Locale Sw Ke

Reference data for the Swahili (Kenya) locale — endonym Kiswahili (Kenya), written in the Latin script, left-to-right (LTR).

Identifiers

• BCP 47 tag: sw-KE
• ISO 639-1: sw
• ISO 639-3: swa
• Script: Latn (Latin)
• Region: KE (Kenya)
• Text direction: ltr — left-to-right (LTR)

Speakers (approximate)

• L1 (native): 2,000,000
• L2 (additional): 15,000,000
• L1+L2 (total): 17,000,000

Base locale

This is a regional variant of Locale Sw 001 (Swahili), the base/macro locale for this language.

Pluralization

CLDR plural categories for this locale: one, other (2 forms).

• one — i = 1 and v = 0 (e.g. 1)
• other — everything else (e.g. 0, 2~16, 100, 1000, …)

See Unicode Messageformat for writing plural messages using these categories.

Translating into this locale

Apply Locale Sw 001 with the conventions of Kenya. Swahili and English are both official, and Swahili is the national language. Everyday Kenyan Swahili mixes in English and the urban slang Sheng, which should not appear in standard content.

• Standard: use Standard Swahili in product, government, and educational content. Kenyan writing tends to use more English loanwords than Tanzanian writing; prefer an established Swahili term where one exists and is widely understood.
• Formats: Kenyan shilling (KSh); dates 17 Oktoba 2026; 24-hour clock; decimal point in many Kenyan publications (check CLDR sw-KE).
• Context: Kenya is multilingual; Swahili content should be complete and not a thin translation of English.
• Tone: warm and respectful, with greetings (Karibu, Asante) natural in service text.

Common pitfalls

• Writing Sheng slang in formal content.
• Using English word order.
• The general pitfalls in Locale Sw 001 also apply.

Learn more

• Locale for BCP 47 identifiers, locale-sensitive formatting, pluralization, and text-direction concepts that apply across all locales.
• Unicode Messageformat for writing plural/selection messages correctly for this locale's grammar.
• Chama cha Kiswahili cha Taifa (CHAKITA), Kenya