Lesson 5: Speak Kiswahili, Count Joyfully and Shine on Campus! (Zungumza Kiswahili, Hesabu kwa Furaha na Uangaze Chuoni)

Geuza kuhesabu kuwa mazungumzo — darasani na kila siku chuoni. (Turn counting into conversation — from class to daily campus life.)

Numbers are everywhere on campus — in class, grades, or everyday conversations. This lesson will teach you how to count from one to one million and express order like first, second, third easily

Counting and Order in Kiswahili (Kuhesabu na Mpangilio kwa Kiswahili)

🔰 Sehemu ya Kwanza: Nambari za Moja kwa Moja (Exact Numbers)

1 – 30

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)

Numbers Beyond 30 (Key ones for practice)

31. Thelathini na moja (thirty-one)
32. Arobaini (forty)
33. Arobaini na moja (forty-one)
34. Hamsini (fifty)
35. Hamsini na moja (fifty-one)
36. Hamsini na mbili (fifty-two)
37. Sitini (sixty)
38. Sitini na moja (sixty-one)
39. Sitini na mbili (sixty-two)
40. Sabini (seventy)
41. Sabini na moja (seventy-one)
42. Sabini na mbili (seventy-two)
43. Themanini (eighty)
44. Themanini na moja (eighty-one)
45. Themanini na mbili (eighty-two)
46. Themanini na nane (eighty-eight)
47. Tisini (ninety)
48. Tisini na moja (ninety-one)
49. Tisini na tisa (ninety-nine)
50. Mia moja (one hundred)

Hundreds (Mamia)

200 – Mia mbili (two hundred)
300 – Mia tatu (three hundred)
400 – Mia nne (four hundred)
500 – Mia tano (five hundred)
600 – Mia sita (six hundred)
700 – Mia saba (seven hundred)
800 – Mia nane (eight hundred)
900 – Mia tisa (nine hundred)
1000 – Elfu moja (one thousand)

Thousands (Maelfu)

2000 – Elfu mbili (two thousand)
3000 – Elfu tatu (three thousand)
4000 – Elfu nne (four thousand)
5000 – Elfu tano (five thousand)
6000 – Elfu sita (six thousand)
7000 – Elfu saba (seven thousand)
8000 – Elfu nane (eight thousand)
9000 – Elfu tisa (nine thousand)
10000 – Elfu kumi (ten thousand)

Larger Numbers

100,000 – Laki moja (one hundred thousand)
200,000 – Laki mbili (two hundred thousand)
500,000 – Laki tano (five hundred thousand)
1,000,000 – Milioni moja (one million)

🪜 Kuunganisha Nambari kwa “na” (Joining Numbers with “na”)

In Kiswahili, na means “and” — used to join smaller parts to larger parts.

• Mia moja na kumi (one hundred and ten)
• Mia mbili na tano (two hundred and five)
• Elfu moja na mia tatu (one thousand and three hundred)
• Elfu mbili na ishirini (two thousand and twenty)
• Laki moja na elfu tano (one hundred thousand and five thousand)

🟡 Tip: “Na” is always written between the numbers — never before the first one.

🧭 Mazungumzo (Short Dialogue at the University)

Amina: Una wanafunzi wangapi katika darasa lako?
(How many students do you have in your class?)
Juma: Kuna wanafunzi ishirini na watano.
(There are twenty-five students.)
Amina: Wanafunzi wangapi wamekosa leo?
(How many students are absent today?)
Juma: Wamekosa watatu.
(Three are absent.)

🧩 Sehemu ya Pili: Nambari za Mpangilio (Ordinal Numbers)

Ordinal numbers show position or order — like first, second, third…

English	Kiswahili	Example
First	Kwanza	Leo ni siku ya kwanza ya muhula. (Today is the first day of the semester.)
Second	Pili	Nimechukua somo la pili. (I have taken the second subject.)
Third	Tatu	Nilimaliza mwaka wa tatu. (I finished third year.)
Fourth	Nne	Tutaonana wiki ya nne. (We shall meet in the fourth week.)
Fifth	Tano	Alikuwa mwanafunzi wa tano. (He was the fifth student.)
Sixth	Sita	Ni mwaka wa sita wa masomo. (It’s the sixth academic year.)
Seventh	Saba	Aliketi kwenye kiti cha saba. (He sat in the seventh seat.)
Eighth	Nane	Alipata nafasi ya nane. (She got the eighth position.)
Ninth	Tisa	Tulikuwa katika gredi ya tisa. (We were in ninth grade.)
Tenth	Kumi	Alimaliza mwezi wa kumi. (He completed the tenth month.)

🔹 To form ordinal numbers, add “wa” or “ya” depending on the noun class (agreement rule).

💬 Dialogue (Ordinal Numbers in Use)

Mwalimu: Ni mwanafunzi yupi aliye wa kwanza kwenye orodha?
(Which student is the first on the list?)
Afisa: Ni Amina. Na Juma ni wa pili.
(It’s Amina. And Juma is second.)
Mwalimu: Vizuri. Wanafunzi kumi wa kwanza watapewa zawadi.
(Good. The first ten students will receive an award.)

🧠 Practice Time (Mazoezi)

1. Hesabu kutoka 1 hadi 30 kwa Kiswahili. (Count from 1 to 30 in Kiswahili.)
2. Taja nambari za mpangilio hadi ya kumi. (Say ordinal numbers up to tenth.)
3. Andika kwa Kiswahili:
   • The first year student.
   • The second week.
   • The third book.
   • The fourth day.
4. Taja mwaka wako wa masomo kwa Kiswahili. (Say your academic year in Kiswahili.)

💡 Tip of the Day:

Kiswahili counting is simple because it follows a logical pattern. Once you know how to say ten (kumi), you can easily form all numbers by joining with na. Ordinal numbers also follow the same pattern — just add wa or ya!

💭 Reflection:

Counting and ordering in Kiswahili helps students communicate in daily campus life — counting marks, books, money, and class years. Practice every day to master both quantity (idadi) and order (mpangilio).

🌍 Speak Kiswahili, count in Kiswahili and Live the Language!
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