Xhosa Text to Speech
Generate natural isiXhosa speech with its full range of click consonants, tone and rhythm. Direct the delivery in plain words and export studio-ready MP3 or WAV.
Achernar
Bright & expressive · Female Xhosa voice
Achird
Deep & assured · Male Xhosa voice
Aoede
Warm & conversational · Female Xhosa voice
Algenib
Crisp & energetic · Male Xhosa voice
Every preview reads this sentence
Wamkelekile ngokufudumeleyo nonke! Hlalanani kamnandi nize nonwabe kukuphulaphula la mabali amnandi.
From Xhosa script to finished audio
- 1
Paste Xhosa text, or drop a file
Paste straight into the chat, or drop a PDF, EPUB, Word file, PowerPoint or a link. isiXhosa script is handled natively — numbers, dates and abbreviations are read the Xhosa way.
- 2
Noty proposes before anything runs
You see the voice Noty picked and why, how long the audio will be, what it costs in credits, and one Generate button. Change the voice or the scope first — nothing runs or bills until you tap.
- 3
Listen, direct, export
Say how a passage should sound and only that part regenerates and re-bills. Export MP3 or WAV; long documents come as one merged file per chapter.
Direct it in plain words
Natural voices are expressive out of the box. When a passage needs something else, say it in the chat — Noty writes the direction and leaves your words alone.
Per passage
A direction attaches to the passage you point at, not to the whole file.
At the beat you name
Sound moments — a sigh, a pause, a scream — land exactly where you ask for them.
One narrator, whole book
A persona line keeps a narrator consistent from the first chapter to the last.
All 30 Xhosa voices
These are our multilingual voices, and every one of them speaks Xhosa. Tap any voice for a short preview. Every one of them takes direction in plain words.
About Xhosa
- Native name
- isiXhosa
- Locale codes
xh-ZA- Speakers worldwide
- 19M+
- Accents
- 3
Related: Zulu, Afrikaans, South African English, Sesotho
Xhosa accents & regional voices
Standard Xhosa
Based on the Gcaleka and Ngqika varieties of the Eastern Cape, used in schools and broadcasting.
Thembu
Spoken in the Thembuland area of the Eastern Cape, with its own vocabulary and intonation.
Mpondo
The northeastern Eastern Cape variety, distinctive enough that it is sometimes treated separately.
Accent is part of the direction on Natural voices — name the region in the chat and the voice follows, the 30 multilingual voices included.
What people make in Xhosa
The most common things people make with Notevibes speech.
Most common across Notevibes
You
Reads it as lesson material, picks a clear teaching voice, and turns a timed script into a deck, one slide per block, headings never read aloud.
You
“Slower on the definitions, and pause before each example.”
Those paragraphs get the direction; the rest keeps its audio and costs nothing again.
You get
A narrated lesson as audio, or a narrated deck you can present or export.
Speak Xhosa in your own voice
- 1Record or upload 10–30 seconds in any supported language
- 2Read one consent sentence aloud
- 3Pick it from Your voices in the picker
Where it works
Included on the Personal and Pro plans.
Clone your voiceWhat you get
Voices
- 30 multilingual voices that speak Xhosa
- Your own cloned voice
- 2,000+ in the library
Direction
- Plain words, per passage
- Sound moments at the beat you name
- Persona line for narrators
Long content
- Overnight lane, a third of the price
- Only changed paragraphs regenerate
- Price shown before anything runs
Decks & formats
- Narrated PowerPoint decks
- MP3 or WAV
- One merged file per chapter
Rights
- Commercial license on paid plans
- Downloads are yours to publish
API
- Any library or cloned voice by id
GET /api/tts/voiceslists them
Xhosa text to speech built for one of the richest click systems anywhere
Xhosa is a Nguni Bantu language spoken by about 19 million people, counting first- and second-language speakers, most of them in South Africa’s Eastern Cape and Western Cape. It is one of South Africa’s official languages and among its most widely spoken home languages, with a long written literature, an oral praise-poetry tradition and a large audience for Xhosa radio and television. To many people around the world it is best known through songs such as Miriam Makeba’s “Click Song” and as the first language of Nelson Mandela.
Notevibes reads isiXhosa in xh-ZA with voices that produce its clicks and tones as part of natural, connected speech. Xhosa is a demanding language for synthesis precisely because the clicks are so frequent and so varied; a voice that manages them smoothly is doing something difficult.
Three clicks, many variations
Xhosa is written in the Latin alphabet. Its clicks are built on three basic places of articulation: c for a dental click, q for a click made further back on the palate, and x for a lateral click at the side of the tongue. Each of these combines with aspiration, voicing and nasalisation, spelled with combinations such as ch, gc, nq and ngx, to give one of the largest click inventories of any widely spoken language. Xhosa also has ejective consonants and lateral fricatives spelled hl and dl.
Like other Nguni languages, Xhosa is tonal, with high and low tones left unmarked in ordinary writing, and it lengthens the next-to-last syllable of a phrase. Natural speech needs all three layers at once: clean clicks, correct tone and a steady rhythm, so the sentence flows instead of stumbling at every click.
Standard Xhosa, Thembu and Mpondo
The written standard is based on the Gcaleka and Ngqika varieties of the Eastern Cape and is used in schools, publishing and broadcasting. Thembu, spoken in the Thembuland area, has its own vocabulary and intonation, and Mpondo in the northeast of the province differs enough that it is sometimes treated as a separate variety. Text in standard Xhosa suits listeners across the Eastern and Western Cape and in the cities.
What Xhosa narration needs
Xhosa audio is used for school and university material, public information, church and community content, storytelling and advertising in the Cape provinces. The voices are expressive out of the box, and if a passage should sound more formal, gentler or more energetic, a sentence in the chat is enough; Noty writes the direction and your words stay exactly as written. Long books and course material can be generated overnight at a third of the price, and you can clone your own voice for a narrator that sounds like you.
Try Xhosa text to speech free
Join thousands of creators using Notevibes for Xhosa voiceovers — 30 Xhosa voices, 2,600+ across all languages, or clone your own.
Free to try · No credit card required
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Frequently Asked Questions
How natural does Notevibes Xhosa text-to-speech sound?
Extremely natural. Notevibes Xhosa voices deliver studio-quality speech with natural intonation, correct stress patterns, and human-like pacing — virtually indistinguishable from a native speaker. To change the delivery, just say how a passage should sound — "warmer", "whisper this", "faster at the end" — and Noty directs it.
How many Xhosa voices does Notevibes offer?
30 — multilingual voices across genders, ages and styles, and every one of them speaks Xhosa and takes direction in plain words. You can clone your own voice too.
Can I use Xhosa TTS for commercial projects?
Yes — with the Pro plan. The Pro plan includes a full commercial license. Use generated audio in YouTube videos, ads, e-learning courses, podcasts, apps, and more — no additional royalties.
Is there a free Xhosa text-to-speech option?
Yes. Notevibes provides free Xhosa voices you can try instantly — no sign-up required. The free tier lets you hear any voice read your own text before upgrading.
What audio formats are supported for Xhosa TTS?
Notevibes exports Xhosa speech as MP3 or WAV files. Long documents come back as one merged file; chapters and paragraphs can be exported on their own.
How many people speak Xhosa worldwide?
Xhosa is spoken by approximately 19 million people worldwide, making it one of the most important languages for global content creators and businesses.
What Xhosa accents does Notevibes support?
Notevibes supports 3 distinct Xhosa accents: Standard Xhosa, Thembu, Mpondo. Each accent captures authentic regional pronunciation and intonation for natural-sounding results.
Can I use my own voice for Xhosa text to speech?
Yes. Open the voice picker, choose Add your voice, record or upload 10–30 seconds in any supported language, then read one short consent sentence aloud. Your voice appears under Your voices and reads your Xhosa script like any Natural voice, and takes the same plain-words directions. Voice cloning is included on the Personal and Pro plans.