Swahili Fractions and Ordinals: Half, a Third, First, Fourth

Ask two children to share one chapati and you'll have a maths lesson in about four seconds.

In Swahili, that lesson comes with a little history too. The words for half, a third and a quarter came into Swahili from Arabic, like the numbers six, seven and nine. The words for first and second are Swahili's own. Here they all are, with how to say them.

Fractions: nusu, theluthi, robo

How to read the origin marks: Bantu-Swahili is Swahili's own African root, and Arabic-origin came into Swahili from Arabic.

Notice the pattern in the last two rows: the fraction first, then how many. Robo tatu is “quarter three”, three quarters.

There's also a Swahili way to say any fraction with one on top: sehemu (seh-HEH-moo), “part”, plus the ordinal. Sehemu ya tatu is “the third part”, a third, and sehemu ya tano is a fifth.

“Half” or “half of”?

With a measure, nusu goes straight in front: nusu saa is half an hour. With a thing you're sharing, add ya (“of”): nusu ya chapati is half of the chapati.

First, second, third: the ordinal numbers

Only first and second have their own words. Kwanza comes from kuanza, “to begin”, and pili means second. From third onwards you simply use the number you already know: fourth is wa nne, “of four”.

The little word in front changes

Wa is for people. With other words it changes to match, which children often spot before grown-ups do:

• mtoto wa kwanza: the first child
• siku ya kwanza: the first day
• kitabu cha kwanza: the first book
• darasa la kwanza: first grade (the first class at school)

Ordinals live inside names, too. The name Pili means second-born, and the days of the week are counted from Saturday: Monday, Jumatatu, is “week-three”. See all seven days.

Play it tonight: share it fairly

1. Take one chapati, orange or slice of bread.
2. Cut it in two and say nusu as you hand over each half. Then cut a half again and say robo.
3. Line up three toys for a race. Ask: who's wa kwanza? Who's wa pili? Who's wa tatu?

Two minutes, five new words, and a snack at the end.

Questions parents ask

How do you say half, a third and a quarter in Swahili?

Half is nusu, a third is theluthi and a quarter is robo. First, second and third are wa kwanza, wa pili and wa tatu.

What is 1/3 in Swahili?

One third is theluthi, a word that came from Arabic. You can also say sehemu ya tatu, “the third part”.

How do you say “fourth” in Swahili?

Fourth is wa nne, “of four”. Only first (wa kwanza) and second (wa pili) have their own words; from third onwards you use the number.

Keep going

Need the numbers themselves? Start with our Swahili numbers 1–100 guide, or type any number into the Swahili number converter. And for one new word every morning, join Jambo Daily.

Nusu yako, nusu yangu! — Half for you, half for me!