Information about counting in Tswana (Setswana), a Bantu language spoken in Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
If any of the numbers are links, you can hear a recording by clicking on them. If you can provide recordings, please contact me.
| Numeral | Cardinal numbers | Ordinal numbers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | nngwe | nthla (mo/fa pele) |
| 2 | pedi | bopedi |
| 3 | tharo | botharo, boraro |
| 4 | nne | bonne |
| 5 | tlhano | botlhano |
| 6 | thataro | bothataro |
| 7 | supa | bosupa |
| 8 | robedi | borobedi |
| 9 | robongwe | borobongwe |
| 10 | (le)some | bolesome |
| 11 | (le)somenngwe | |
| 12 | (le)somepedi | |
| 13 | (le)sometharo | |
| 14 | (le)somenne | |
| 15 | (le)sometlhano | |
| 16 | (le)somethataro | |
| 17 | (le)somesupa | |
| 18 | (le)somerobedi | |
| 19 | (le)somerobongwe | |
| 20 | masomamabedi, masome a mabedi | |
| 21 | masomamabedi nngwe, masome a mabedi nngwe | |
| 22 | masomamabedi pedi, masome a mabedi pedi | |
| 23 | masomamabedi tharo, masome a mabedi tharo | |
| 24 | masomamabedi nne, masome a mabedi nne | |
| 25 | masomamabedi tlhano, masome a mabedi tlhano | |
| 26 | masomamabedi thataro, masome a mabedi thataro | |
| 27 | masomamabedi supa, masome a mabedi supa | |
| 28 | masomamabedi robedi, masome a mabedi robedi | |
| 29 | masomamabedi robongwe, masome a mabedi robongwe | |
| 30 | masomamatharo, masome a tharo, masomamararo | |
| 40 | masomamanne, masome a mane | |
| 50 | masomamathlano, masome a mathlano | |
| 60 | masomamathataro, masome a thataro | |
| 70 | masomamasupa, masome a supa | |
| 80 | masomamarobedi, masome a robedi | |
| 90 | masomamarobongwe, masome a robongwe | |
| 100 | lekgolo | |
| 200 | makgolo a mabedi | |
| 300 | makgolo a tharo | |
| 400 | makgolo a nne | |
| 500 | makgolo a thlano | |
| 600 | makgolo a thataro | |
| 700 | makgolo a supa | |
| 800 | makgolo a robedi | |
| 900 | makgolo a robongwe | |
| 1,000 | sekete, sekete se le sengwe | |
| 2,000 | dikete tse pedi | |
| 3,000 | dikete tse tharo | |
| 4,000 | dikete tse nne | |
| 5,000 | dikete tse thlano | |
| 6,000 | dikete tse thataro | |
| 7,000 | dikete tse supa | |
| 8,000 | dikete tse robedi | |
| 9,000 | dikete tse robongwe | |
| 1,000,000 | mileone | |
| once | gangwe | |
| twice | gabedi | |
| thrice | gatharo, gararo | |
| four times | ganne | |
| five times | gatlhano | |
| six times | gathataro | |
| seven times | gasupa | |
| eight times | garobedi | |
| nine times | garobongwe | |
| ten times | galesome |
Source: Tshepo Dioka (Arts Chamber). Setswana Grammar Manual. July 2011.
Information compiled by Wolfgang Kuhl
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
Information about Tswana | Phrases | Numbers
Baba, Basaa, Bemba, Bena, Benga, Central Teke, Chichewa, Chokwe, Comorian, Duala, Ewondo, Fang, Gungu, Gusii, Gwere, Herero, Ibinda, Kabwa, Kamba, Kanyok, Kikuyu, Kimbundu, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Kogo, Kongo, Kunda, Kwangali, Lingala, Lomwe, Lozi, Luba-Katanga (Kiluba), Luchazi, Luganda, Luvale, Makhuwa, Maore, Mbunda, Mwani, Ndebele (Northern), Ndebele (Southern), Ndonga, Ngoni, Njebi, Nkore, Nyole, Nyungwe, Oshiwambo, Punu, Sengele, Shona, Soga, Sotho (Northern), Sotho (Southern), Suba, Swahili, Swati, Taita, Tsonga, Tswana, Tumbuka, Umbundu, Venda, Xhosa, Yao, Zigula, Zinza, Zulu
Alphabetical index | Language family index
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