Locale Zu Za

Reference data for the Zulu (South Africa) locale — endonym isiZulu (iNingizimu Afrika), written in the Latin script, left-to-right (LTR).

Identifiers

• BCP 47 tag: zu-ZA
• ISO 639-1: zu
• ISO 639-3: zul
• Script: Latn (Latin)
• Region: ZA (South Africa)
• Text direction: ltr — left-to-right (LTR)

Speakers (approximate)

• L1 (native): 12,000,000
• L2 (additional): 16,000,000
• L1+L2 (total): 28,000,000

Base locale

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

Pluralization

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

• one — i = 0 or n = 1 (e.g. 0, 1)
• other — everything else (e.g. 2~17, 100, 1000, 10000, …)

See Unicode Messageformat for writing plural messages using these categories.

Translating into this locale

Apply Locale Zu 001 with the conventions of South Africa.

• Context: isiZulu is one of eleven official languages of South Africa and the most widely spoken home language; most readers also know English.
• Formats: rand (R); dates 17 Okthoba 2026; 24-hour clock; check CLDR zu for separators.
• Terminology: use PanSALB, the Department of Arts and Culture, and National Language Service terminology lists for official content.

Common pitfalls

• Mixing Xhosa or Ndebele forms.
• Using English loan spellings in place of Zulu spellings.
• The general pitfalls in Locale Zu 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.
• Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), the statutory body for the official languages of South Africa