Welcome to shikomori

Shikomori is the mother tongue of the Comoros and Mayotte. Four close yet distinct dialects coexist: shiNgazidja, shiNdzuani, shiMwali and shiMaore.

The presidential decree of 12 December 2009 set a common official alphabet. That alphabet — 26 main letters plus dialect extensions — is what you are about to learn.

The alphabet track comprises 8 lessons in Module 1 (sounds and writing). Each lesson runs 10-25 minutes and alternates compact theory, listening to native speakers, motivated examples and active practice.

At the end of every lesson, a 3-to-5 question mini-quiz. You need 70% to pass the lesson. You can retry as many times as needed.

The next lesson introduces the 5 oral vowels (a, e, i, o, u). One rule to remember: in shikomori, e is always /é/ and u is always /oo/ (as in « moon »).