Counting Numbers in Swahili

    

Master Counting in Swahili with Easy Patterns

Swahili numbers follow logical patterns that make them surprisingly easy to learn. Once you master the basics (1-10), you can build any number up to 1,000 and beyond!

 Quick Reference: Core Numbers

Number	Swahili	Pronunciation
0	Sifuri	see-foo-ree
1	Moja	moh-jah
2	Mbili	m-bee-lee
3	Tatu	tah-too
4	Nne	n-neh
5	Tano	tah-noh
6	Sita	see-tah
7	Saba	sah-bah
8	Nane	nah-neh
9	Tisa	tee-sah
10	Kumi	koo-mee

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Section 1: Numbers 1-10 (Nambari 1-10)

Complete List with Pronunciation Guide

Number	Swahili	Pronunciation	Sound Like
1	Moja	moh-jah	"mo" + "jah"
2	Mbili	m-bee-lee	"m" + "bee" + "lee"
3	Tatu	tah-too	"tah" + "too"
4	Nne	n-neh	"n" + "neh"
5	Tano	tah-noh	"tah" + "noh"
6	Sita	see-tah	"see" + "tah"
7	Saba	sah-bah	"sah" + "bah"
8	Nane	nah-neh	"nah" + "neh"
9	Tisa	tee-sah	"tee" + "sah"
10	Kumi	koo-mee	"koo" + "mee"

 Memory Tips

·         Moja (1) rhymes with "sofa"

·         Mbili (2) starts with "m" like "me"

·         Tatu (3) sounds like "tattoo"

·         Nne (4) is like saying "nay" with an 'n'

·         Tano (5) rhymes with "canoe"

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Section 2: Numbers 11-19 (Kumi na...)

The Simple Formula: Kumi + na + number = Ten + and + number

Number	Swahili	Pronunciation
11	Kumi na moja	koo-mee nah moh-jah
12	Kumi na mbili	koo-mee nah m-bee-lee
13	Kumi na tatu	koo-mee nah tah-too
14	Kumi na nne	koo-mee nah n-neh
15	Kumi na tano	koo-mee nah tah-noh
16	Kumi na  sita	koo-mee nah see-tah
17	Kumi na saba	koo-mee nah sah-bah
18	Kumi na nane	koo-mee nah nah-neh
19	Kumi na tisa	koo-mee nah tee-sah

 Pattern Recognition

·         14 = Kumi na nne (ten and four)

·         18 = Kumi na nane (ten and eight)

·         19 = Kumi na tisa (ten and nine)

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Section 3: Tens (Makumi) - 20 to 90

Complete List of Tens

Number	Swahili	Pronunciation
10	Kumi	koo-mee
20	Ishirini	ee-shee-ree-nee
30	Thelathini	theh-lah-thee-nee
40	Arobaini	ah-roh-bah-ee-nee
50	Hamsini	hahm-see-nee
60	Sitini	see-tee-nee
70	Sabini	sah-bee-nee
80	Themanini	theh-mah-nee-nee
90	Tisini	tee-see-nee

       Notes on Tens

·         Most tens end with -ini

·         Ishirini (20) is the only irregular one

·         Hamsini (50) comes from Arabic

·         Themanini (80) is related to "nane" (8)

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Section 4: Numbers 21-99

The Formula: Tens + na + ones

Example: 21 = Ishirini + na + moja = Ishirini na moja

Complete Examples

Number	Swahili	Pronunciation
21	Ishirini na moja	ee-shee-ree-nee nah moh-jah
22	Ishirini na mbili	ee-shee-ree-nee nah m-bee-lee
23	Ishirini na tatu	ee-shee-ree-nee nah tah-too
24	Ishirini na nne	ee-shee-ree-nee nah n-neh
25	Ishirini na tano	ee-shee-ree-nee nah tah-noh
26	Ishirini na sita	ee-shee-ree-nee nah see-tah
27	Ishirini na saba	ee-shee-ree-nee nah sah-bah
28	Ishirini na nane	ee-shee-ree-nee nah nah-neh
29	Ishirini na tisa	ee-shee-ree-nee nah tee-sah
30	Thelathini	theh-lah-thee-nee
31	Thelathini na moja	theh-lah-thee-nee nah moh-jah
34	Thelathini na nne	theh-lah-thee-nee nah n-neh
40	Arobaini	ah-roh-bah-ee-nee
45	Arobaini na tano	ah-roh-bah-ee-nee nah tah-noh
50	Hamsini	hahm-see-nee
55	Hamsini na tano	hahm-see-nee nah tah-noh
60	Sitini	see-tee-nee
66	Sitini na sita	see-tee-nee nah see-tah
70	Sabini	sah-bee-nee
77	Sabini na saba	sah-bee-nee nah sah-bah
80	Themanini	theh-mah-nee-nee
88	Themanini na nane	theh-mah-nee-nee nah nah-neh
90	Tisini	tee-see-nee
99	Tisini na tisa	tee-see-nee nah tee-sah

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Section 5: Hundreds (Mamia) - 100 to 999

The Formula: Mia + number (Hundred + number)

Number	Swahili	Pronunciation
100	Mia moja	mee-ah moh-jah
200	Mia mbili	mee-ah m-bee-lee
300	Mia tatu	mee-ah tah-too
400	Mia nne	mee-ah n-neh
500	Mia tano	mee-ah tah-noh
600	Mia sita	mee-ah see-tah
700	Mia saba	mee-ah sah-bah
800	Mia nane	mee-ah nah-neh
900	Mia tisa	mee-ah tee-sah

Complete Examples with Remaining Numbers

Number	Swahili	Pronunciation
101	Mia moja na moja	mee-ah moh-jah nah moh-jah
110	Mia moja na kumi	mee-ah moh-jah nah koo-mee
120	Mia moja ishirini	mee-ah moh-jah ee-shee-ree-nee
125	Mia moja ishirini na tano	mee-ah moh-jah ee-shee-ree-nee nah tah-noh
150	Mia moja hamsini	mee-ah moh-jah hahm-see-nee
200	Mia mbili	mee-ah m-bee-lee
250	Mia mbili hamsini	mee-ah m-bee-lee hahm-see-nee
300	Mia tatu	mee-ah tah-too
350	Mia tatu hamsini	mee-ah tah-too hahm-see-nee
400	Mia nne	mee-ah n-neh
450	Mia nne hamsini	mee-ah n-neh hahm-see-nee
500	Mia tano	mee-ah tah-noh
555	Mia tano hamsini na tano	mee-ah tah-noh hahm-see-nee nah tah-noh
600	Mia sita	mee-ah see-tah
700	Mia saba	mee-ah sah-bah
777	Mia saba sabini na saba	mee-ah sah-bah sah-bee-nee nah sah-bah
800	Mia nane	mee-ah nah-neh
888	Mia nane themanini na nane	mee-ah nah-neh theh-mah-nee-nee nah nah-neh
900	Mia tisa	mee-ah tee-sah
999	Mia tisa tisini na tisa	mee-ah tee-sah tee-see-nee nah tee-sah

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Section 6: Thousands (Maelfu) - 1,000 and Beyond

The Formula: Elfu + number

Number	Swahili	Pronunciation
1,000	Elfu moja	ehl-foo moh-jah
2,000	Elfu mbili	ehl-foo m-bee-lee
3,000	Elfu tatu	ehl-foo tah-too
4,000	Elfu nne	ehl-foo n-neh
5,000	Elfu tano	ehl-foo tah-noh
6,000	Elfu sita	ehl-foo see-tah
7,000	Elfu saba	ehl-foo sah-bah
8,000	Elfu nane	ehl-foo nah-neh
9,000	Elfu tisa	ehl-foo tee-sah
10,000	Elfu kumi	ehl-foo koo-mee

Complete Examples

Number	Swahili	Pronunciation
1,100	Elfu moja mia moja	ehl-foo moh-jah mee-ah moh-jah
1,250	Elfu moja mia mbili hamsini	ehl-foo moh-jah mee-ah m-bee-lee hahm-see-nee
1,500	Elfu moja mia tano	ehl-foo moh-jah mee-ah tah-noh
2,000	Elfu mbili	ehl-foo m-bee-lee
2,250	Elfu mbili mia mbili hamsini	ehl-foo m-bee-lee mee-ah m-bee-lee hahm-see-nee
2,500	Elfu mbili mia tano	ehl-foo m-bee-lee mee-ah tah-noh
3,500	Elfu tatu mia tano	ehl-foo tah-too mee-ah tah-noh
4,500	Elfu nne mia tano	ehl-foo n-neh mee-ah tah-noh
5,000	Elfu tano	ehl-foo tah-noh
5,500	Elfu tano mia tano	ehl-foo tah-noh mee-ah tah-noh
6,500	Elfu sita mia tano	ehl-foo see-tah mee-ah tah-noh
7,500	Elfu saba mia tano	ehl-foo sah-bah mee-ah tah-noh
8,500	Elfu nane mia tano	ehl-foo nah-neh mee-ah tah-noh
9,500	Elfu tisa mia tano	ehl-foo tee-sah mee-ah tah-noh
10,000	Elfu kumi	ehl-foo koo-mee

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Section 7: Millions (Mamilioni)

The Formula: Milioni + number

Number	Swahili	Pronunciation
1,000,000	Milioni moja	mee-lee-oh-nee moh-jah
2,000,000	Milioni mbili	mee-lee-oh-nee m-bee-lee
5,000,000	Milioni tano	mee-lee-oh-nee tah-noh
10,000,000	Milioni kumi	mee-lee-oh-nee koo-mee

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Complete Counting Chart: 1 to 1,000

Range	Pattern	Example
1-10	Individual words	Moja (1), Mbili (2)...
11-19	Kumi na + number	Kumi na moja (11)
20-99	Tens + na + ones	Ishirini na tano (25)
100-999	Mia + hundreds + rest	Mia moja ishirini (120)
1,000+	Elfu + thousands + rest	Elfu moja mia tano (1,500)

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 Key Rules for Swahili Numbers

Rule 1: "Na" Means "And"

·         Na = "and" (pronounced: nah)

·         Always use "na" between tens and ones

·         Example: 25 = Ishirini na tano

Rule 2: No "Na" for Round Numbers

·         Don't use "na" when ending in zero

·         30 = Thelathini (not Thelathini na...)

·         100 = Mia moja (not Mia moja na...)

Rule 3: Word Order Matters

·         Hundreds come before tens

·         Tens come before ones

·         Example: 125 = Mia moja ishirini na tano

Rule 4: Pronunciation Tips

·         M before b is pronounced (mb-)

·         N before n is pronounced (nn-)

·         Stress falls on the first syllable

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Practice Exercises

Translate into Swahili:

1.    14 = ________

2.    25 = ________

3.   50 = ________

4.   99 = ________

5.    120 = ________

6.    1,000 = ________

7.    5,500 = ________

8.    256 = ________

9.    777 = ________

10. 1,250 = ________

Answers

Number	Swahili	Pronunciation
14	Kumi na nne	koo-mee nah n-neh
25	Ishirini na tano	ee-shee-ree-nee nah tah-noh
50	Hamsini	hahm-see-nee
99	Tisini na tisa	tee-see-nee nah tee-sah
120	Mia moja ishirini	mee-ah moh-jah ee-shee-ree-nee
1,000	Elfu moja	ehl-foo moh-jah
5,500	Elfu tano mia tano	ehl-foo tah-noh mee-ah tah-noh
256	Mia mbili hamsini na sita	mee-ah m-bee-lee hahm-see-nee nah see-tah
777	Mia saba sabini na saba	mee-ah sah-bah sah-bee-nee nah sah-bah
1,250	Elfu moja mia mbili hamsini	ehl-foo moh-jah mee-ah m-bee-lee hahm-see-nee

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Quick Reference Cheat Sheet

Numbers to Memorize

·         0 = Sifuri (see-foo-ree)

·         1 = Moja (moh-jah)

·         2 = Mbili (m-bee-lee)

·         3 = Tatu (tah-too)

·         4 = Nne (n-neh)

·         5 = Tano (tah-noh)

·         6 = Sita (see-tah)

·         7 = Saba (sah-bah)

·         8 = Nane (nah-neh)

·         9 = Tisa (tee-sah)

·         10 = Kumi (koo-mee)

·         100 = Mia (mee-ah)

·         1,000 = Elfu (ehl-foo)

·         1,000,000 = Milioni (mee-lee-oh-nee)

Common Number Formulas

Type	Formula	Example
11-19	Kumi na + 1-9	Kumi na moja (11)
20-99	Tens + na + ones	Ishirini na tano (25)
100-999	Mia + hundreds + rest	Mia moja ishirini (120)
1,000+	Elfu + thousands + rest	Elfu moja mia tano (1,500)

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Cultural Notes

·         Swahili numbers are used throughout East Africa

·         "Kumi" (10) appears in many place names

·         "Elfu" (thousand) is used in counting money

·         The number system is decimal-based like English

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 Additional Resources

Useful Phrases

·         "Hesabu" = Count

·         "Nambari" = Number

·         "Tafadhali" = Please

·         "Asante" = Thank you

Real-World Applications

·         Shopping and bargaining

·         Telling time (Saa)

·         Dates and years

·         Phone numbers

·         Money transactions (Shillingi)

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Quick Quiz

Test yourself by counting in Swahili:

1.    Count from 1 to 10 aloud

2.    Count from 11 to 20 aloud

3.   Count by tens: 10, 20, 30... 100

4.   Say the number 365 in Swahili

5.    Say your birth year in Swahili

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Master Swahili numbers and unlock the ability to count, shop, and communicate throughout East Africa!