Learn Bemba (Icibemba)

Learn Icibemba online with practical, real-life situations! Simple, fast and easy learning. Speak Bemba language with confidence. Start now with uTalk!


About Bemba (Icibemba)

Bemba is also known as Chibemba, Cibemba, Ichibemba, Icibemba, Chiwemba. It is spoken as a first language by the Bemba people in Zambia, where it is also a common language among speakers of the country’s other languages. Other speakers live in Tanzania, Botswana and the DRC. Like other languages in the same family - known as the Bantu languages - Chibemba is very phonetic: once you've learnt how to pronounce each letter, you'll be able to pronounce any word.

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Planet Earth

Where is it spoken?

Zambia

People Talking

Number of speakers

4,000,000

Family Tree

Language family

Niger-Congo

Atlantic–Congo

Benue-Congo

Bantu

Fun facts — Bemba

  • Bemba is a tonal language with only two tones but learners must be careful to distinguish 'ulúpwá', meaning 'family', from 'úlupwá' meaning 'aubergine'!
  • Like its close relative Swahili, Chibemba is a Bantu language. English words borrowed into Chibemba are adapted to the pronunciation and grammar. A 'kettle' is an 'áka-etulo' but 'kettles' are 'útu-etulo'.
  • According to Bemba grammar, all things, living and non-living, are classed into specific groups identifiable by their prefix, which has singular and plural equivalents.

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