What Language Is Spoken In Tanzania? Tanzania is a beautiful country in East Africa. It has mountains, savannahs, woods, craters, lakes, and crater lakes. The people who live there are also very different. Over 100 different ethnic groups live in the country, and each speaks its own language. Tanzania has more languages and accents than any other country in Africa. It has more than 120, which gives it a cultural depth that is unmatched.

You may have been wondering even before reading this if your English is good enough to get you through your trip to Tanzania, right? Don’t worry—everything will be okay! That being said, we’ll look at the main languages spoken in Tanzania and even teach you some basic Swahili. The more you know…

The country of Tanzania has how many languages?

Tanzanians speak 126 different languages. The official languages are Swahili and English. Besides these, there are also about 18 languages that are growing, 58 languages that are strong, 40 languages that are in danger, and 8 languages that are dying.

Which tongue does everyone in Tanzania speak?

That would be Swahili, which is spoken by about 90% of the people in Tanzania. Tanzanians also call it Kiswahili, and it is the main language used for business, government, and school.

English is the second language used in business. But some people speak it as a second or third language, and kids learn it in school. People may be able to read the language, but they may have a hard time understanding it because the level isn’t very good.

How Swahili came to be used in Tanzania

Some people think that the language came about when people from the coast of East Africa traded with Arabs. Others think that it has roots in Bantu languages. Around the 1800s, a lot of people in Tanzania and Kenya began calling themselves Swahili. Swahili became Tanzania’s national language after the country got its freedom to bring the new country together.

Swahili is the main language spoken in Tanzania right now, and the government keeps pushing for it to become the only national language of Tanzania. Swahili has recently replaced English as the main language used in schools. Tanzania was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to make a native African language the only language used in schools after this move.

The story of English in Tanzania

During the time that Britain controlled Tanzania, from 1919 to 1961, English was the main language spoken there. But when Tanganyika and Zanzibar split off to form the separate United Republic of Tanzania, Swahili took its place.

English was the main language of secondary and higher schooling for a long time. As was already said, this is no longer the case because Swahili is now the language used in all schools.

Even so, English is still pretty common, and you’ll definitely meet a lot of people who speak it in Tanzania, especially in the cities and tourist spots.

Another language that many people in Tanzania speak

That’s all for now on the legal languages of Tanzania. Next, let’s look at some lesser-known but still widely spoken languages in Tanzania.

These are the ethnic languages that people from more spread-out groups speak. But even though not as many people speak them or the Tanzanian government doesn’t recognize them as legal languages, these languages are just as important to the culture as any other.

So, what other languages do people in Tanzania speak when they move around this beautiful country?

As a Bantu language that is still spoken by many people, Kisankasa is a good example of how rich and varied the country’s languages are. About half of the Kisi people who live in the Njombe area speak this language.

The Pare people in the northeast of Tanzania speak a Bantu language group called Pare. It is also called Chasu, Athu, and Chathu. More people use Pare than any other dialect or some tribal languages. About 500,000 people speak it.

The southern part of Tanzania speaks Bemba. People also speak it in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. This language is spoken by most of the native people in the country. It is also called Chibemba, Cibemba, and Ichibemba, to name a few other names.

This language, Hehe, comes from the Iringa area, which is south of the great Ruaha River. It has a complicated tense-aspect-mood system. Fewer than 200,000 people speak the language, and it has lost some of its unique traits over the last 150 years.

Maasai, Digo, Datooga, and Chindali are some other well-known native languages. As you can tell from the name of our company, Tanzania Zanzibar Safari, we know a lot about Tanzania. In fact, we’re still learning about the dialects and native sub-languages that different groups speak. There is nothing boring about exploring 😉

Tanzanian languages that are no longer spoken

Languages naturally fade away and die out over time. This is particularly true for places like Tanzania where different languages are spoken.

One of these languages in Tanzania is Asa, which comes from the people who live in the northern part of the country. But no one speaks it as their first language anymore. Some types of words may still have some meaning in certain groups, but others are memories of a previous age.

Since Tanzania has about 126 local languages, it can be hard to keep track of all of them. Politics play a big role in what languages people want to support and include in their communities, even if some are easy to spot.

For example, a lot of people in Tanzania blame the government for the fact that native languages are still dying out. It is very hard to keep these sub-languages alive because of things like the widespread support of Swahili and the banning of ethnic dialects and languages from schools and TV.

But for now, we can still enjoy and learn about the wide range of languages spoken in Tanzania. We don’t know how long for…

Other Tanzanian languages that are worth noticing
The “imported” languages, like French, German, Portuguese, Gujarati, Arabic, and Hindustani, are ones we don’t want to hide.

For example, French is another language that many people in Tanzania speak. Just recently, it was added to the school curriculum, and about 1.5 million people in Tanzania can speak it well.

In the tourism business, almost all tour companies hire guides who speak English, and sometimes they also hire guides who speak Spanish, French, Italian, German, or Japanese.

But if you want to really experience Tanzania and talk to people in places with fewer people, you might want to learn some Swahili.

Here are some words in Swahili that will help you.

You can connect with people from other countries and have a better time in Tanzania if you learn some basic Swahili. It will also make you smile, which will make a lot of people happy. Print out some of these important words and keep them handy.

Hey there!

Say “Hello” in Harabi or Mambo, which means “What’s up” or “How are things?” If the person is older than you, you can use Shikamoo and answer with Marhaba.
Goodbye: kwa herini or kwa heri if talking about more than one person
How are you? – Habari gani
Hello, my name is Nafurahi kukuona and I feel very happy to meet you.
Have a nice day! Naseem and For a longer goodbye, say Kwa heri or Kesho if it’s in the evening. You won’t see them again until the next day.
Place In A Conversation
“Yes”—Ndiyo
Oh no! Hapana
Everything is fine, or I’m fine. – To answer Mambo, say Poa, to answer Habari, say Nzuri, or to answer an older person, say Marhaba.
Thanks – Thanks
Please – If you want to ask nicely for something, use Tafadhali or Naomba.
Say “excuse me” (Samanahani or Pole), which also means “sorry” and shows understanding.
Could you help me? – Naomba or tafadhali msaada
What does (word) sound like in Swahili? – Unasemaje (type of word) Kwa Kiswahili
Getting There
Where is the (name of place)? – (insert place) iko wapi?
Stesheni ya basi or Kituo cha mabasi in the bus station
Stendi (ya basi) bus stop
Train Station: Kituo cha treni Bank: Benki Market: Soko Police Station: Kituo cha polisi
Medical Help and Needs
I ought to see a doctor – Nahitaji daktari
I’m not feeling well—Mimi ni mgonjwa
Where can I find (service name)? – (insert service) iko wapi?
The doctor is at Daktari Hospital, and the medical center is called Kituo cha matibabu.
This hurts. – Naumwa hapa or inauma hapa

Some tips to make your trip go smoothly

You don’t have to learn Swahili, which is the language of Tanzania, before your trip. We’ve already said that you can get around this country if you speak English. But if you want to get ready so that you don’t get stuck in a language bind, here are three tips:

Take a little black book (or red, or brown…) and write down the most important Swahili words. You can also save them on your phone.
Get a tool that can translate between English and Swahili.
If nothing works, just smile and ask your guide 🙂
See our detailed guide on how to plan a trip to Tanzania for more information. You can also watch movies or read books written by or about Tanzanians. You will learn more about habits and customs this way, which will make your experience even more real. Some traditions that are common in the country? Greet people, use your right hand to eat, ask people’s permission before taking pictures of them, and accept what they think and believe.