Songhay · ISO 639-3 dje
Zarma Language Zarma Sanni
Zarma is a Songhay language spoken by about 3.9 million people in 1 country. It is written in the Latin script.
Where Zarma is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Zarma
Language family
- Songhay
- Eastern Songhay
- Zarma-Kaado-Dendi
- Zarma
Writing system
Latin script
About the Zarma language
Zarma (Zarma Sanni) is spoken by about 3.9 million people, which makes it the 212th most spoken language in the world — just behind Merwari (4.0 million) and ahead of Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo (3.9 million). It belongs to the Songhay language family and, more precisely, to the Zarma-Kaado-Dendi group within the Zarma-Kaado-Dendi branch.
Where is Zarma spoken?
Zarma is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in Niger (4.5 million).
Zarma is not a national official language anywhere.
Writing system and status
Zarma is written in the Latin script. It is a safe, widely transmitted language: children still learn it at home as their first language.
ISO codes: ISO 639-3 dje.
Frequently asked questions about Zarma
How many people speak Zarma?
Where is Zarma spoken?
What language family does Zarma belong to?
What is Zarma called in Zarma?
Is Zarma 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.