Counting in Gwere
Language overview
The Gwere language, also known as Lugwere, is a Bantu language from the Niger-Congo family. It is spoken by the Gwere people (or Bagwere) in the eastern part of Uganda. The Gwere language counts about 410,000 speakers.
Gwere numbers list
- 1 – moiza
- 2 – ibiri
- 3 – isatu
- 4 – iina
- 5 – itaanu
- 6 – mukaaga
- 7 – musanvu
- 8 – munaana
- 9 – mvenda
- 10 – ikumi
- 11 – ikumi na moiza
- 12 – ikumi na ibiri
- 13 – ikumi na isatu
- 14 – ikumi na iina
- 15 – ikumi na itaanu
- 16 – ikumi na mukaaga
- 17 – ikumi na musanvu
- 18 – ikumi na munaana
- 19 – ikumi na mvenda
- 20 – makumi aabiri
- 30 – makumi aasatu
- 40 – makumi aana
- 50 – makumi ataanu
- 60 – nkaaga
- 70 – nsanvu
- 80 – kinaana
- 90 – kyenda
- 100 – kikumi
- 1,000 – lukumi
Gwere numbering rules
Now that you’ve had a gist of the most useful numbers, let’s move to the writing rules for the tens, the compound numbers, and why not the hundreds, the thousands and beyond (if possible).
- Digits from zero to nine are rendered by specific words, namely ziiro [0], moiza [1], ibiri [2], isatu [3], iina [4], itaanu [5], mukaaga [6], musanvu [7], munaana [8], and mvenda [9].
- Tens are formed starting with the word for ten (singular: ikumi, plural: makumi) followed by the multiplier digit with its starting i replaced by a(a) from thirty to fifty, except for ten: ikumi [10], makumi aabiri [20], makumi aasatu [30], makumi aana [40], and makumi ataanu [50]. Sixty and seventy see their starting mu replaced by n, and eighty and ninety see their starting m(u) replaced by ki: nkaaga [60], nsanvu [70], kinaana [80], and kyenda [90].
- Compound numbers are formed staring by the ten, then the word na separated with spaces, then the unit (e.g.: ikumi na musanvu [17], makumi aasatu na munaana [38], nkaaga na iina [64]).
- Hundreds are formed prefixing the multiplier digit with b when it starts with i, and replacing the starting mu by lu: kikumi [100], bibiri [200], bisatu [300], bina [400], bitaanu [500], lukaaga [600], lusanvu [700], lunaana [800], and lwenda [900].
- Thousands are formed starting with the word for thousand (singular: lukumi, plural: nkumi) followed by the multiplier digit separated with a space up to five thousand, with the exception of one thousand: lukumi [1,000], nkumi ibiri [2,000], nkumi isatu [3,000], nkumi iina [4,000], and nkumi itaanu [5,000]. From six thousand to nine thousand, they are formed replacing the starting mu of their multiplier digit by ka: kakaaga [6,000], kasanvu [7,000], kanaana [8,000], and kenda [9,000].
- Ten thousand is mitwalo [10,000].
- The word for million is kakaire, and the word for billion (109) is katabalika.
Write a number in full in Gwere
Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in Gwere. Will you guess how to write a number in full? Enter a number and try to write it down in your head, or maybe on a piece of paper, before displaying the result.
Source
- Lugwere Dictionary (pdf)
Bantu languages
Gwere, Kinyarwanda, Lingala, Makhuwa, Mwani, Nyungwe, Punu, Shona, Soga, Swahili, Tsonga, Tswana, Xhosa, Yao, and Zulu.
Other supported languages
As the other currently supported languages are too numerous to list extensively here, please select a language from the full list of supported languages.