Symbols
67Click a symbol to copy it and open its page.
Chichewa alphabet
One row per letter in alphabetical order; ŵ follows w. V is added to the CLDR list because standard spelling uses it (mvula, vuto). Letter pairs such as ch, dz, kh, ng’, ny, ph, th and ts are written with these ordinary letters.
The ng’ apostrophe
Either form spells ng’ (ng’ombe, cow): the straight keyboard apostrophe or the curly one phones type.
Punctuation and quotation marks
Chichewa and Nyanja follow English punctuation: double curly quotes, single ones inside them.
Where it's spoken
Largest first, by CLDR estimates: Malawi about 14 million, Zambia about 4 million, Mozambique close to 900,000, Zimbabwe about 300,000. The kwacha of Malawi and Zambia has no Unicode sign; it is written MK and K.
Chichewa in emoji
🌊 nyanja, the lake the language is named after; 🌽 chimanga, maize for nsima; 🐟 chambo, the fish of Lake Malawi; 🎭 Gule Wamkulu, the Chewa masked dance.
On the map
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The Chichewa alphabet, letter by letter
Chichewa and Nyanja are written with these letters: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Ŵ Y Z. Native words have no q or x, and there are no accented vowels. The five vowels a e i o u sound roughly as in Spanish or Italian, and nearly every syllable ends in a vowel: zikomo, bwino, nyumba (house).
Unicode's CLDR list for the language leaves out v, but standard spelling uses it all the time: mvula (rain), vuto (problem), kuvala (to wear), so it is included here. Words often begin with m or n before another consonant, as in mvula, ndalama (money) and nsima, the maize porridge at the centre of every meal.
Most of the work is done by letter combinations that stand for one sound: ch as in Chichewa, tch with a puff of breath as in tchalitchi (church), dz as in dzina (name), ts as in tsiku (day), ny as in canyon, and the breathy kh, ph and th of khumi (ten), phala (porridge) and thupi (body). The h in these is not decoration: it marks the breath, and dropping it gives a different sound. Chichewa is tonal, but ordinary spelling does not mark tone.
Ŵ and ŵ: w with a circumflex
ŵ, w with a circumflex (U0175, capital Ŵ U0174), is the one letter Chichewa adds to A–Z. In the dialects that keep it apart it is a w made with the lips alone, close to a soft English v, while plain w is rounded like English w. Careful Malawian writing, school books and the Bible use it; much everyday writing and many text messages simply write w, and Zambian Cinyanja spelling normally uses plain w. The same letter is also used in Tumbuka, Malawi's northern language, and Welsh uses it for a long vowel.
The best-known word with it is the country itself: Malawi was at one time often printed Malaŵi, and the circumflex can still be seen on older coins.
How to type ŵ and the ng’ apostrophe
ŵ is not in the old Windows character sets, so it has no short Alt code. In Microsoft Word type 0175 and press AltX (0174 for Ŵ). The United Kingdom Extended keyboard, made for Welsh, types it with AltGr6 and then w. On a Mac, switch to the ABC Extended layout and press Option6, then w. On a phone, add a Welsh keyboard and long-press w. In HTML write ŵ and Ŵ, or ŵ and Ŵ. Or simply copy ŵ and Ŵ from this page.
The apostrophe in ng’ marks the ng of English singer, with no g after it: ng’ombe (cow), ng’ona (crocodile). Without it, ng is n g as in finger. Either the straight keyboard apostrophe ' or the curly ’ that phones produce is right; on Windows the curly one is Alt0146, on a Mac OptionShift]. Linguists sometimes write the sound as ŋ, but Malawian and Zambian schools use ng’. Punctuation otherwise follows English: , . ? ! and curly quotes “ ” with ‘ ’ inside them.
Chichewa and Nyanja greetings
Moni is hello, and Muli bwanji? asks how you are; the answer is Ndili bwino, kaya inu?, I am fine, and you? In the morning people ask Mwadzuka bwanji? (how did you wake up?) and in the afternoon Mwaswera bwanji? (how has your day been?). The plural mu- forms are the polite ones, used for anyone older or a stranger.
Zikomo is thank you and also excuse me; Zikomo kwambiri is thank you very much, and Zikomo Ambuye thanks the Lord. Takulandirani means welcome, Dzina langa ndi … my name is, and Ndimakukonda I love you, the same for a man or a woman. Leaving, you say Tsalani bwino (stay well) and the others answer Pitani bwino (go well); Tionana is see you. In Zambian spelling ch is written c, so the same words appear as Cinyanja and cimanga (maize).
Where Chichewa and Nyanja are spoken
Unicode's CLDR estimates about 19 million speakers, counting the many who use it as a second language. About 14 million are in Malawi , where Chichewa is the national language beside official English; about 4 million in Zambia , where Nyanja is the everyday language of Lusaka and of Eastern Province around Chipata; close to 900,000 in Mozambique , mainly in Tete and Niassa provinces; and about 300,000 in Zimbabwe , which lists Chewa among its sixteen official languages.
The two names are one language. Nyanja means lake, the language of the people along Lake Malawi; in 1968 Malawi renamed it Chichewa after the Chewa people of the central region, whose speech is the standard there. Lusaka Nyanja borrows freely from English and Bemba, but speakers on both sides understand each other. It is a Bantu language, a cousin of Swahili, Shona and Bemba; Tumbuka and Bemba have their own collections, and the Malawi and Zambia collections have the flags, the kwacha and each country's emoji.
How to use them
5 situationsClick to copyChichewa Alphabet (Nyanja) combos
15Worth knowing
- Nyanja means lake, and Malawi's colonial name, Nyasaland, and Lake Nyasa, as Tanzania still calls Lake Malawi, come from the same word.
- Kwacha, the name of both Malawi's and Zambia's currency, means dawn in Nyanja; "Kwacha!" was a rallying cry of the independence movements.
- Gule Wamkulu, the great masked dance of the Chewa people , is on UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, shared by Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia.
- The same character ŵ serves Chichewa, Tumbuka and Welsh; Chichewa and Tumbuka are related Bantu languages.
- Zikomo does double duty: it is both thank you and excuse me, said when passing in front of someone.
Questions people ask
8What is the Chichewa alphabet?
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Ŵ Y Z: the Latin letters without q and x, plus ŵ (w with a circumflex). Sounds like ch, dz, kh, ng’, ny, ph, th and ts are written with two letters, and there are no accented vowels.
What is the difference between Chichewa and Nyanja?
None in substance: they are two names for one language. Malawi calls it Chichewa; Zambia commonly calls it Nyanja, while Zimbabwe officially calls it Chewa. Zambian spelling writes c for ch (Cinyanja) and Lusaka Nyanja borrows more English and Bemba words, but speakers understand each other.
How to type w with circumflex?
Copy ŵ or Ŵ from this page. In Word type 0175 (or 0174) and press AltX; on a Mac use the ABC Extended layout and press Option6, then w; on a phone add a Welsh keyboard and long-press w. HTML: ŵ and Ŵ.
How to say hello in Chichewa?
Moni, usually followed by Muli bwanji? (How are you?). In the morning say Mwadzuka bwanji?, in the afternoon Mwaswera bwanji?.
How do you say thank you in Nyanja?
Zikomo, or Zikomo kwambiri for thank you very much. To thank God, say Zikomo Ambuye or Zikomo Mulungu.
How do you say I love you in Chichewa?
Ndimakukonda. It is the same whether you say it to a man or a woman.
Where is Nyanja spoken?
Mainly in Malawi, where about 14 million people speak it by CLDR estimates, and in Zambia's Lusaka and Eastern Province (about 4 million), with smaller communities in Mozambique's Tete and Niassa provinces and in Zimbabwe.
Chichewa language is from which country?
Malawi, where it is the national language, though it is also spoken in Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe; Zimbabwe officially lists it as Chewa.
