Latest / Learn Swahili with Fexingo / Swahili Numbers 1 to 10 - Counting Basics
Transcript
- Lucas: Welcome back to Learn Swahili with Fexingo. I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna. Ready for another tiny episode? Lucas: Absolutely. Today we're tackling something foundational — numbers. Specifically, one through ten. Luna: Oh good, because I still mix up some of them. Let's start with one. Lucas: One in Swahili is moja. Say it with me: moja. Luna: Moja. Lucas: Perfect. Two is mbili. Mbili. Luna: Mbili. That one always makes me think of 'billion' but it's just two. Lucas: Good connection. Three is tatu. Tatu. Luna: Tatu. Like tattoo without the 'oo'. Lucas: Exactly. Four is nne. Nne. Luna: Nne. That's short and sweet. Lucas: Five is tano. Tano. Luna: Tano. Lucas: Six is sita. Sita. Luna: Sita. That sounds like 'sitter' without the 'r'. Lucas: Nice. Seven is saba. Saba. Luna: Saba. Like the brand. Lucas: Right. Eight is nane. Nane. Luna: Nane. That's like 'nanny' without the 'y'. Lucas: Nine is tisa. Tisa. Luna: Tisa. Sounds like 'tease'. Lucas: And ten is kumi. Kumi. Luna: Kumi. Like 'coomie' but with a k. Lucas: Let's run through them together: moja, mbili, tatu, nne, tano, sita, saba, nane, tisa, kumi. Luna: Moja, mbili, tatu, nne, tano, sita, saba, nane, tisa, kumi. I think I've got them. Lucas: Now let's use them in a real scenario. Imagine you're at a market. Luna: Okay. I want to buy three mangoes. Lucas: You'd say: Nataka maembe matatu. But the number comes before the noun, and there's agreement. For now, just focus on the number: tatu. Luna: Tatu. So I want three mangoes. Lucas: Exactly. Or if you ask for five bananas: Ndizi tano, tafadhali. Luna: Ndizi tano. Five bananas. Got it. Lucas: Let's practice counting from one to ten again, but this time a bit faster. Luna: Okay. Lucas: Moja, mbili, tatu, nne, tano, sita, saba, nane, tisa, kumi. Luna: Moja, mbili, tatu, nne, tano, sita, saba, nane, tisa, kumi. That was smoother. Lucas: You're doing great. Now, if this lesson is helping you, you know what keeps these episodes ad-free? Luna: Listener support? Lucas: Exactly. If Fexingo has been useful for your Swahili journey, you can buy us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it really helps us keep going. Even a small one makes a difference. Lucas: Absolutely. Now, back to numbers. Let's try a little challenge. I'll say a number in English, you say it in Swahili. Luna: Okay, hit me. Lucas: Four. Luna: Nne. Lucas: Seven. Luna: Saba. Lucas: Ten. Luna: Kumi. Lucas: One more: two. Luna: Mbili. Lucas: Perfect. You've got them. Luna: Thanks, Lucas. I feel much more confident now. Lucas: Great. Keep practicing, and next time we'll build on these. Until then, this is Lucas. Luna: And Luna. Kwaheri!