Every survival situation eventually involves a number — a price, a quantity, an address, a time. Learn these and the market, the matatu, and the restaurant all become navigable.
Key Vocabulary
| Swahili | English | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Moja | One (1) | MOH-jah |
| Mbili | Two (2) | m-BEE-lee |
| Tatu | Three (3) | TAH-too |
| Nne | Four (4) | n-NEH |
| Tano | Five (5) | TAH-noh |
| Sita | Six (6) | SEE-tah |
| Saba | Seven (7) | SAH-bah |
| Nane | Eight (8) | NAH-neh |
| Tisa | Nine (9) | TEE-sah |
| Kumi | Ten (10) | KOO-mee |
| Kumi na moja | Eleven (11) | KOO-mee nah MOH-jah |
| Kumi na mbili | Twelve (12) | KOO-mee nah m-BEE-lee |
| Ishirini | Twenty (20) | ee-shee-REE-nee |
| Ishirini na tano | Twenty-five (25) | ee-shee-REE-nee nah TAH-noh |
| Thelathini | Thirty (30) | theh-lah-THEE-nee |
| Arobaini | Forty (40) | ah-roh-BAH-ee-nee |
| Hamsini | Fifty (50) | ham-SEE-nee |
| Mia moja | One hundred (100) | MEE-ah MOH-jah |
| Mia mbili | Two hundred (200) | MEE-ah m-BEE-lee |
| Elfu moja | One thousand (1,000) | EL-foo MOH-jah |
How the pattern works
Swahili numbers follow a clean, logical pattern. Once you know 1–10 and the tens, you can build almost any number by combining them with na (and).
Kumi na tatu = 13 Ten and three
Ishirini na nane = 28 Twenty and eight
Mia moja na hamsini = 150 One hundred and fifty
Phrases in Context
Numbers come up constantly — at the market, in a taxi, ordering food. Here are the situations you will actually face.
Asking the price
Bei gani? How much is it? (literally: price how?)
— Mia mbili. Two hundred. (shillings)
Buying a quantity
Nataka mawili, tafadhali. I want two, please.
Nipe tatu. Give me three.
In a taxi or matatu
Naenda kwa elfu moja. I will go for one thousand. (offering a price)
Ni mbali. Elfu mbili. It is far. Two thousand.
Giving your phone number
Nambari yangu ni sifuri saba moja... My number is zero seven one...
Note: Sifuri is zero. Useful for phone numbers and prices ending in 00.
Survival shortcut
If a number is too complex to say, hold up fingers or show your phone screen. Nobody will judge you. But knowing moja through kumi plus mia (hundred) and elfu (thousand) will cover 90% of real situations — especially at the market where most prices fall in that range.