Shona→English

Translate Shona to English the way locals mean it.

Shona speakers often use softeners, challenge forms, and respectful greetings whose real meaning is less literal than a textbook translation suggests.

Going the other way? English to Shona

474 local dialects

AIRTranslate on iPhone choosing between Shona varieties

What locals actually say

Ko wadii kungondifonera?

Why didn’t you just call me?

Ko frames a pointed question, while wadii kungo- means “why didn’t you just,” rather than a neutral question about not calling.

Ndiri kungoseka hangu.

I’m only joking, honestly.

Kungo- limits the action to “just” or “only,” and hangu adds a soft, reassuring insistence.

Mauya henyu, VaMoyo.

Welcome, Mr. or Mrs. Moyo.

Mauya is a greeting meaning “welcome,” not simply a report that someone has arrived, and Va- respectfully marks an elder or formally addressed person.

Handina mari yekuchinja, mungandibatsirewo?

I don’t have any change. Could you help me out?

Mari yekuchinja means money for change, while the respectful mungandibatsirewo construction softens the request.

Mungandiratidza nzira yekuenda kuMbare here?

Could you show me how to get to Mbare?

Mungandiratidza uses the plural or respectful mu- prefix for a polite request to one person.

Ndapota, ndiwedzerei sadza nemuriwo.

Please give me some more sadza and vegetables.

Sadza is the Shona staple made from thick maize meal, and the -er- applicative in ndiwedzerei makes the request mean add some for me.

Ambuya vangu vari kumusha, ndiri kuvashanyira svondo rino.

My grandmother is back home, and I’m visiting her this week.

Ambuya means grandmother, and the va- forms vangu, vari, and kuvashanyira show respectful reference to an elder.

Ndichanonoka kubasa, bhazi raramba kuuya.

I’ll be late for work because the bus still hasn’t come.

Kubasa means at or to work, while raramba kuuya literally signals that the bus has continued refusing or failing to arrive.

Notes like these come with every AIRTranslate translation, so you learn why locals phrase it that way as you go.

How Shona differs

Shona (Harare standard); mhoro greetings, respectful va- prefixes for elders.

Sound like a local everywhere, not just here.

Every one of 474 dialects, with voice, camera, a keyboard for any app, and offline packs.

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Localization Notes explaining why locals say it that way