Kʼicheʼ language

Kʼicheʼ
Quiché
Kʼicheʼ, Qatzijobʼal
Pronunciation[kʼiˈtʃeʔ]
Native toGuatemala, Mexico
RegionQuetzaltenango, Quiché, Retalhuleu, Sololá, Suchitepéquez, Totonicapán, Chiapas
EthnicityKʼicheʼ
Native speakers
1.1 million (2019 census)
Mayan
Early form
Dialects
  • Central
  • East
  • West
  • South
  • North
Latin
Official status
Official language in
 Mexico
Recognised minority
language in
Regulated by
Language codes
ISO 639-3quc
Glottologkich1262
ELPK'iche'

Kʼicheʼ (/kˈ/ kee-CHAY; natively [kʼiˈtʃʰeʔ], also known as Qatzijobʼal lit.'our language' among its speakers), or Quiché, is a Mayan language spoken by the Kʼicheʼ people of the central highlands in Guatemala and Mexico. With over a million speakers (some 7% of Guatemala's population), Kʼicheʼ is the second most widely-spoken language in the country, after Spanish. It is one of the most widely-spoken indigenous American languages in Mesoamerica.

The Central dialect is the most commonly used in media and education. Despite a low literacy rate, Kʼicheʼ is increasingly taught in schools and used on the radio. The most famous work in the Classical Kʼicheʼ language is the Popol Vuh (Popol Wuʼuj in modern spelling). The second most important work is The Title of Totonicapán.