 | Chapter 31 - Numbers |
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1. NUMBERS FROM 1 TO 20:
| 1 | KOW | 11 | KOW IYO TOBAN |
| 2 | LABA | 12 | LABA IYO TOBAN |
| 3 | SADDEX | 13 | SADDEX IYO TOBAN |
| 4 | AFAR | 14 | AFAR IYO TOBAN |
| 5 | SHAN | 15 | SHAN IYO TOBAN |
| 6 | LIX | 16 | LIX IYO TOBAN |
| 7 | TODDOBA | 17 | TODDOBA IYO TOBAN |
| 8 | SIDDEED | 18 | SIDDEED IYO TOBAN |
| 9 | SAGAAL | 19 | SAGAAL IYO TOBAN |
| 10 | TOBAN | 20 | LABATAN |
2. TENS:
| 10 | TOBAN | ||
| 20 | LABAATAN | 60 | LIXDAN |
| 30 | SODDON | 70 | TODDOBAATAAN |
| 40 | AFARTAAN | 80 | SIDDEETAAN |
| 50 | KONTON | 90 | SAGAASHAAN |
When a ten is followed by a unit, there are two ways to read these numbers!
In northern Somalia, the unit is read first, followed by the ten, while it is the opposite in the south: the ten first, then the unit.
In both cases, unit and ten are linked by the word IYO = and.
EXAMPLES:
| Northern Somalia | Southern Somalia | |
|---|---|---|
| KOW IYO LABAATAN | 21 | LABAATAN IYO KOW |
| AFAR IYO SODDON | 34 | SODDON IYO AFAR |
| TODDOBA IYO AFARTAN | 47 | AFARTAN IYO TODDOBA |
| SHAN IYO LIXDAN | 65 | SHAN IYO LIXDAN |
| TODDOBA IYO TODDOBAATAN | 77 | TODDOBAATAN IYO TODDOBA |
| SADDEX IYO SIDDEETAN | 83 | SIDDEETAN IYO SADDEX |
| SAGAAL IYO SAGAASHAN | 99 | SAGAASHAN IYO SAGAAL |
3. HUNDREDS:
The word 100 is called BOQOL
| 100 | BOQOL | ||
| 200 | LABA BOQOL | 600 | LIX BOQOL |
| 300 | SADDEX BOQOL | 700 | TODDOBA BOQOL |
| 400 | AFAR BOQOL | 800 | SIDDEED BOQOL |
| 500 | SHAN BOQOL | 900 | SAGAAL BOQOL |
When a hundred is followed by tens and units, the word IYO (= and) is used to link them.
EXAMPLES:
| 101 | BOQOL IYO KOW |
| 110 | BOQOL IYO TOBAN |
| 111 | BOQOL IYO KOW IYO TOBAN |
| 508 | SHAN BOQOL IYO SIDDED |
| 528 | SHAN BOQOL IYO SIDDED IYO LABAATAN |
4. THOUSANDS:
The word 1000 is called KUN
| 1000 | KUN | ||
| 2000 | LABA KUN | 6000 | LIX KUN |
| 3000 | SADDEX KUN | 7000 | TODDOBA KUN |
| 4000 | AFAR KUN | 8000 | SIDDEED KUN |
| 5000 | SHAN KUN | 9000 | SAGAAL KUN |
In numbers containing thousands, hundreds, tens, and units, the word IYO is used to link them.
EXAMPLES:
| 1001 | KUN IYO KOW |
| 1500 | KUN IYO SHAN BOQOL |
| 1735 | KUN IYO TODDOBAN BOQOL IYO SHAN IYO SODDON |
| 4352 | KUN IYO SADDEX BOQOL IYO LABA IYO KONTON |
| 4500 | AFAR KUN IYO SHAN BOQOL |
| 7800 | TODDOBA KUN IYO SIDDEX BOQOL |
| 8954 | SIDDEX KUN IYO SAGAAL BOQOL IYO AFAR IYO KONTON |
5. FRACTIONS:
| 1/2 | badh | a half |
| 1/4 | rubuc | a quarter |
6. DECIMALS:
In mathematics, the digit zero is called: SERO (Somali North) or SUFUR (Somali South).
The word for point is: DHIBIC.
EXAMPLES:
| 0.25 | Sero dhibic shan iyo labaatan |
| 0.5 | Sero dhibic shan |
| 10.5 | Toban dhibic shan |
| 10.25 | Toban dhibic shan iyo labaatan |
| 20.125 | Labaatan dhibic boqol iyo shan iyo labaatan |
7. ORDINAL NUMBERS:
To say the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc., add the suffix -AAD to the number, with some phonetic adjustments.
The ordinal number follows the definite noun it qualifies.
| KOWBAAD | Buuga kowbaad | The first book |
| LABAAD | Baska labaad | The second bus |
| SADDAXAAD | Marka saddaxaad | The third time |
| AFRAAD / AFARAAD | Casharka afaraad | The fourth lesson |
| SHANAAD | Fasalka shanaad | The fifth grade |
| LIXAAD | Hasha lixaad | The sixth she-camel |
| TODDOBAAD | Malinta toddobaad | The seventh day |
| SIDEEDAAD | Blooga sideedaad | The eighth block |
| SAGAALAAD | Bisha sagaalaad | The ninth month |
| TOBNAAD | Habeenka tobnaad | The tenth night |
8. HOW TO COUNT:
Numbers in Somali behave like nouns, which means they can take definite suffixes.
Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 are feminine. All other numbers are masculine.
Numbers are placed before the counted noun: saddex buug = 3 books, laba kabood = 2 shoes, toban dal = 10 countries, etc..
From the examples, we see that the number is absolute, while the counted noun is put in the genitive; however, only nouns whose plural ends in -o have a distinct form in the genitive ending in -ood!
When the counted noun is definite, it's the number that carries the definite suffix: saddexda buug = the 3 books, labada kabood = the 2 shoes, tobanka dal = the 10 countries, etc..
NOTE:
The number 1, KOW, is only used for numerating! When it comes to counting something, we use the words HAL, MID or XABAD.
Examples: hal buug = 1 book, hal kab = 1 shoe, hal dal = 1 country, hal naag = 1 woman, etc..
When "one" is used as a pronoun (he saw one, I took one, she brought one, etc..), we use MID or HAL.
Examples: Hal ii sii = give me one; Mid bay cunaa = he ate one.
When counting a collective or uncountable object, we use the expression hal oo ... ha = "one of".
Examples: laba hal oo muus ah = two bananas ; saddex hal oo muus ah = three bananas, etc..
OTHER EXAMPLES:
| Hal buug ah | = a book |
| Xabad furin ah | = a bread |
| Xabad carruur ah | = a child |
| Xabad nacnac ah | = a candy |
| Shan buug | = five books |
| Shan buug oo waweyn | = five big books |
| Saddex jeer | = three times |
| Hal bisad (ah) | = a cat |
| Afar bisadood | = four cats |
| Afar bisadood oo yaryar | = four small cats |
| Afar bisadood oo yaryar oo cadcad | = four small white cats |
| Shan shimbirood | = five birds |
| Todooba malmood | = seven days |
| Laba gacmood | = two hands |
| Laba indhood | = two eyes |
| Saddex carruur ah | = three children |
| Xabad shaah ah | = a tea |
| Koob shaah ah | = a cup of tea |
| Hal koob oo shaah ah | = a cup of tea |
| Shan koob oo shaah ah | = five cups of tea |
| Toban kiilo oo sonkor ah | = ten kilograms of sugar |
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