Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

zulu

/ˈzuːluː/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.19 in modern English

Syllables
zu-lu
IPA
/ˈzuːluː/
13
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
3
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A member of an African ethnic group living mainly in the KwaZulu-Natal Province in eastern South Africa.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Any black person.

British usage; Countable; Dated; Slang; Uncountable

noun

Time along the prime meridian; UTC; Zulu time.

Countable; Uncountable

name

The language of these people, a Bantu language; isiZulu.

adj

Pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language.

noun

Alternative letter-case form of Zulu from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Zulu umu- Proto-Bantu *ʊ́- Zulu ú- Proto-Bantu *ìgʊ̀dʊ̀ Zulu ī́zulu Zulu úZulu Zulu uḿZuluder. English Zulu Derived from Zulu uḿZulu.

Usage

Inflected Forms

Zulus (plural) Zooloo (alternative) Zoolu (alternative)

Derived Forms

Zuludom Zuluise Zuluize Zululand Zuluness

Phrases

Bravo Zulu Wiktionary’s coverage of Zulu terms zul ⁠

Frequently Paired Words

Bravo Zulu Wiktionary’s coverage of Zulu terms zu zul zul ⁠

Synonyms

isiZulu zulu language

Rhymes With

lulu

Questions

How do you pronounce zulu?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈzuːluː/.
What does zulu mean?
A member of an African ethnic group living mainly in the KwaZulu-Natal Province in eastern South Africa.
Where does zulu come from?
Etymology tree Zulu umu- Proto-Bantu *ʊ́- Zulu ú- Proto-Bantu *ìgʊ̀dʊ̀ Zulu ī́zulu Zulu úZulu Zulu uḿZuluder. English Zulu Derived from Zulu uḿZulu.

How to pronounce zulu

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “zulu”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈzuːluː/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “zulu”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “zulu” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.