Chewa language resources – Language Links Database

Chewa (also known as Nyanja, /ˈnjænə/) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi and Zambia, where it is an official language, and Mozambique and Zimbabwe where it is a recognised minority language. The noun class prefix chi- is used for languages, so the language is usually called Chichewa and Chinyanja (spelled Cinianja in Mozambique). In Malawi, the name was officially changed from Chinyanja to Chichewa in 1968 at the insistence of President Hastings Kamuzu Banda (himself of the Chewa people), and this is still the name most commonly used in Malawi today. In Zambia, the language is generally known as Nyanja or Cinyanja/Chinyanja '(language) of the lake' (referring to Lake Malawi). Chewa belongs to the same language group (Guthrie Zone N) as Tumbuka, Sena and Nsenga.

More informationWikipedia

Native speakers: 12 million (2007)

Official language in: Malawi, Zambia


Chewa Grammar, Pronunciation and Vocabulary




Chewa Vocabulary




Chewa Reading Materials



  • livelingua.com - Free Chewa Lessons and Reading Materials to Download
  • Free Chewa (Chinyanja) Course with Audio and Text - “This free Chewa course was created by the US Peace Corps to provide fast and effective language training to volunteers heading to regions where the Chewa language is spoken. It includes the original Peace Corps Chewa audio lessons and associated text document.”
  • mwnation.com - newspaper online


Chewa Dictionaries




Chewa Listening and Video Resources




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