The Northern Ndebele people (/ˌɛndəˈbɛli, -ˈbiːli, -leɪ/; EN-də-BE(E)L-ee, -ay; Northern Ndebele: amaNdebele) are a Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. Significant populations of native speakers of the Northern Ndebele language (siNdebele) are found in Zimbabwe and as amaZulu in South Africa. They differ from Southern Ndebele people who speak isiNdebele of KwaNdebele.
The Northern Ndebele language spoken by the Ndebele people of Zimbabwe is generally the same as the isiZulu language spoken by the Zulu people of South Africa with a few pronunciation and word meaning differences. Northern Ndebele spoken in Zimbabwe and Southern Ndebele (or Transvaal Ndebele) spoken in South Africa are separate but related languages with some degree of mutual intelligibility, although the former is more closely related to Zulu. Southern Ndebele, while maintaining its Nguni roots, has been influenced by the Sotho languages. (Wikipedia 2025)