Counting to ten in Swahili
One to ten, for prices, platforms, rooms and how many beers. Play the ten Swahili words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 Swahili phrases in this lesson
- MojaMOH-ja
- One
- Mbilim-BEE-lee
- Two
- TatuTAH-too
- Three
- NneN-NEH
- Four
- TanoTAH-noh
- Five
- SitaSEE-ta
- Six
- SabaSAH-ba
- Seven
- NaneNAH-neh
- Eight
- TisaTEE-sa
- Nine
- KumiKOO-mee
- Ten
The number one. When counting, moja becomes moja, mbili, tatu, nne, tano (one, two, three, four, five). The prefixes shift depending on what you are counting, but moja is universal.
With m-prefix for most nouns. Kuku mbili (two chickens), watu mbili (two people). The pattern is consistent but just memorize the basic numbers for ordering.
From three onward the prefixes matter less. Tatu through tisa (nine) are straightforward. Kumi is ten.
Twenty is ishirini, thirty is thelathini, forty is arobani. The patterns emerge but numbers like these come from Arabic influence in Swahili, giving them an unfamiliar sound.