Swahili Numbers

Welcome to the sixth Swahili lesson about numbers. This time we will learn about cardinal and ordinal numbers, followed by grammar rules, then animal names, finally a conversation in Swahili to help you practice your daily phrases.

Cardinal	Swahili	Ordinal	Swahili
one	mmoja	first	kwanza
two	mbili	second	pili
three	tatu	third	wa tatu
four	nne	fourth	wa nne
five	tano	fifth	wa tano
six	sita	sixth	wa sita
seven	saba	seventh	wa saba
eight	nane	eighth	wa nane
nine	tisa	ninth	tisa
ten	kumi	tenth	kumi
eleven	kumi na moja	eleventh	kumi na moja
twelve	kuma na mbili	twelfth	kumi na mbili
thirteen	kumi na tatu	thirteenth	kumi na tatu
fourteen	kumi na nne	once	mara moja
fifteen	kumi na tano	twice	mara mbili
sixteen	kumi na sita	Monday	jumatatu
seventeen	kumi na saba	Tuesday	jumanne
eighteen	kumi na nane	Wednesday	jumatano
nineteen	kumi na tisa	Thursday	alhamisi
twenty	ishirini	Friday	ijumaa
seventy one	sabini na moja	Saturday	jumamosi
one hundred	mia	Sunday	jumapili

Numbers Grammar Rules

Swahili cardinal numbers refer to the counting numbers, because they show quantity. For example: I speak twolanguages. Ordinal numbers on the other hand tell the order of things and their rank: my first language is Swahili. The examples below use numbers in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Grammar + Rules	Swahili
I have three dogs [number + noun]	nina mbwa watatu
my daughter has two cats [number + noun]	binti yangu ana paka wawili
she speaks seven languages [verb + number]	anafahamu lugha saba
my brother has one son [number + singular noun]	ndugu yangu ana mtoto mmoja
this is my second lesson [ordinal number + noun]	hili ni somo langu la pili
did you read the third book? [ordinal number + noun]	je, ulisoma kitabu ya tatu?

We're not done yet! The following is a list of animals.

cow   ng'ombe	goat   mbuzi	donkey   punda	horse   farasi
dog   mbwa	cat   paka	mouse   panya	bird   ndege

Conversation in Swahili

Now we finally reach the last part, the practice of the daily conversations. These phrases are used to get to know new people, and break the ice.

English	Swahili
Where are you from?	unatoka nchi gani?
I'm from the U.S	mimi ninatoka amerika
I'm American	mimi ni mmarekani
Where do you live?	unaishi wapi?
I live in the U.S	ninaishi amerika
What do you do for a living?	unafanya kazi gani?
I'm a student	mimi ni mwanafunzi

Source: www.learn101.org