a chief or anyone you want to honour, roughly sir, so Twasanta mwane is a polite thank-you. You may come across these three words in church announcements, in captions under family photos or in WhatsApp messages, often next to .
As elsewhere in Zambia, a greeting is more than a word. A younger person greets an elder first and often claps their hands softly or bends a knee, and visitors are welcomed before any business is discussed. The greetings shown here use plain keyboard letters and paste into apps without trouble; other Kaonde words may include ñ.
Where Kaonde is spoken
Kaonde is the language of the Kaonde people of Zambia's North-Western Province , around the provincial capital Solwezi and in districts such as Kasempa, Mufumbwe and Kalumbila. Unicode's CLDR estimates about 400,000 speakers in Zambia. Smaller Kaonde communities live across the border in the south of DR Congo . Solwezi has grown fast since the large copper mines of the province opened, and Kaonde speakers are the largest group in and around Solwezi, and the language is heard in its villages and markets alongside English and other Zambian languages.
Kaonde is one of the seven Zambian languages that the state uses in early schooling and on national radio, together with Bemba, Nyanja, Tonga (Zambia), Lozi, Lunda and Luvale, which all have their own collections here. Its closest relatives include Sanga, Luba and Hemba languages of DR Congo, and Kaonde oral history traces the people to the Luba lands. Lunda and Luvale are its neighbours within North-Western Province. The Zambia collection has the flag, the kwacha sign K and the country's emoji.
Kaonde Bible, hymn book and ceremonies
Kaonde has a long written tradition through the church. The Kaonde Bible and the Kaonde hymn book are well-known printed works in the language, and hymns in Kikaonde are sung in churches across the province. That is why and sit so naturally beside Kaonde text.
The Kaonde also keep their traditional ceremonies, where chiefs, dancers and drummers gather each year. Nsakwa ya Ba Kaonde is a gathering of the Kaonde people, and Kufukwila is another well-known Kaonde ceremony. Posts about them mix Kaonde words with , and the names of the chiefs.
How to use them
5 situationsClick to copyKaonde Language Letters & Words combos
9Worth knowing
- Kaonde uses the Latin alphabet with the special letter ñ , so not every word can be typed on an ordinary English keyboard. The special letter writes the velar nasal; ng’ is also used by some writers.
- The language's name changes with its prefix: Kikaonde in Kaonde, Chikaonde in the Bemba and Nyanja style, and plain Kaonde in English. All three name the same language.
- Kaonde is one of only seven languages Zambia uses in early schooling and on national radio, out of the more than 70 spoken in the country.
Questions people ask
6What does Twasanta mean in Kaonde?
Twasanta means thank you. Twasanta bingi is thank you very much, and Twasanta mwane is a respectful thank you to an elder, a chief or anyone you want to honour.
What letters does the Kaonde language use?
Kaonde uses the Latin alphabet, including ñ : a b c d e f g h i j k l m n ñ o p s t u v w y z. Q, r and x are excluded. It also uses digraphs such as ch, ny and sh.
How do you write ng’ in Kaonde?
The standard Kaonde alphabet writes the velar nasal /ŋ/ as ñ , distinct from ng (/ŋɡ/). Some writers use ng’ as an alternative, where the apostrophe indicates no /ɡ/ after the nasal.
Where is the Kaonde language spoken?
Mainly in Zambia's North-Western Province, around Solwezi, Kasempa, Mufumbwe and Kalumbila, with smaller communities in the south of DR Congo. CLDR estimates about 400,000 speakers in Zambia.
Is Kaonde the same as Kikaonde?
Yes. Kikaonde is the language's own name (ki- means language of), Chikaonde is the Bemba and Nyanja form, and Kaonde is the usual English name.
What language is Kaonde related to?
It is a Bantu language whose closest relatives include Sanga, Luba and Hemba of DR Congo. In Zambia it sits beside Lunda and Luvale in North-Western Province and is a cousin of Bemba.
