Kikuyu

About Kikuyu

Kikuyu, Gĩkũyũ in the language itself, is the language of the Kikuyu people of central Kenya, who live mainly in the highlands around Mount Kenya and in Nairobi. With about 8.1 million people at the 2019 census, the Kikuyu are Kenya's largest ethnic group. It is a Bantu language, and most speakers also use Swahili and English.

Kikuyu is written in the Latin alphabet with two extra vowels, ĩ and ũ, which sound more open than plain i and u. It is tonal, but tones are not marked in writing.

FamilyNiger-Congo, Bantu
Peopleabout 8.1 million Kikuyu (2019)
Where spokenKenya
ScriptLatin alphabet with ĩ and ũ
Codeski (ISO 639-1), kik (ISO 639-3)

Population: Kenya Population and Housing Census (2019). Classification: Wikidata. Retrieved 26 September 2026.

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