Numbers 1 to 100 in Swahili (in words)
| Number | Swahili | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | moja | one |
| 2 | mbili | two |
| 3 | tatu | three |
| 4 | nne | four |
| 5 | tano | five |
| 6 | sita | six |
| 7 | saba | seven |
| 8 | nane | eight |
| 9 | tisa | nine |
| 10 | kumi | ten |
| 11 | kumi na moja | eleven |
| 12 | kumi na mbili | twelve |
| 13 | kumi na tatu | thirteen |
| 14 | kumi na nne | fourteen |
| 15 | kumi na tano | fifteen |
| 16 | kumi na sita | sixteen |
| 17 | kumi na saba | seventeen |
| 18 | kumi na nane | eighteen |
| 19 | kumi na tisa | nineteen |
| 20 | ishirini | twenty |
| 21 | ishirini na moja | twenty-one |
| 22 | ishirini na mbili | twenty-two |
| 23 | ishirini na tatu | twenty-three |
| 24 | ishirini na nne | twenty-four |
| 25 | ishirini na tano | twenty-five |
| 26 | ishirini na sita | twenty-six |
| 27 | ishirini na saba | twenty-seven |
| 28 | ishirini na nane | twenty-eight |
| 29 | ishirini na tisa | twenty-nine |
| 30 | thelathini | thirty |
| 31 | thelathini na moja | thirty-one |
| 32 | thelathini na mbili | thirty-two |
| 33 | thelathini na tatu | thirty-three |
| 34 | thelathini na nne | thirty-four |
| 35 | thelathini na tano | thirty-five |
| 36 | thelathini na sita | thirty-six |
| 37 | thelathini na saba | thirty-seven |
| 38 | thelathini na nane | thirty-eight |
| 39 | thelathini na tisa | thirty-nine |
| 40 | arobaini | forty |
| 41 | arobaini na moja | forty-one |
| 42 | arobaini na mbili | forty-two |
| 43 | arobaini na tatu | forty-three |
| 44 | arobaini na nne | forty-four |
| 45 | arobaini na tano | forty-five |
| 46 | arobaini na sita | forty-six |
| 47 | arobaini na saba | forty-seven |
| 48 | arobaini na nane | forty-eight |
| 49 | arobaini na tisa | forty-nine |
| 50 | hamsini | fifty |
| 51 | hamsini na moja | fifty-one |
| 52 | hamsini na mbili | fifty-two |
| 53 | hamsini na tatu | fifty-three |
| 54 | hamsini na nne | fifty-four |
| 55 | hamsini na tano | fifty-five |
| 56 | hamsini na sita | fifty-six |
| 57 | hamsini na saba | fifty-seven |
| 58 | hamsini na nane | fifty-eight |
| 59 | hamsini na tisa | fifty-nine |
| 60 | sitini | sixty |
| 61 | sitini na moja | sixty-one |
| 62 | sitini na mbili | sixty-two |
| 63 | sitini na tatu | sixty-three |
| 64 | sitini na nne | sixty-four |
| 65 | sitini na tano | sixty-five |
| 66 | sitini na sita | sixty-six |
| 67 | sitini na saba | sixty-seven |
| 68 | sitini na nane | sixty-eight |
| 69 | sitini na tisa | sixty-nine |
| 70 | sabini | seventy |
| 71 | sabini na moja | seventy-one |
| 72 | sabini na mbili | seventy-two |
| 73 | sabini na tatu | seventy-three |
| 74 | sabini na nne | seventy-four |
| 75 | sabini na tano | seventy-five |
| 76 | sabini na sita | seventy-six |
| 77 | sabini na saba | seventy-seven |
| 78 | sabini na nane | seventy-eight |
| 79 | sabini na tisa | seventy-nine |
| 80 | themanini | eighty |
| 81 | themanini na moja | eighty-one |
| 82 | themanini na mbili | eighty-two |
| 83 | themanini na tatu | eighty-three |
| 84 | themanini na nne | eighty-four |
| 85 | themanini na tano | eighty-five |
| 86 | themanini na sita | eighty-six |
| 87 | themanini na saba | eighty-seven |
| 88 | themanini na nane | eighty-eight |
| 89 | themanini na tisa | eighty-nine |
| 90 | tisini | ninety |
| 91 | tisini na moja | ninety-one |
| 92 | tisini na mbili | ninety-two |
| 93 | tisini na tatu | ninety-three |
| 94 | tisini na nne | ninety-four |
| 95 | tisini na tano | ninety-five |
| 96 | tisini na sita | ninety-six |
| 97 | tisini na saba | ninety-seven |
| 98 | tisini na nane | ninety-eight |
| 99 | tisini na tisa | ninety-nine |
| 100 | mia moja | one hundred |
Numbers in Swahili have a lovely rhythm that children pick up quickly: moja, mbili, tatu (one, two, three). On this page your child can tap any number from 1 to 100 to hear it in Swahili and English, or press Count with me to hear 1-10, 1-20 or the whole chart, all the way to mia moja. Swahili numbers follow clear patterns, so once your child knows 1 to 10 and the tens, the rest falls into place.
Swahili numbers 1 to 10
| Number | Swahili | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | moja | MO-ja |
| 2 | mbili | m-BEE-lee |
| 3 | tatu | TA-too |
| 4 | nne | N-ne |
| 5 | tano | TA-no |
| 6 | sita | SEE-ta |
| 7 | saba | SA-ba |
| 8 | nane | NA-ne |
| 9 | tisa | TEE-sa |
| 10 | kumi | KOO-mee |
Two sounds are new for English speakers. In mbili, the m is hummed straight into the b. In nne, the first n is a syllable on its own: "n-ne". Children usually find these fun to say.
Numbers 11 to 19: ten and one
Swahili teens are completely regular. Say "ten and" plus the small number: kumi na moja (11, "ten and one"), kumi na mbili (12), kumi na tatu (13), up to kumi na tisa (19). The little word na means "and". A child who knows 1-10 can count to 19 as soon as they learn this one pattern.
Counting in tens up to 100
From 20 upwards, most tens come from Arabic, reflecting centuries of Indian Ocean trade along the East African coast: ishirini (20), thelathini (30), arobaini (40), hamsini (50), sitini (60), sabini (70), themanini (80), tisini (90) and mia moja (100, "one hundred"). Notice how sitini, sabini and tisini echo sita, saba and tisa, which also come from Arabic.
In between, use na again: ishirini na moja (21), thelathini na tano (35), tisini na tisa (99). If your family also speaks Arabic, compare with numbers in Arabic and spot the shared words.
Numbers that change with the noun
Some Swahili numbers change their beginning to match the noun, because of Swahili noun classes. You count moja, mbili, tatu, but you say mtoto mmoja (one child), watoto wawili (two children) and vitabu vitatu (three books). Numbers 6, 7, 9 and 10, the Arabic ones, do not change. Young children absorb this simply by hearing it in real sentences, so you never need to explain the rule.
A fun fact: Swahili time
In East Africa, the clock is often counted from sunrise, about 7 in the morning. So 7 a.m. is saa moja ("hour one") and 8 a.m. is saa mbili ("hour two"). It makes sense near the equator, where the sun rises at about the same time all year. Older children find it a fascinating puzzle.
Counting games for home
- Steps. Count stairs or steps in Swahili every day.
- Fruit count. "Ndizi ngapi?" ("How many bananas?"). Count, eat one, count again.
- Clapping count. Clap and count to ten, then back down.
- Goli Jar. After each game, tap the jar and count the marbles together.
- Print this page. The number tables print cleanly from your browser as a mini chart.
For a 2-3 year old, counting to 3 with real objects is a big achievement. Count fingers, spoons and shoes before you use the chart.
At 4-5, most children count to 10 and recognise the digits; at 5-6, many count to 20 or beyond. For more practice in English, try counting 1 to 10 and the 1-100 chart, or go back to learn Swahili for kids.
Counting songs and clapping games
In East African homes and classrooms, children often learn numbers through clapping and call-and-response songs. The teacher calls "Moja!" and the class answers "Mbili!", and so on up to kumi, clapping on each number. You can do the same at home: take turns saying the next number, jump once for each, or count the beats of a drum. Rhythm helps children remember the order, and the steady stress on the second-last syllable, MO-ja, m-BI-li, TA-tu, makes Swahili numbers especially easy to chant.
Tips for bilingual families
Children who go to school in English often start counting in English at home. That is fine. Keep one counting routine firmly in Swahili, such as counting steps or bananas, and let grandparents count along on video calls.
Namba 1 hadi 100 kwa Kiswahili
Hesabuni pamoja na mtoto kila siku: ngazi, vijiko, magari na vifungo. Gusa namba yoyote kwenye jedwali, na mtoto ataisikia kwa Kiswahili na kwa Kiingereza. Kitufe cha "Hesabu nami" kitawasaidia kuhesabu hadi kumi, hadi ishirini au hadi mia moja.
Namba za Kiswahili ni rahisi: kumi na moja, kumi na mbili, kumi na tatu; ishirini na moja, ishirini na mbili. Ukijua namba moja hadi kumi na makumi, unaweza kuhesabu hadi mia moja!
How to use this page at home
Say it, then find it
Play for a few minutes, then look for the same thing away from the screen: swahili words on the shelf, in the kitchen, on the way to school. A child learns a word properly when they meet it twice, once on the screen and once in their hand.
Ten minutes is enough
Short and happy beats long and tired. Stop while your child still wants more, and come back tomorrow: the same page on five short days teaches far more than one long sitting. Nothing here is scored, so there is no reason to push.
Use both languages
Tap the language button at the top to hear the words in your home language first and the second language after. Hearing the same picture named in two languages is one of the few things research agrees builds attention as well as vocabulary.
