Counting beyond ten
Lesson 10 of 13≈ 14 min
From twenty to a billion
After kumi (ten), shikomori switches to Arabic: shirini (20), mia (100), alifu (1,000). Large numbers have their own words: laki (a million), luku (a billion).
To link them, two small words: na and wa, both « and ». And some numbers agree with the noun, as you glimpsed in M2.2.
All the forms in this lesson are shimaoré, from the Nisusoma shimaore booklet (CASNAV, 2019, pp. 19 and 37-39).
Tens and hundreds
Then 900 tusu mia, 1,000 alifu, a million laki, a billion luku. Zero is kavu. Nisusoma shimaore booklet, pp. 37-39.
| Number | Ten | Number | Hundred |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | shirini | 100 | mia |
| 30 | thelathini | 200 | mia teni |
| 40 | arɓaini | 300 | thalatha mia |
| 50 | hamsini | 400 | arɓa mia |
| 60 | sitini | 500 | hamsu mia |
| 70 | saɓwini | 600 | sita mia |
| 80 | thamanini | 700 | saɓa mia |
| 90 | tuswini | 800 | thamani mia |
Linking: na or wa?
Both mean « and », but not in the same place:
- na links a unit, and is used up to 19: shirini na moja — twenty-one
- wa (an Arabic word) links a ten, from 20 on, after a hundred or a thousand: mia wa shirini — a hundred and twenty
The two combine: alifu mbili wa shirini na moja — two thousand and twenty-one.
Numbers that agree
Only 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8 agree; moja, sita, saɓa, shendra and kumi stay invariable. The number comes after the noun: watru wararu « three people », miri minne « four trees ». Booklet, pp. 37-38.
| Noun class | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cl. 2 (watru, people) | waili | wararu | wanne | watsano | wanane |
| cl. 4 (miri, trees) | mili | miraru | minne | mitsano | minane |
| cl. 6 (magari, cars) | maili | mararu | manne | matsano | manane |
| cl. 8 and 10 (ziri, nguo) | mbili | traru | nne | tsano | nane |
First, second… and a half
Ordinals are formed with the connective agreeing with the noun (wa, la, ya…) followed by the number; « first » has its own word, handra:
- mutru wa handra — the first person
- gari la pvili — the second car (written v̄ili in the booklet)
- mara ya raru — the third time
Fractions: nusu (half), robo (quarter), thumuni (eighth). Booklet, pp. 38-39.
Practice
Which number is hamsini?
hamsini = ___.
« Twenty-one »: which word links shirini and moja?
shirini ___ moja.
« Three people » is said…
watru ___.
Mini-quiz
« A hundred and twenty » is said…
mia ___ shirini.
Next lesson: finding your way
You can count up to a billion. The next lesson teaches you to locate things: up, left, north, at the beach.