Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

khoisan

/ˈkɔɪˌsɑn/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.70 in modern English

Syllables
Khoi-san
IPA
/ˈkɔɪˌsɑn/
14
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

The group of languages associated with the Khoisan including the Khoi, Kx'a and Tuu families, sometimes to the inclusion of the Hadza and Sandawe language isolates of Tanzania.

noun

A member of the group of non-Bantu Southern African indigenous people: the Khoi or San people.

Etymology

From Khoi + San, from the pastoral Khoi tribe (formerly also called Hottentots) and the hunter-gatherer San (also known as Bushmen). Coined by Isaac Schapera in 1930, in linguistic usage since the 1950s (following Joseph Greenberg, Studies in African Linguistic Classification, 1955).

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈkɔɪˌsɑn/
  • British English: /ˈkɔɪsɑːn/

Inflected Forms

Khoi-San (alternative) Khoisans (plural)

Synonyms

khoisan language bushman

Questions

How do you pronounce khoisan?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkɔɪˌsɑn/.
What does khoisan mean?
The group of languages associated with the Khoisan including the Khoi, Kx'a and Tuu families, sometimes to the inclusion of the Hadza and Sandawe language isolates of Tanzania.
Where does khoisan come from?
From Khoi + San, from the pastoral Khoi tribe (formerly also called Hottentots) and the hunter-gatherer San (also known as Bushmen). Coined by Isaac Schapera in 1930, in linguistic usage since the 1950s (following Joseph Greenberg, Studies in African Linguistic Classification, 1955).

How to pronounce khoisan

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