Numbers and Agreement

01

The Ones That Agree

• -moja one
• -wili two
• -tatu three
• -nne four
• -tano five
• -nane eight

• Nina magari mawili, baiskeli mbili, na pikipiki tatu.

  I have two cars, two bicycles, and three motorbikes.

That one sentence counts three different classes, and two turns up twice in two different shapes: mawili for the cars, mbili for the bicycles. The stem -wili is the same in both.

02

Counting With No Noun

When you simply count, with no noun for the number to agree with, the class 9 and 10 shapes are used: moja, mbili, tatu, nne, tano. The same shapes go with hours, dates and years, whose nouns are class 9 and 10.

• Tuhesabu: moja, mbili, tatu, nne, tano

  Let's count: one, two, three, four, five

• Sasa ni saa kumi na mbili na nusu jioni.

  It is now half past six in the evening.

03

The Ones That Never Change

• sita six
• saba seven
• tisa nine
• kumi ten
• mia hundred
• elfu thousand

• Ninanunua ndizi moja na mayai sita.

  I am buying one banana and six eggs.

• Nina kaka sita na dada saba.

  I have six brothers and seven sisters.

In the first, sita stands unchanged beside a class 6 noun while moja in the same breath has taken its class 9 shape.

04

Building Bigger Numbers

Tens and units are joined with na and, and the unit still agrees if it is one of the native six.

• Nina dola kumi na tatu tu kwenye pochi yangu.

  I have only thirteen dollars in my wallet.

• Laptop hiyo inagharimu euro elfu moja na mia tatu.

  That laptop costs one thousand three hundred euros.

05

Counting Reveals Number

For the many nouns whose singular and plural are identical, the number is the only thing that tells you which is meant.

• Ndizi moja inatosha.

  One banana is enough.

• Ndizi mbili zinatosha.

  Two bananas are enough.

06

Ordinals Are Built with -a

There is no separate set of words for first, second, third. Swahili uses the linking word -a plus the ordinary number, so an ordinal agrees through that linking word rather than directly.

• -a kwanza - first
• -a pili - second
• -a tatu - third

• Hii ni siku yako ya kwanza kazini?

  Is this your first day at work?

• Hapana, leo ni siku yangu ya pili.

  No, today is my second day.

• Hii ni mara ya tatu imebidi nikukumbushe.

  This is the third time I have had to remind you.

07

One as Someone

-moja with a person means a certain one, where English says someone or simply a.

• Mmoja wa wenzangu kazini ni rafiki yangu wa dhati.

  One of my colleagues at work is a true friend of mine.

08

Counting Money and Time

Numbers with hours, prices and dates behave exactly as they do elsewhere, agreeing with the noun they count.

• Tafadhali nenda dukani ukanunue dazeni moja ya mayai.

  Please go to the shop and buy a dozen eggs.

• Leo ni tarehe mosi ya Mei.

  Today is the first of May.