Counting in Zulu

Enter a number and get it written in full in Zulu.

Language overview

The Zulu language (isiZulu) belongs to the Niger–Congo languages family, and more specifically to the Bantu branch. It is spoken in South Africa (where it is co-oficial with ten other languages: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, and Xhosa), but also in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, and counts about 10.3 million speakers.
Due to lack of data, we can only count accurately up to 1,000,000 in Zulu. Please contact us if you can help us counting up from that limit.

Clicks in Zulu

Zulu is a language with clicks, borrowed from the neighboring Khoisan languages from South and East Africa, such as Taa (or !Xóõ), !Kung (or !Xũ), Juǀʼhoans (or Zhuǀ’hõasi), and Khoekhoe (or Nàmá). Other Bantu languages like Xhosa and Sotho use clicks. A click is a sound produced with the tongue or the lips without using the lungs. The Zulu language counts three of them: the dental click, the palatal click, and the lateral click.

• The dental click is produced by placing the tongue against the upper teeth and by removing it abruptly, like in the tsk! tsk! onomatopeia. Noted ǀ in the International Phonetic Alphabet, it is transcribed by the letter c.
• The palatal click is produced by placing the tip of the tongue in contact with the palate and by lowering the tongue. Noted ǂ in the International Phonetic Alphabet, it is transcribed by the letter q.
• The lateral click is produced by placing the tongue against the upper teeth, the air escaping from the sides, like in the tchick! sound used to spur on a horse. Noted ǁ in the International Phonetic Alphabet, it is transcribed by the letter x.

Body language counting

The Zulus count on their fingers starting with the little finger of the left hand to the left thumb, and continuing with the thumb of the right hand. The digits from six to nine keep the meaning of that way of counting: the word for six, isithupha, means “thumb”, the word for seven, isikhombisa, means “the one that points out”, eight, or isishiyagalombili, means “two remain”, and finally nine, or isishiyagalolunye, means “one remains”.

Zulu numbering rules

• Digits from zero to nine are specific words, namely iqanda [0], kunye [1], kubili [2], kuthathu [3], kune [4], kuhlanu (or isihlanu) [5], isithupha [6], isikhombisa [7], isishiyagalombili [8], and isishiyagalolunye [9]. The one to five digits are actually roots prefixed with ku when used in general counting, such as the digits five (its second form) to nine, which are prefixed with isi.
• When compound, the unit root is prefixed with either na, nam, nan or nes depending on its first letter. Thus the compound digits are: nanye [1], nambili [2], nantathu [3], nane [4], nanhlanu (or nesihlanu) [5], nesithupha [6], nesikhombisa [7], nesishiyagalombili [8], and nesishiyagalolunye [9].
• The tens are formed by putting the word amashumi (plural form of ishumi, ten) before the multiplier digit separated with a space, except for ten itself: ishumi [10], amashumi amabili [20], amashumi amathathu [30], amashumi amane [40], amashumi amahlanu [50], amashumi ayisithupha [60], amashumi ayisikhombisa [70], amashumi ayisishiyagalombili [80], and amashumi ayisishiyagalolunye [90].
• Compound numbers are formed by saying the ten, then the compound unit form, separated with a space (e.g.: ishumi nesikhombisa [17], amashumi amahlanu nesishiyagalolunye [59]).
• The hundreds are built stating the word for hundred (ikhulu, and amakhulu in plural), then the multiplier digit root prefixed with either ama or ay depending on its first letter, separated with a space, except for one hundred itself: ikhulu [100], amakhulu amabili [200], amakhulu amathathu [300], amakhulu amane [400], amakhulu amahlanu [500], amakhulu ayisithupha [600], amakhulu ayisikhombisa [700], amakhulu ayisishiyagalombili [800], and amakhulu ayisishiyagalolunye [900].
• The thousands follow the same structure, the word for thousand being inkulungwane (which plural is izinkulungwane), the unit prefix being either ezim or ezin: inkulungwane [1,000], izinkulungwane ezimbili [2,000], izinkulungwane ezintathu [3,000], izinkulungwane ezine [4,000], izinkulungwane ezinhlanu [5,000], izinkulungwane eziyisithupha [6,000], izinkulungwane eziyisikhombisa [7,000], izinkulungwane eziyisishiyagalombili [8,000], and izinkulungwane eziyisishiyagalolunye [9,000].
• One million is isigidi (plural form: izigidi).

Books

Numbers list

1 – kunye 2 – kubili 3 – kuthathu 4 – kune 5 – kuhlanu 6 – isithupha 7 – isikhombisa 8 – isishiyagalombili 9 – isishiyagalolunye

10 – ishumi 11 – ishumi nanye 12 – ishumi nambili 13 – ishumi nantathu 14 – ishumi nane 15 – ishumi nanhlanu 16 – ishumi nesithupha 17 – ishumi nesikhombisa 18 – ishumi nesishiyagalombili

19 – ishumi nesishiyagalolunye 20 – amashumi amabili 30 – amashumi amathathu 40 – amashumi amane 50 – amashumi amahlanu 60 – amashumi ayisithupha 70 – amashumi ayisikhombisa 80 – amashumi ayisishiyagalombili 90 – amashumi ayisishiyagalolunye

100 – ikhulu 1,000 – inkulungwane one million – isigidi

Sources

• Le zoulou de poche, by Irène Roussat, editors Assimil (2008)
• Zulu phrasebook, Wikitravel

Links

• Learn Zulu

Bantu languages

Lingala, Mwani, Punu, Shona, Swahili, and Zulu.

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