Swahili Numbers 1–100 for Kids: Pronunciation, Origins and Counting Games

Counting in Swahili, the easy way

Counting is often the first thing a child learns in a new language, and Swahili makes it a joy. Ten words get you to ten, and after that almost everything is built from pieces you already know.

Whether you're counting steps in Dar es Salaam, toys in Toronto or stairs in a Houston apartment block, the numbers are the same. Here's everything a family needs, with simple pronunciation and the story of where each number comes from.

Swahili numbers 1–10

Seven of the first ten numbers are Bantu, the African heart of Swahili. Three come from Arabic, carried by centuries of Indian Ocean trade.

How to read the origin marks in our tables: Bantu-Swahili (baobab) grew from Swahili's own African roots, and Arabic-origin (jasmine) came from Arabic.

Capitals show the stressed syllable. In Swahili the stress almost always falls on the second-to-last syllable. In mbili and nne, the first m or n is hummed as its own short beat.

Why some Swahili numbers sound Arabic

Swahili is a Bantu language, a cousin of Zulu, Kikuyu and Shona, and its oldest counting words are Bantu. Across East and southern Africa you'll hear relatives of -tatu (three) and -tano (five) in language after language.

For more than a thousand years, the Swahili coast traded with Arabia, Persia and India. Merchants in towns like Kilwa, Lamu and Zanzibar needed bigger numbers for goods and money, and Arabic supplied many of them. So sita, saba and tisa (6, 7, 9) and almost every ten from 20 to 90 come from Arabic.

It's a lovely thing to share with children: every time they count, they're hearing the history of the coast. The African roots are the foundation, and the trade words were added on top.

Counting to 100 and beyond

After ten, Swahili uses na (“and”): 11 is kumi na moja, literally “ten and one”. Learn the tens and you can say any number up to 99.

The th in thelathini and themanini sounds like “th” in think. Bigger numbers keep going: laki is 100,000 and milioni is a million.

Numbers that change with what you count

Here's a fun Swahili secret: the Bantu numbers change their beginning to match the thing being counted. The Arabic ones never change.

Notice that mbili becomes -wili, and that kumi stays the same even though it's Bantu. Young children don't need the grammar. Just say “watoto watatu!” when three kids walk in, and they'll pick up the pattern by ear.

Swahili time: why 7am is “one o'clock”

Swahili time starts counting at sunrise, around 6am, not at midnight. So the first hour of daylight is saa moja, “hour one”, which is 7am.

The quick trick: add or take away six hours. Children love this one, because it makes perfect sense near the equator, where the sun rises at about the same time all year.

Five counting games to play tonight

1. Stair count: count every step up to bed in Swahili. By the end of the week, let your child lead.
2. Countdown launch: kumi, tisa, nane… all the way to moja, then jump. Our book 10… 9… 8… Pole Pole to UHURU! counts down a climb of Kilimanjaro the same way.
3. Snack maths: “Unataka zabibu ngapi?” (How many grapes do you want?) They only get them if they answer in Swahili.
4. Clap and count: clap a number and they shout it in Swahili. Swap roles.
5. Saa ngapi? At breakfast, ask “what time is it in Swahili time?” and work it out together.

Questions parents ask

How do you count to 10 in Swahili?

Moja, mbili, tatu, nne, tano, sita, saba, nane, tisa, kumi.

Are Swahili numbers Arabic?

Mostly not. One to five, eight and ten are Bantu. Six, seven, nine and most of the tens come from Arabic, through centuries of coastal trade.

How do you say 100 in Swahili?

Mia moja. A thousand is elfu moja.

Why is 7am “saa moja” in Swahili?

Swahili time counts from sunrise at about 6am, so 7am is the first hour of the day.

Keep counting together

Ten words a day is all it takes. Start with moja to tano this week, add the rest next week, and you'll be counting to 100 by the end of the month.

• Practise now: try our Swahili numbers tool and hear the numbers spoken.
• One word a day: join Jambo Daily for a free Swahili word in your inbox each morning.
• Count down a mountain: our board book 10… 9… 8… Pole Pole to UHURU! takes little climbers from kumi to the top of Kilimanjaro. Get it on Etsy.
• Next up: if your child loved this, our Swahili names guide is the perfect follow-on.

Practise the numbers →

Asante for counting with us. Tutaonana! (See you soon!)