504 km away
A Bantu language and the national language of Malawi, also widely spoken in eastern Zambia and northern Mozambique under the name Nyanja. Around 14 million speakers.
Bemba
Also known as: Chibemba, Icibemba
A Bantu language and the most-spoken indigenous language of Zambia, used across the Northern, Luapula, and Copperbelt provinces. A major lingua franca on the Zambian Copperbelt.
Shareable facts
Want a Bemba app?
Vote and we'll prioritise it. Top-voted dialects move up the roadmap. One vote per email.
Frequently asked questions
What language is Bemba?
Bemba is a dialect of the Bemba language.
Where is Bemba spoken?
Bemba is primarily spoken in Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Which region is Bemba associated with?
Bemba is part of the East & Southern Africa region on DialectAtlas.
Is Bemba known by other names?
Yes — Bemba is also referred to as Chibemba, Icibemba.
Nearby dialects
See on the atlas →830 km away
A click-language isolate spoken by the Hadza hunter-gatherers around Lake Eyasi in northern Tanzania. Fewer than 1,000 speakers; no demonstrated genetic relationship to any other language.
847 km away
The largest Bantu language of Zimbabwe and an official language of the country. Internally varied, with Karanga, Zezuru, and Manyika as the main dialect groups.
876 km away
A Bantu language and the largest indigenous language of Tanzania by first-language speakers, used across the Lake Victoria region around Mwanza. Around 8 million speakers.
927 km away
The Bantu national language of Rwanda. Mutually intelligible with Kirundi (Burundi) and one of the few African languages spoken by the entire population of a country.
961 km away
The Tanzania-based literary and educational standard of Swahili. Modelled on the Zanzibari Kiunguja variety; Tanzania's national language and a continental lingua franca.