Xhosa
IsiXhosa
xh
8M speakers
Xhosa
(IsiXhosa)
is a Niger-Congo language
with approximately 8M speakers speakers.
It is written using the
Latin
script.
Its BCP 47 language code is xh.
Writing Systems Used for Xhosa
Frequently Asked Questions
What alphabet or script does Xhosa use?
Xhosa is written using the Latin script (ISO 15924 code: Latn). Latin is written left-to-right.
What direction is Xhosa written?
Xhosa is written Left-to-right. Text runs from left to right, the same direction as most European languages.
How many people speak Xhosa?
Xhosa has approximately 8M speakers speakers worldwide. It is a member of the Niger-Congo language family.
What language family does Xhosa belong to?
Xhosa belongs to the Niger-Congo language family. It is written with the Latin script.
What is the language code for Xhosa?
The BCP 47 language code for Xhosa is "xh". This code is used in software, web standards (the HTML lang attribute), and internationalization contexts.
Language Facts
- BCP 47 Code
- xh
- ISO 639-3
- xho
- Status
- living
- Speakers
- 8M speakers
- Language Family
- Niger-Congo
- Scripts
- 1
- Primary Script
- Latin
Data sourced from Unicode CLDR and ISO 639-3. Last updated April 20, 2026.