Shona

Zimbabwe's most widely spoken language — and the heart of Linguistic Quest.

15 themes · 2 age tiers · puzzle library keeps growing

Speakers

Around 14 million first-language speakers

Where it's spoken

Zimbabwe, parts of Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana, and diaspora communities in South Africa, the UK, and the US

Language family

Bantu (Niger–Congo family), Shona group

In the app

15 themes, 6 puzzle types, 2 age tiers

About Shona

Shona (chiShona) is a Bantu language spoken by roughly 14 million people, primarily across Zimbabwe, where it is one of the country's official languages alongside English and Ndebele. It has several closely related dialect clusters — Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika, Korekore and Ndau — which differ in pronunciation, vocabulary and rhythm but remain mutually intelligible. The standard written form taught in Zimbabwean schools is largely based on Zezuru.

Shona is a tonal language with a five-vowel system (a, e, i, o, u) and a rich set of noun classes, each of which changes the prefixes on adjectives, verbs and other agreeing words. For English-speaking learners this is the biggest adjustment — and one children pick up far more naturally than adults. Because Shona has almost perfectly phonetic spelling, once you know the alphabet you can read any word aloud correctly.

The language carries an enormous oral and literary tradition. From the proverbs (tsumo) passed around fires to the work of authors like Charles Mungoshi, Solomon Mutswairo and Chenjerai Hove, Shona is how Zimbabweans have long recorded their history, humour and philosophy. For diaspora families, keeping Shona alive at home is one of the most valuable gifts a parent or grandparent can give a child.

Greetings in Shona are rarely one-liners — 'Mangwanani' (good morning) begins a longer back-and-forth about sleep, family, and the day ahead. Teaching children the full exchange, not just the first word, is how the culture of respect and connection gets passed along.

A handful of Shona to take away

These appear across our puzzles — every word in the app is paired with a translation and a spoken voice.

Mhoro

Hello (to one person)

Mhoroi

Hello (to a group, or respectful)

Maita basa

Thank you (lit. 'you have done work')

Mwana

Child

Baba

Father

Amai

Mother

Tips from our editors

•Say greetings out loud, at normal speed, multiple times a day — Shona rewards rhythm.
•Learn words in family groups (food, home, school) rather than in random lists.
•Ask a grandparent or family friend to correct the voice when it sounds off — the app's AI helper is a starting point, not the final authority.
•Celebrate small wins: one new word a day, every day, outperforms a weekend cram.

Pick a theme to play

Each theme gathers 40–80 words, phrases and idioms. Every puzzle type teaches the same vocabulary in a different way — children absorb the words faster because they meet them again and again from new angles.