How to count in Soninke

Enter a number and read it spelled out in Soninke.

Language overview

The Soninke language (sooninkanxanne) belongs to the mande family. It is mainly spoken in Mali, and also in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea. National language in Mali, Senegal, and Mauritania, Soninke counts about one million speakers.

Soninke numbering rules

  • Digits from one to nine are specific words, namely baane [1], fillo [2], sikko [3], naxato [4], karago [5], tumu [6], ñeru [7], segu [8], and kabu [9].
  • Tens are formed by setting the prefix tan before the multiplier digit, with some exceptions: tanmu [10], tanfille [20], tanjikke [30], tannaxate [40], tankarage [50], tandume [60], tanñere [70], tansege [80], and tankabe [90].
  • Compound numbers are formed by saying the ten, then the coordinator do, and the unit (e.g.: tanmu do segu [18], tankarage do naxato [54]).
  • Hundreds are formed by setting the multiplier digit after the hundred word (singular kame, plural kamo). Besides, the plural form of the multiplier digit is used, i.e. filli [2], sikki [3], naxati [4], karagi [5], tumi [6], ñeri [7], segi [8], and kabi [9]. Thus, we obtain: kame [100] (singular, without multiplier unit), kamo filli [200] (both plural), kamo sikki [300], kamo naxati [400], kamo karagi [500], kamo tumi [600], kamo ñeri [700], kamo segi [800], and kamo kabi [900].
  • Higher scale numbers are formed the same way as the hundreds. The word for thousand is wujjuune (plural, wujjuunu), loan-word from the Pulaar language; the word for million is miliyo (plural, miliyonu), loan-word from the French million; the word for billion is miliyaari (plural, miliyaarinu), loan-word from the French milliard, meaning billion (e.g.: wujjuune [1,000], wujjuunu sikki [3,000], miliyonu naxati [4,000,000], miliyaarinu karagi [5 billion]).
  • Each group of numbers is linked to the others with do (and), tens and units, but also hundreds and tens, thousands and hundreds… (e.g.: tanfille do sikko [23], kame do tankarage [150], wujjuune do kamo filli do tanjikke do naxato [1,234]).

Books

Numbers list

1 – baane
2 – fillo
3 – sikko
4 – naxato
5 – karago
6 – tumu
7 – ñeru
8 – segu
9 – kabu
10 – tanmu
11 – tanmu do baane
12 – tanmu do fillo
13 – tanmu do sikko
14 – tanmu do naxato
15 – tanmu do karago
16 – tanmu do tumu
17 – tanmu do ñeru
18 – tanmu do segu
19 – tanmu do kabu
20 – tanfille
30 – tanjikke
40 – tannaxate
50 – tankarage
60 – tandume
70 – tanñere
80 – tansege
90 – tankabe
100 – kame
1,000 – wujjuune
one million – miliyo
one billion – miliyaari

Other supported languages

Supported languages by families
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