Symbols
67Click a symbol to copy it and open its page.
Luhya alphabet
The plain Latin alphabet, a to z, in capital and small form; Luhya adds no accented letters. Q and x appear mostly in foreign names.
Apostrophe and quotation marks
’ is the apostrophe of ng’ (the ng of singer). Kenyan print follows English punctuation: double curly quotes outside, single inside.
Where it's spoken
Western Kenya (Kakamega, Vihiga, Bungoma, Busia) and, for Samia and related varieties, eastern Uganda around Busia. The Kenyan shilling has no sign of its own: write Ksh.
Luhya life in emoji
Mulembe (peace), ingokho and obusuma at the table, bullfights and isukuti drums, the Crying Stone of Ilesi, Kakamega Forest and AFC Leopards (Ingwe).
On the map
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The Luhya alphabet: plain A to Z
Unicode's CLDR, the data that teaches phones and computers each language, lists the Luhya alphabet as the 26 letters a to z, each in capital and small form. There are no accents, tildes or extra letters, so any keyboard can type Luhya. The symbol grid above gives all 52 letters, the apostrophe and curly quotation marks used in Kenyan print, the flags of Kenya and Uganda and a few emoji that belong to Luhya life in western Kenya.
Like other Bantu languages, Luhya is tonal, but everyday spelling does not mark tone. Long vowels are written double, as in CLDR's Kuuza, and letter pairs write single sounds: kh for the rough sound heard in Bukusu, Idakho and Isukha words, ny as in Kenya, ch, and sh. Q and x turn up mostly in foreign names.
Luhya, Luyia, Luluhya: one name for many varieties
Luhya is not one standardised language but a cluster of closely related varieties spoken by the Luhya (Abaluhya) sub-tribes: Bukusu, Logooli (Maragoli), Idakho, Isukha, Tiriki, Wanga, Marama, Kabras, Tachoni, Nyore, Samia, Marachi, Khayo, Nyala, Kisa, Tsotso and others. ISO 639-3 treats luy as a macrolanguage that groups many of them, and several, such as Bukusu (bxk), Logooli (rag) and Saamia (lsm), have codes of their own. Each has its own spelling habits, which is why the same word can be written with b in one variety and v in another.
That variety is why the language turns up under several names: Luhya and Luyia in English, Oluluhya or Luluhya among speakers, and Luluhia in CLDR's locale. The everyday common ground is the greeting Mulembe, peace, which most Luhya understand and which named the community's radio station, Mulembe FM.
How to type the Luhya apostrophe and Kenyan quotes
Since every Luhya letter is on an ordinary keyboard, the only characters worth copying are punctuation. Like Swahili writers, many Luhya writers use an apostrophe in ng’ for the ng sound of English singer, keeping it apart from ng as in finger. The curly apostrophe ’ is Alt0146 on Windows, OptionShift] on a Mac and ’ in HTML; a straight ' is fine in chat.
Quotation marks follow English use in Kenya: “double” outside and ‘single’ inside. On Windows type Alt0147 and Alt0148 for “ ”, Alt0145 for ‘; on a Mac Option[ and OptionShift[ for “ ”, Option] for ‘. Phones offer them by long-pressing the quote key. The Kenyan shilling has no Unicode sign: CLDR's Luhya locale calls it Sirinji ya Kenya and writes it Ksh1,000.00.
Days, months and numbers in the Luhya locale
The CLDR Luhya locale borrows the Swahili month names, Januari, Februari, Machi, Aprili, Mei, Juni, Julai, Agosti, Septemba, Oktoba, Novemba and Desemba, but gives several days a Luhya shape. Sunday is Jumapiri, Swahili Jumapili said with r, Monday to Wednesday are Jumatatu, Jumanne and Jumatano, Thursday is Murwa wa Kanne and Friday Murwa wa Katano, the fourth and fifth day, and Saturday is Jumamosi.
Numbers differ from one Luhya variety to the next, so a single list would be wrong for many speakers. The locale's quarter names show one set of ordinals: Robo ya Kala, Robo ya Kaviri, Robo ya Kavaga and Robo ya Kanne, the first to fourth quarter. The era names are Imberi ya Kuuza Kwa (BC) and Muhiga Kuvita Kuuza (AD), and English is Lusungu.
Where the Luhya language is spoken
Luhya is the language of western Kenya: Kakamega, Vihiga, Bungoma and Busia counties, parts of Trans-Nzoia, and Luhya families in Nairobi and every Kenyan town. The 2019 census counted 6,823,842 people as Luhya, Kenya's second-largest ethnic group; it measured ethnic identity, not language use. Samia and related varieties are also spoken across the border in eastern Uganda, around Busia. Most speakers also use Swahili and English.
Luhya belongs to the same Great Lakes Bantu family as Ganda, Soga, Gusii and Kuria, and lives next to Luo (Dholuo), a Nilotic language, and Kalenjin. Each has its own collection here (Ganda, Soga, Gusii, Luo, Kalenjin), as do Swahili and Kenya, the page for the flag, the shilling and the country's emoji.
Luhya emoji: Mulembe, chicken, bulls and isukuti
A few emoji carry Luhya meaning. stands for Mulembe, peace and the greeting. is ingokho, the chicken a Luhya home slaughters for an honoured guest, and the subject of endless good-humoured jokes about Luhya love of chicken. is the maize behind obusuma, the stiff porridge Swahili calls ugali.
is bullfighting, the Isukha and Idakho tradition still staged at Malinya and Khayega near Kakamega, and the isukuti drums and dance of the same communities, which UNESCO listed for urgent safeguarding in 2014. is the Crying Stone of Ilesi, Kakamega Forest, and AFC Leopards, nicknamed Ingwe, the Nairobi football club long tied to the Luhya community.
How to use them
5 situationsClick to copyLuhya Language (Luyia) Alphabet combos
11Worth knowing
- The CLDR Luhya locale calls English Lusungu, which resembles musungu, a form of the East African word (mzungu) for a European, while it gives French and Chinese the Swahili-style names Kifaransa and Kichina.
- In the locale's day names Thursday and Friday are Luhya, Murwa wa Kanne and Murwa wa Katano, but their short forms Al and Ij are left over from the Swahili Alhamisi and Ijumaa.
- The western Kenyan town of Mumias is named after Nabongo Mumia, ruler of the Wanga kingdom, the best-known kingdom of the Luhya.
- The Crying Stone of Ilesi, a tall rock near Kakamega with a dark streak running down its face, is one of western Kenya's best-known landmarks.
Questions people ask
7What is the Luhya language?
The Bantu language, or cluster of closely related varieties, of the Luhya (Abaluhya) people of western Kenya, also spoken around Busia in eastern Uganda. Its ISO code is luy and it has a CLDR locale under the name Luluhia.
What letters does the Luhya alphabet use?
The plain Latin letters a to z, in capital and small form, with no accents. Letter pairs such as kh, ny, ch and sh write single sounds, and long vowels are written double.
What does Mulembe mean?
Peace. It is the everyday Luhya greeting, used much like hello, and gave its name to the Luhya radio station Mulembe FM.
What are the numbers in Luhya language?
They vary between Luhya varieties. The CLDR locale's quarter names give one set of ordinals: kala (first), kaviri (second), kavaga (third) and kanne (fourth), and the day names use kanne and katano for the fourth and fifth day.
How many Luhya sub tribes are there?
Usually counted as about eighteen, among them Bukusu, Logooli (Maragoli), Idakho, Isukha, Tiriki, Wanga, Marama, Kabras, Tachoni, Nyore, Samia, Marachi, Khayo, Nyala, Kisa and Tsotso; lists differ on the exact count.
How many people speak Luhya?
The 2019 census counted 6,823,842 people as Luhya, Kenya's second-largest ethnic group; it did not count Luhya speakers.
Is Luhya the same as Swahili?
No. Both are Bantu languages and Luhya borrows many Swahili words, including the month names in its CLDR locale, but they are separate languages. Swahili has its own collection here.
