Atlantic-Congo · ISO 639-3 vmw
Makhuwa Language Emakhuwa
Makhuwa is an Atlantic-Congo language spoken by about 7.4 million people in 1 country. It is written in the Latin script.
Where Makhuwa is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Makhuwa
Language family
- Atlantic-Congo
- Volta-Congo
- Benue-Congo
- Bantoid
- Southern Bantoid
- Narrow Bantu
- East Bantu
- North Mozambique Bantu
- Makua-Lomwe
- Makhuwa
Writing system
Latin script
Related languages
About the Makhuwa language
Makhuwa (Emakhuwa) is spoken by about 7.4 million people, which makes it the 148th most spoken language in the world — just behind Neapolitan (7.5 million) and ahead of Kanauji (7.4 million). It belongs to the Atlantic-Congo language family and, more precisely, to the Makua-Lomwe group within the Benue-Congo branch.
Where is Makhuwa spoken?
Makhuwa is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in Mozambique (4.3 million).
Makhuwa is not a national official language anywhere.
Writing system and status
Makhuwa is written in the Latin script. It is a safe, widely transmitted language: children still learn it at home as their first language.
Its closest relatives in the same branch of the family are Lomwe, Makhuwa-Shirima, Makhuwa-Meetto, Takwane, Chuwabu, Swahili and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-3 vmw.
Frequently asked questions about Makhuwa
How many people speak Makhuwa?
Where is Makhuwa spoken?
What language family does Makhuwa belong to?
What is Makhuwa called in Makhuwa?
Is Makhuwa an endangered language?
Data: Languages of the World dataset (MIT) — ISO 639-3, Glottolog (CC BY 4.0), Unicode CLDR, Google LinguaMeta (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata; country lists: samayo/country-json (MIT). Speaker numbers include first- and second-language speakers where sources report them.