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How to Speak Shona

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Last Updated: March 13, 2021 References

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Shona is primarily spoken in Zimbabwe, with

additional Shona speakers in Zambia,
Mozambique, and Botswana. Whether you're
planning a trip to Zimbabwe or simply want to
talk to a friend or family member in their native
language, learning to speak Shona is not
difficult. Because the language is phonetic, start
by learning how to pronounce the alphabet.
Then, you'll be able to pronounce any word you
see correctly, as well as correctly spell any word
you hear, even if you don't know what the word
means. Once you have a handle on the
alphabet, you can start having basic
conversations. Uve nemhanza yakanaka! (Good
luck!)[1]

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Part 1 of 3:
Pronouncing Shona Words

Start with the 5 vowels. The Shona

1 alphabet has 5 vowels, each of which are
pronounced similarly to the same letters in
the Spanish or Italian alphabets. If your first
language is English, practice the vowel
sounds, focusing on the ones that are
pronounced differently in Shona than they are
in English. Vowels are perhaps the most
important part of the Shona language.
Because Shona is a phonetic language, if you
understand the vowel sounds, you'll be able
to spell practically any word you hear.[2]

The letter "A" makes an "ah" sound,

similar to the "a" in the English word
"father."
The letter "E" makes an "eh" sound,
similar to the "ay" in the English word
"say."
The letter "I" makes an "ee" sound,
similar to the "ee" in the English word
"see."
The letter "O" makes an "oh" sound,
similar to the "o" in the English word "so."
The letter "U" makes an "oo" sound,
similar to the "oo" in the English word
"doom."

Tip: There are no silent letters or

diphthongs in Shona. When you see 2
vowels side by side in a Shona word,
pronounce each vowel separately. For
example, the word "kuudza" (meaning "to
tell") is pronounced "koo-oo-dza."

Pronounce most consonants the

2 same as you would in English. Shona
uses the same alphabet as English, and
almost all of the consonants are pronounced
the same, with the exception of "j," which is
pronounced with a "yah" sound, similar to the
Spanish "j." However, Shona also has more
breathy consonants that don't appear in
English.[3]

To pronounce a breathy consonant,

breathe out a little, almost like a sigh, as
you say the letter, similar to how you
would pronounce the "h" in the English
word "behind."
Breathy consonants in Shona are
represented by an "h" after the initial
consonant: "bh," "ch," "dh," "mh," and
"vh."
Most Shona dialects, as well as
"Standard Shona," do not use the "L"
sound, except in loan words.[4]

Practice consonant combinations.

3 There are no silent letters or blended
consonants in Shona. Rather, each
consonant retains the same sound regardless
of which letters appear around it. For this
reason, some consonant combinations may
be difficult for you to pronounce correctly.[5]

For example, the combination "dz" might

give you trouble, especially if your first
language is English.
The combinations "zv" and "sv" are
properly pronounced with something like
a whistle. This is a sound unique to the
Shona language, and can also be difficult
if you speak English or a European
language as your first language. Listen to
native speakers to get a better idea of
how these combinations sound.[6]
If you come across a word with a
consonant combination that you have
difficulty pronouncing, look online for a
recording of a native speaker saying the
word slowly. Practice saying the word,
gradually speeding up your speech until
you can pronounce it correctly. Forvo
(https://forvo.com/languages/sn/) is a
good place to find native speaker
pronunciations of words.

Use vowels to break words into

4 syllables. Shona words only have one
vowel per syllable and each syllable ends in a
vowel. Therefore, you can use the presence
of vowels to easily divide a word into
syllables.[7]

For example, the word "vakadzi" means

"women" in Shona. You can break this
word down into 3 syllables: va-ka-dzi.
All syllables carry the same stress in a
Shona word, and the vowels always
sound the same. Therefore, a word such
as "vakadzi" would be pronounced "vah-
kah-dzee."

Listen for tones that differentiate

5 words. While Shona is not a completely
tonal language, like Chinese, the language
does use two tones — a high tone and a low
tone. These two tones are used to
differentiate words, typically two-syllable
words, that mean something different
depending on which tone pattern is used.[8]

For example, the word "hama," spoken

with two high tones, means "relative."
However, if you use a high tone with the
first syllable and a low tone with the
second syllable, the word means
"hammer."
In longer words with 4 or more syllables,
tones have less significance. While tones
may be used with longer words, getting
the tones wrong will seldom change the
meaning of the word.

Tip: Tones aren't indicated in written

Shona. As you learn new words, listen to
the word said by a native speaker and
pay attention to how they say the word.
Keep in mind that your use of tones can
change the meaning of the word.

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Part 2 of 3:
Having Basic Conversations

Use "mhoro" as a general greeting.

1 "Mhoro" means "hello," and is a
reasonably formal way of greeting people.
This greeting is appropriate when greeting or
acknowledging anyone, particularly if you've
never met them before.[9]

With people your age or younger,

especially friends, you can also use
"hesi," which is a more casual way of
saying "hi."[10]

Tip: Remember that the "h" in "mhoro"

indicates a breath, rather than a hard "h"
sound.

Try different greetings based on the

2 time of day. Just as in other languages,
people often greet each other with reference
to the time of day, especially if seeing each
other for the first time. Some Shona greetings
are:[11]

Mangwanani: Good morning (reply:

Mangwanani, marara sei?)
Masikati: Good afternoon (reply:
Masikati, master sei?)
Manheru: Good evening (reply: Maswera
sei?)

Continue the conversation by asking

3 "Wakadini?" The word "wakadini"
means "How are you?" If you want to
converse with someone you meet, say this
immediately after saying "mhoro." This is also
considered polite if you're actually interacting
with someone rather than simply
acknowledging their presence.[12]

The standard response to this question is

"ndakasimba, waita hako," which means
"I'm good, thanks." If you were the first
person to ask, the person might also add
"ko iwe?" which means "And you?"
For example, if you're walking up to a
counter at a restaurant to order food, you
might say "Mhoro, wakadini?"

Use the word "ndinonzi" to tell

4 someone your name. After your
greeting, it's polite to introduce yourself to
someone if you plan to continue speaking to
them. Say "ndinonzi" followed by your name.
You don't have to worry about "translating"
your name into Shona. Your name as it's
pronounced in your language is fine.[13]

After you introduce yourself, add

"Unozani?" to ask them their name.
When they tell you their name, you might
say "ndafara kukuziva," which means
"pleased to meet you."

Ask basic questions to keep the

5 conversation going. Perhaps the best
way to keep a conversation going is to ask
the person about themselves. If you're just
beginning to learn Shona, it doesn't matter if
you don't understand every word the person
says — you can ask them about it later to get
a better sense of what they're saying. Some
good questions to ask are:[14]

Une majore mangani? (How old are

you?)
Unobva kupi? (Where are you from?)
Unogara kupi? (Where do you live?)
Unoitei chinokuraramisa? (What do you
do for a living?) Note that Zimbabweans
consider it a point of pride to talk about
their education and occupation, as these
things are seen as a way to earn your
respect.[15]

Use polite words and phrases to show

6 respect. Generally, people will be more
helpful and willing to talk to you if you're well-
mannered. Be gracious and respectful to
Shona speakers by learning the following
words and phrases:[16]

Ndinokumbirawo (please)
Waita zvako (thank you)
Zvakanaka (reply to "thank you")
Ndineurombo (sorry)
Pamusoro (excuse me)

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Part 3 of 3:
Expanding Your Vocabulary

Label items around your home with

1 Shona words. Search online for
vocabulary lists you can use for furniture and
other items around your home. Write the
Shona word on a sticky note and attach it to
the item. Each time you pass the item, say
the Shona word aloud.[17]

With this method, you'll come to think of

the labeled items by their Shona word
after a while. Once you've committed one
group of items to memory, move on to
another group.

Tip: Start with large objects and gradually

get smaller. For example, you might label
"bed" first, then move on to "blanket" or
"pillow." You can also add phrases to
describe the relationship of the small
objects to the larger ones.

Listen to Shona music. The rhythm,

2 repetitive lyrics, and relatively simple
themes of most songs allow you to become
more familiar with the language in a way
that's easy to remember. Traditional Shona
music, called "mbira," features interwoven
rhythms and melodies with a lot of
improvisation, similar to jazz music. iYou can
listen for free online through YouTube and
other websites.[18]

On YouTube and music streaming

services, you can also access current
popular music in the Shona language.

Chat online with native Shona

3 speakers. Search online for language
exchange platforms with native Shona
speakers. Typically, you speak with Shona-
speaking users on this platform in exchange
for practicing with them a language they want
to learn that you know.[19]

For example, if you speak English and

Spanish, you might search for Shona
speakers who want to learn either of
those languages.
Some platforms charge a subscription
fee. However, most of them are free.
Those which charge a subscription may
offer additional options that aren't offered
on free websites, such as the ability to
have group chats or converse for longer
periods of time.

Warning: Even though you are on a

language exchange website, observe the
same caution you would when talking to
any other stranger on the internet. Be
careful about revealing private or
personal information to online language
partners.

Stream radio from Zimbabwe on the

4 internet. Listening to Zimbabwe radio
stations, such as Radio Zim
(https://www.radiozim.co.zw/), allows you to
listen to Shona being spoken by native
speakers as well as Shona-language music.

Because you can listen to news, you may

be able to pick up on what some of the
words mean based on the context —
particularly if they're discussing
international events that you are already
familiar with.

Read about news and current events

5 in Shona. Since Shona is a phonetic
language, reading can help both your literacy
and your speech, especially if you read
articles aloud. Look online for news websites
from Zimbabwe that are written in Shona.[20]

Voice of America offers news stories

written in Shona on
https://www.voashona.com/z/3259. You
can also stream Voice of America radio
broadcasts in Shona at
https://www.voazimbabwe.com/z/4020.
If you can find news videos with
accompanying transcripts, you can use
them to practice both your reading and
your listening comprehension.

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Tips

Control your emotions and be polite and

respectful in public settings with Shona
speakers, unless you know the people you're
talking to very well.[21]
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