Hausa Numbers: From One to One Hundred and Beyond
The Hausa numbers one to a thousand, how the teens and tens are built, ordinals, and how to say prices and quantities for markets and daily life.
Numbers are essential in markets, and in Hausa they're regular and easy to build once you know the base numbers.
1 to 10
| Number | Hausa |
|---|---|
| 1 | ɗaya |
| 2 | biyu |
| 3 | uku |
| 4 | huɗu |
| 5 | biyar |
| 6 | shida |
| 7 | bakwai |
| 8 | takwas |
| 9 | tara |
| 10 | goma |
11 to 19
Hausa builds the teens as "ten plus X", using the word sha:
- 11 — goma sha ɗaya
- 12 — goma sha biyu
- 13 — goma sha uku
- 14 — goma sha huɗu
- 15 — goma sha biyar
- 16 — goma sha shida
- 17 — goma sha bakwai
- 18 — goma sha takwas
- 19 — goma sha tara
The tens
- 20 — ashirin
- 30 — talatin
- 40 — arba'in
- 50 — hamsin
- 60 — sittin
- 70 — saba'in
- 80 — tamanin
- 90 — casa'in
These tens come from Arabic.
Combining tens and units
Use da ("and") between the tens and the units:
- 21 — ashirin da ɗaya
- 35 — talatin da biyar
- 47 — arba'in da bakwai
- 99 — casa'in da tara
Hundreds and thousands
- 100 — ɗari
- 200 — ɗari biyu
- 250 — ɗari biyu da hamsin
- 1,000 — dubu
- 2,000 — dubu biyu
- 1,000,000 — miliyan ɗaya
Ordinals and "first"
- na farko — the first
- na biyu — the second
- na uku — the third
- na ƙarshe — the last
Counting things
In Hausa, the number usually follows the noun:
- littafi biyu — two books
- mutane uku — three people
- ƙwai shida — six eggs
Fractions and quantities
- rabi — half
- kwata — quarter
- kaɗan — a few, a little
- da yawa — many, a lot
- duka — all
Money and prices
Nigeria's currency is the naira, with the kobo as its small unit. In Niger, the CFA franc is used.
- Nawa ne? — How much is it?
- Naira ɗari — 100 naira
- Naira dubu biyu — 2,000 naira
- Yana da tsada. — It's expensive.
- Yana da arha. — It's cheap.
Phone numbers and dates
Years
Years are read as whole numbers: dubu biyu da ashirin da shida (2026).
Learning strategy
- Learn 1 to 10 first.
- Learn the pattern goma sha + unit for the teens.
- Learn the tens.
- Practise prices by naming items in a market.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting sha in the teens.
- Placing numbers before nouns (English order).
- Confusing ɗaya with daya in writing.
English Hausa Dictionary
Offline English–Hausa dictionary with clear, accurate meanings
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