Atlantic-Congo · ISO 639-3 mer
Meru Language Kĩmĩĩrũ
Meru is an Atlantic-Congo language spoken by about 2.1 million people in 1 country. It is written in the Latin script.
Where Meru is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Meru
Language family
- Atlantic-Congo
- Volta-Congo
- Benue-Congo
- Bantoid
- Southern Bantoid
- Narrow Bantu
- East Bantu
- Northeast Savanna Bantu
- Central Kenya Bantu
- Eastern Kirinyaga
- Northern Kirinyaga
- Nithi-Meru
- Meru
Writing system
Latin script
Related languages
About the Meru language
Meru (Kĩmĩĩrũ) is spoken by about 2.1 million people, which makes it the 299th most spoken language in the world — just behind Lango (Uganda) (2.1 million) and ahead of Mandinka (2.1 million). It belongs to the Atlantic-Congo language family and, more precisely, to the Nithi-Meru group within the Benue-Congo branch.
Where is Meru spoken?
Meru is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in Kenya (2.3 million).
Meru is not a national official language anywhere.
Writing system and status
Meru 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 Chuka, Kikuyu, Kamba (Kenya), Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Rundi and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-3 mer.
Frequently asked questions about Meru
How many people speak Meru?
Where is Meru spoken?
What language family does Meru belong to?
What is Meru called in Meru?
Is Meru 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.