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
31 core words in Sukuma
Water
minzi
/minzi/
Fire
moto
/moto/
Sun
ilyuva
/iʎuβa/
Moon
ng'wezi
/ŋweːzi/
Star
nyenyeezi
/ɲeˈɲeːzi/
Mother
mayu
/maju/
Father
baba
/baba/
I
nene
/ˈnene/
You
gwegwe
/ˈɡweɡwe/
Name
lina
/ˈlina/
Eye
liso
/liso/
Hand
nkhono
/ŋkono/
Heart
ngholo
/ŋɡoːlo/
Love
butogwa
/butoɡwa/
Tree
mti
/mti/
House
kaya
/kaja/
Dog
mbwa
/mbwa/
Cat
kalulu
/kalulu/
Eat
kulya
/kuʎa/
Drink
kunywa
/kuɲwa/
One
imo
/imo/
Two
ibhili
/iˈβili/
Hello
mwangaluka
/mwaŋɡaluka/
Thank you
nakulumba
/nakulumba/
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 | Shambala | Sangu | Makonde | Nyaturu | Asu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | minzi /minzi/ | minzi /minzi/ | mazi /mazi/ | ameenzi /ameːnzi/ | mashi /maʃi/ | maazi /maːzi/ | mende /mende/ |
| Fire | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | umoto /umoto/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | mshika /mʃika/ |
| Sun | ilyuva /iʎuβa/ | izuba /izuβa/ | zuwa /zuwa/ | liluga /liluɡa/ | lyuva /ʎuβa/ | nzua /nzua/ | idhuva /iðuʋa/ |
| Moon | ng'wezi /ŋweːzi/ | ng'wezi /ŋweːzi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ | umwesi /umwesi/ | mwedi /mwedi/ | umweri /umweɾi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ |
| Star | nyenyeezi /ɲeˈɲeːzi/ | nyenyeezi /ɲeˈɲeːzi/ | nyenyezi /ɲeɲezi/ | nyenyezi /ɲeɲezi/ | ntondwa /ntondwa/ | nyeenyeeri /ɲeːɲeːri/ | nyenyeri /ɲeɲeri/ |
| Mother | mayu /maju/ | mayu /majʊ/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | tata /tata/ | baba /baba/ |
| I | nene /ˈnene/ | nene /ˈnene/ | niye /nije/ | une /une/ | une /une/ | une /une/ | mine /mine/ |
| You | gwegwe /ˈɡweɡwe/ | gwegwe /ˈɡweɡwe/ | weye /weje/ | uwe /uwe/ | uve /uve/ | uwe /uwe/ | uwe /uwe/ |
| Name | lina /ˈlina/ | lina /ˈlina/ | izina /izina/ | litawa /litawa/ | lina /lina/ | izina /izina/ | izina /izina/ |
| Eye | liso /liso/ | liso /liso/ | izo /izo/ | iliho /iliho/ | liso /liso/ | iriiso /iɾiːso/ | iiso /iːso/ |
| Hand | nkhono /ŋkono/ | ikobo /ikoβo/ | ukono /ukono/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ | nkono /nkono/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ | mkono /mkono/ |
| Heart | ngholo /ŋɡoːlo/ | mtima /mtima/ | mwoyo /mwojo/ | umutima /umutima/ | mtima /mtima/ | umutima /umutima/ | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ |
| Love | butogwa /butoɡwa/ | butogwa /butoɡwa/ | kwenda /kwenda/ | ulungu /uluŋɡu/ | kupenda /kupenda/ | butogwa /butoɡwa/ | lumba /lumba/ |
| Tree | mti /mti/ | mti /mti/ | mti /mti/ | umuti /umuti/ | mti /mti/ | umuti /umuti/ | mti /mti/ |
| House | kaya /kaja/ | kaya /kaja/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | inyumba /iɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ |
| Dog | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | nshenye /nʃeɲe/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ |
| Cat | kalulu /kalulu/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ |
| Eat | kulya /kuʎa/ | kulya /kuʎa/ | kuya /kuja/ | kulya /kuʎa/ | kulya /kuʎa/ | kuria /kuɾia/ | kurya /kuɾja/ |
| Drink | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunwa /kunwa/ | kukumbila /kukumbila/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunwa /kunwa/ |
| One | imo /imo/ | imo /imo/ | imo /imo/ | imo /imo/ | nimo /nimo/ | umwe /umwe/ | imwe /imwe/ |
| Two | ibhili /iˈβili/ | ibili /iβili/ | mbili /mbili/ | avili /aβili/ | vavili /vaʋili/ | aviri /aβiri/ | avili /aβili/ |
| Hello | mwangaluka /mwaŋɡaluka/ | mwadita /mwadita/ | nashukuru /naʃukuɾu/ | mbasala /mbasala/ | nakushukuru /nakuʃukuɾu/ | mbukire /mbukiɾe/ | shiloi /ʃiloi/ |
| Thank you | nakulumba /nakulumba/ | twabakaba /twaβakaβa/ | asante /asante/ | nashukulu /naʃukulu/ | nashukuru /naʃukuɾu/ | asante /aˈsante/ | mwasanga /mwasaŋɡa/ |
| Good | shihi /ʃihi/ | lihi /lihi/ | hedi /hedi/ | kwifwa /kwifwa/ | shibwana /ʃibwana/ | kihi /kihi/ | mwamba /mwamba/ |
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