My research investigates how semantic awareness, morphological awareness, and vocabulary knowledge contribute to reading comprehension among Grade 6 isiZulu learners. It addresses a gap in current literacy research, which often overlooks the specific cognitive-linguistic skills involved in meaning-making, particularly in Southern African languages. The study explores how learners engage with comprehension at different levels — text-based, inferential, and evaluative — and examines how their performance reflects distinct reading profiles: struggling, developing, and proficient readers. Despite the morphologically rich nature of isiZulu, little is known about how learners process meaning beyond the word level. By focusing on these three cognitive-linguistic skills, the study offers empirical and pedagogical insights that can inform curriculum development and literacy interventions in Southern African languages.