Languages Spoken in Botswana
English is the official language of Botswana and Setswana is the national language, spoken by around three quarters of the population as a mother tongue and understood by close to everyone. Visitors need no second language, since English is used throughout tourism, government and business. Botswana is a southern African country of roughly 2.4 million people where more than twenty additional languages are spoken, including Kalanga around Francistown and the Khoisan languages of the San, which use click consonants.
English and Setswana on a Botswana Safari
The division between the two is neat and worth knowing.
English is the official language, inherited from the Bechuanaland Protectorate, and it is the language of government, written communication, business, road signs and schooling. Every document you deal with in Botswana will be in English.
Setswana is the national language and the one people actually speak to each other. Around 73 to 77 percent of the population have it as a first language, and it is understood by roughly 90 percent, making it the common tongue across ethnic lines.
For a safari visitor the practical answer is simple: you will not meet a language barrier. Guides, camp staff, lodge managers, drivers, airline crew and shop staff all speak English, often very well. Guides in Botswana are professionally licensed and their English is typically excellent.
Where you may need to work a little harder is in rural villages away from the tourism circuit, where English is less commonly used in daily life.
Useful Setswana Greetings for Safari Travellers
Nobody expects you to speak Setswana. Attempting a greeting nonetheless lands better here than almost anywhere, because greeting properly is culturally important in Botswana rather than optional.
The core word is dumela, pronounced roughly doo-MEH-lah, meaning hello and usable at any hour. The response is dumela back.
It gets better with an honorific attached. Dumela rra to a man, where rra means sir. Dumela mma to a woman, where mma means madam. To a group, dumelang. Using rra and mma reads as respectful and is normal in everyday speech rather than formal.
For thanks, ke a leboga, roughly keh-ah leh-BOH-hah, meaning I thank you. Go siame means fine, okay, that is alright, and does a great deal of conversational work.
Two partings, and the distinction is charming. Tsamaya sentle, go well, said to the person who is leaving. Sala sentle, stay well, said by the person who is leaving. Whoever moves gets told to go well.
Dumela. Hello, at any time of day. Add rra for a man, mma for a woman, or use dumelang for a group.
Ke a leboga. Thank you. An alternative you will also hear is ke a itumela, closer to I am pleased.
Go siame. Fine, okay, that is alright. Useful as an acknowledgement in almost any exchange.
Tsamaya sentle and sala sentle. Go well, said to whoever is leaving, and stay well, said by whoever is leaving.
Ee and nnyaa. Yes and no. Tsweetswee is please.
Pula. Rain, and also a blessing, a toast and the national motto. Raised at the end of a sundowner it lands perfectly.
Why Pula Means More Than Rain
One word carries more of Botswana than any phrasebook entry, and it is worth knowing before you use it.
Pula means rain. It is also the name of the currency, the national motto on the coat of arms, and a word shouted at the end of speeches and celebrations in the way other countries might use a cheer.
The logic is direct. This is a country roughly 70 percent covered by Kalahari sandveld, receiving around 450mm of rain a year and under 250mm in the southwest, where drought is a recurring national event rather than a weather story. Rain is not pleasant here. It is wealth, survival and cause for genuine celebration.
Naming your money after rain tells you what a society values. Raising a glass and saying pula at a sundowner in the Delta is a small thing that Batswana notice.
Other Languages Across Botswana
Beyond the two main languages, more than twenty others are spoken, and several are recognised in official contexts.
Kalanga, or Sekalanga, is the largest of them, spoken by around 11 percent of the population, concentrated in the northeast around Francistown. It is a Bantu language distinct from Setswana rather than a dialect of it.
Others include Kgalagadi, Shona, Mbukushu, Ndebele and Herero, alongside languages spoken by smaller communities in the Okavango region such as the Hambukushu.
The Khoisan languages of the San, who make up around 3 percent of the population, are the ones that will stop you in your tracks if you hear them. They use click consonants, sounds produced by suction of the tongue against the palate or teeth, which are integrated into ordinary words rather than used as exclamations. Linguistically these languages are among the oldest human speech traditions still spoken.
Several of Botswana’s smaller languages are considered endangered, with speaker numbers falling as Setswana and English dominate education and public life.
Meeting San Communities and Language on Cultural Tours
Cultural experiences with San communities are offered around the Makgadikgadi and in the Central Kalahari, and language is a large part of what makes them memorable.
Tracking walks led by San guides typically run through an interpreter, since few visitors will follow a Khoisan language and the trackers may have limited English. What comes through regardless is the reading of the ground: which animal passed, how long ago, in which direction, from marks you would never have registered.
Listening to the clicks in ordinary conversation is worth the walk on its own. There is no comparable sound in European languages, and recordings do not prepare you for hearing it spoken at normal speed.
Treat these visits as you would any cultural visit, following the guide’s lead on photography and questions.
Learn one greeting properly rather than six badly. A confident dumela mma with eye contact and a handshake does more than a list of phrases delivered uncertainly, and it will be returned warmly every time.
Names, Terms and Pronunciation in Botswana
A few pieces of vocabulary come up constantly and confuse visitors who have not met them.
The country is Botswana. The people are Batswana as a plural and Motswana for one person. The language is Setswana. That prefix pattern, Ba for people, Mo for a person, Se for the language, runs through Bantu languages across the region and explains why you will also see Bakalanga and Sekalanga.
Place names follow Setswana pronunciation, which is largely phonetic. Maun is closer to MOWN than MAY-un. Gaborone has four syllables, khaa-boh-ROH-neh. Kgale, the hill near Gaborone, starts with a sound between a hard k and a throaty ch.
Mokoro, the dugout canoe, is moh-KOH-roh, and the plural is mekoro. Your guide will use both.
Animal names come up on every drive and guides slip between English and Setswana without thinking about it. Tau is lion. Tlou is elephant. Nare is buffalo. Kwena, which gives Bakwena its name, is crocodile. Phologolo covers wild animals in general. Ask your guide for the Setswana name of whatever you are looking at and you will usually get the name plus a story about why the animal is called that, which is a better use of a quiet ten minutes at a sighting than most conversation.
Nobody will correct you or mind if you get these wrong, which is rather the point of a country this relaxed about it.
Frequently Asked Questions About Languages in Botswana
What language do they speak in Botswana?
English is the official language and Setswana is the national language. Setswana is the mother tongue of roughly 73 to 77 percent of the population and understood by around 90 percent, making it the common language across ethnic groups. English is used for government, business, written communication and schooling. More than twenty other languages are spoken, the largest being Kalanga around Francistown, alongside the Khoisan click languages of the San.
Do I need to speak Setswana to visit Botswana?
No. English is spoken throughout the tourism industry, and guides, camp staff, lodge managers, drivers and airline crew all use it, frequently to a high standard. Botswana guides are professionally licensed and their English is typically excellent. You may need more patience in rural villages away from the tourism circuit, where English is less common in daily life. Learning a greeting or two is appreciated rather than expected.
How do you say hello in Setswana?
Dumela, pronounced roughly doo-MEH-lah, works at any time of day, and the response is dumela back. Add an honorific for warmth: dumela rra to a man, where rra means sir, and dumela mma to a woman, where mma means madam. For a group, use dumelang. Greeting properly carries real cultural weight in Botswana, and using rra or mma reads as respectful rather than formal.
What does pula mean in Botswana?
Rain, literally, and considerably more besides. It is the name of the currency, the national motto on the coat of arms, and a word called out at the end of speeches and celebrations as a cheer or blessing. In a country roughly 70 percent Kalahari, receiving around 450mm of rain a year and under 250mm in the southwest, rain means wealth and survival. Naming the currency after it says a good deal about what the country values.
What are Batswana and Motswana?
Batswana is the plural term for the people of Botswana and Motswana refers to one person. Setswana is the language. The prefix pattern is consistent across Bantu languages in the region, with Ba marking a people, Mo marking an individual and Se marking a language, which is why you will also meet Bakalanga and Sekalanga. Getting this right is a small courtesy that Batswana notice and appreciate.
What are the San click languages?
The Khoisan languages spoken by San communities, who make up around 3 percent of Botswana’s population. They use click consonants, sounds made by suction of the tongue against the palate or teeth, built into ordinary words rather than used as exclamations. They are among the oldest speech traditions still in use. You can hear them on San cultural walks and tracking experiences around the Makgadikgadi and in the Central Kalahari, usually conducted through an interpreter.
Booking Your Botswana Trip
The safari companies and tour operators listed on this website put trips like this together for a living and know which camps, guides and routes actually deliver. We are an independent guide to Botswana; we do not book or sell tours ourselves.
When you are ready, arrange your safari, tour or holiday with one of the recognised operators listed here. Tell them your dates and what matters most, and a real person, not a form, will handle the itinerary, park bookings and logistics for you.