Numbers

Swahili Lesson 6 (Numbers and School)

Duration: 30 mins

Lessons Swahili Lessons
Linguistic Swahili Vocabulary
Culture Swahili Phrases
Structure Swahili Grammar

The 6th lesson teaches counting in cardinal and ordinal numbers in Swahili. I also included a vocabulary list about school and finally common daily phrases. I will try to give examples using both vocabulary and grammar. That way it will be easy for you to see the words when they are separate and when they are in a sentence. Going through the whole page should take about 30 min. Make sure to read the pronunciation and hear the audio as well. If you have any question about this course, please email me directly at Swahili Classes.

Numbers

Knowing how to count in Swahili is essential and should be one of first things to learn. By simply knowing numbers from 1 to 9 you could express large numbers in a simplified way. Cardinal numbers are for counting such as "1, 2, 3 ...". Ordinal numbers represent order or rank such as "1st, 2nd, 3rd ...".

Below is a list of the first 20 cardinal and ordinal numbers that you might come across or use very often. The table contains 3 columns (English, Swahili, and Audio). Make sure you repeat each word after hearing it by either clicking on the audio button or by reading the pronunciation. That should help with memorization as well as improving your pronunciation.

Numbers in Swahili

Numbers Swahili Audio
OneMoja
Firstkwanza
TwoMbili
Secondpili
ThreeTatu
Thirdtatu
FourNne
Fourthnne
FiveTano
Fifthtano
SixSita
Sixthsita
SevenSaba
Seventhsaba
EightNane
Eighthnane
NineTisa
Ninthtisa (kenda)
TenKumi
Tenthkumi
ElevenKumi na moja
Eleventhkumi na moja
TwelveKumi na mbili
Twelfthkumi na mbili
ThirteenKumi na tatu
Thirteenthkumi na tatu
FourteenKumi na nne
Fourteenthkumi na nne
FifteenKumi na tano
Fifteenthkumi na tano
SixteenKumi na sita
Sixteenthkumi na sita
SeventeenKumi na saba
Seventeenthkumi na saba
EighteenKumi na nane
Eighteenthkumi na nane
NineteenKumi na tisa
Nineteenthya kumi na tisa
TwentyIshirini
Twentiethya ishirini
Thirty threeThelathini na tatu
One hundredMia
Three hundred and sixtyElfu tatu na sitini
One thousandelfu
Two thousand and fourteenelfu mbili na kumi na nne
One millionMilioni
Oncemara moja
Twicemara mbili

Now we will try to implement some of the numbers above into full Swahili sentences. That way you will be able to use the word not only by itself but embedded in a structure.

Swahili Numbers in a Sentence

Numbers Swahili Audio
I'm thirty years oldNina miaka thelathini
I have 2 sisters and one brotherNina dada wawili na kaka mmoja
English is my first languageKiingereza ni lugha yangu ya kwanza
Her second language is Spanishlugha yake ya pili ni Kihispania

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact me using the Swahili contact form on the header above.

Vocabulary List about School

Below is a list of 26 words related to school and classrooms. If you can memorize them by heart, you will be able communicate to a teacher/students many objects in your class.

School Words in Swahili

School Swahili Audio
AnswerJibu
BookKitabu
BooksVitabu
ChairKiti
DeskMeza
DictionaryKamusi
LanguagesLugha
LibraryMaktaba
Notebook (paper notebook)kitabu
PageUkarasa
PaperKaratasi
PenKalamu
PencilKalamu
QuestionSwali
SchoolShule
Studentmwanafunzi
Teachermwalimu
UniversityChuo Kikuu

Daily Conversation in Swahili

Finally, a couple bonus sentences that you might find useful. For a complete list of commonly used sentences, please visit our Swahili Phrases page. Enjoy!

Common Expressions in Swahili

English Swahili Audio
I have a questionNina swali
To listenKusikiliza
To readKusoma
To speakKuongea
To thinkKufikiri
To understandKuelewa
To writeKuandika
What's the name of that book?Hicho kitabu kinaitwaje?
What do you do for a living?Unafanya nini kwa maisha?
I'm a (teacher/ artist/ engineer)Mimi ni (mwalimu/msanii/mhandisi
Oh! That's good!Ah! Hiyo ni nzuri!
Can I practice with you?Naweza kufanya mazoezi na wewe?

Fun Facts

Language Quote: Approximately one new word is added to the English language every two hours and around 4,000 new words are added to the English dictionary every year.

Congratulations! You finished your 6th lesson in Swahili about numbers, and school terms. Are you ready for the next lesson? We recommend Swahili Lesson 7. You can also simply click on one of the links below or go back to our Learn Swahili homepage.

Lessons Swahili Lessons
Linguistic Swahili Vocabulary
Culture Swahili Phrases
Structure Swahili Grammar