Kisukuma
Sukuma
Atlantic-Congo (Bantu, Sukuma-Nyamwezi)
Sukuma (Kisukuma) is the largest single Bantu language of Tanzania by L1 speakers, with ~5M speakers spoken predominantly in the Lake Victoria region — Mwanza, Shinyanga, Tabora, Geita and Simiyu regions. The Sukuma people are Tanzania's largest ethnic group, around 16% of the national population. The language has tone (high-low contrast on stems and tense-aspect markers) and Bantu noun-class agreement (~18 classes); it is closely related to Nyamwezi (nym), with which it forms a dialect continuum, classified together as Bantu Zone F21. Despite the large speaker community, Swahili (sw) dominates education, media, and government across Tanzania, and Sukuma has limited written tradition or media presence.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Sukuma
Water
minzi
/minzi/
Fire
moto
/moto/
Sun
ilyuva
/iʎuβa/
Moon
ng'wezi
/ŋweːzi/
Mother
mayu
/maju/
Father
baba
/baba/
Eat
kulya
/kuʎa/
Drink
kuhwa
/kuhwa/
Love
butogwa
/butoɡwa/
Heart
ngholo
/ŋɡoːlo/
Tree
mti
/mti/
House
kaya
/kaja/
Dog
mbwa
/mbwa/
Cat
kalulu
/kalulu/
Hand
nkhono
/ŋkono/
Eye
liso
/liso/
Hello
mwangaluka
/mwaŋɡaluka/
Thank you
nakulumba
/nakulumba/
One
imo
/imo/
Good
shihi
/ʃihi/
Sources
- Glottolog: Sukuma
- Ethnologue: suk
- Maganga & Schadeberg (1992) Kanuri Comparative Lexicon (Sukuma section)
Words compared
Compared with related Atlantic-Congo (Bantu, Sukuma-Nyamwezi) languages
| Meaning | Sukuma | Nyamwezi | Makonde | Shambala | Sangu | Sena | Yao |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | minzi /minzi/ | minzi /minzi/ | mashi /maʃi/ | mazi /mazi/ | ameenzi /ameːnzi/ | madzi /madzi/ | mesi /mesi/ |
| Fire | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | umoto /umoto/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ |
| Sun | ilyuva /iʎuβa/ | izuba /izuβa/ | lyuva /ʎuβa/ | zuwa /zuwa/ | liluga /liluɡa/ | dzuwa /dzuwa/ | lyuwa /ʎuwa/ |
| Moon | ng'wezi /ŋweːzi/ | ng'wezi /ŋweːzi/ | mwedi /mwedi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | umwesi /umwesi/ | mwedzi /mwedzi/ | mwesi /mwesi/ |
| Mother | mayu /maju/ | mayu /majʊ/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mai /mai/ | amao /amaː/ |
| Father | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | atati /atati/ |
| Eat | kulya /kuʎa/ | kulya /kuʎa/ | kulya /kuʎa/ | kuya /kuja/ | kulya /kuʎa/ | kudya /kudja/ | kulya /kuʎa/ |
| Drink | kuhwa /kuhwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | kumwa /kumwa/ | kumwa /kumwa/ |
| Love | butogwa /butoɡwa/ | butogwa /butoɡwa/ | kupenda /kupenda/ | kwenda /kwenda/ | ulungu /uluŋɡu/ | kufuna /kufuna/ | chikondi /tʃikondi/ |
| Heart | ngholo /ŋɡoːlo/ | mtima /mtima/ | mtima /mtima/ | mwoyo /mwojo/ | umutima /umutima/ | mtima /mtima/ | mtima /mtima/ |
| Tree | mti /mti/ | mti /mti/ | mti /mti/ | mti /mti/ | umuti /umuti/ | mtengo /mteŋɡo/ | mtela /mtela/ |
| House | kaya /kaja/ | kaya /kaja/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | inyumba /iɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ |
| Dog | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | nshenye /nʃeɲe/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ |
| Cat | kalulu /kalulu/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ |
| Hand | nkhono /ŋkono/ | ikobo /ikoβo/ | nkono /nkono/ | ukono /ukono/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ | nkono /nkono/ | ngaila /ŋɡaila/ |
| Eye | liso /liso/ | liso /liso/ | liso /liso/ | izo /izo/ | iliho /iliho/ | diso /diso/ | liso /liso/ |
| Hello | mwangaluka /mwaŋɡaluka/ | mwadita /mwadita/ | nakushukuru /nakuʃukuɾu/ | nashukuru /naʃukuɾu/ | mbasala /mbasala/ | mwadzukabwanji /mwadzukabwandʒi/ | salama /salama/ |
| Thank you | nakulumba /nakulumba/ | twabakaba /twaβakaβa/ | nashukuru /naʃukuɾu/ | asante /asante/ | nashukulu /naʃukulu/ | ndatenda /ndatenda/ | nakwete /nakwete/ |
| One | imo /imo/ | imo /imo/ | nimo /nimo/ | imo /imo/ | imo /imo/ | posi /posi/ | mo /mo/ |
| Good | shihi /ʃihi/ | lihi /lihi/ | shibwana /ʃibwana/ | hedi /hedi/ | kwifwa /kwifwa/ | nadidi /nadidi/ | chechete /tʃetʃete/ |
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