Numbers, Time, and Everyday Details

New Words and Phrases (in English)

In this step you will learn key numbers and phrases for talking about time and simple personal details like age and phone number.

Language Pattern (in English)

1. Using numbers for age

To talk about age in Swahili, you usually use the word miaka (years) with a number.

• Umri wako ni miaka mingapi? – "How old are you?"
• umri = age
• wako = your
• miaka = years
• mingapi = how many

A simple answer:

• Nina miaka ishirini. – "I am twenty years old."

Literally: "I have twenty years."

You can replace the number:

• Nina miaka kumi na tano. – "I am fifteen years old."

2. Asking for a phone number

Key phrase:

• Namba yako ya simu ni ipi? – "What is your phone number?"

Pattern:

• Namba ya simu – phone number
• yako – your
• ni ipi? – is which? / what is?

To answer, you can say:

• Namba yangu ya simu ni ... – "My phone number is ..."

Example:

• Namba yangu ya simu ni sifuri saba tano, tano mbili, nne tatu.

"My phone number is 0755 5243." (Numbers are usually said one by one.)

3. Talking about time (basic question)

A very common question:

• Samahani, saa ngapi sasa? – "Excuse me, what time is it now?"

To answer simply, use saa + number:

• Saa mbili. – "It is two o'clock."
• Tutakutana kesho saa nne. – "We will meet tomorrow at four o'clock."

Note: In daily life, Swahili time often starts counting hours from sunrise (around 6:00 a.m.), so saa mbili asubuhi is actually 8:00 a.m. This module keeps the simple form ("two o'clock") and introduces the cultural note but does not require you to convert times yet.

4. Talking about price

Use bei (price) and shilingi (shillings):

• Bei ya kitabu hiki ni shilingi elfu mbili.

"The price of this book is two thousand shillings."

Pattern:

• Bei ya X ni Y. – "The price of X is Y."

Another example:

• Kahawa ni shilingi elfu moja. – "Coffee is one thousand shillings."

Practice Dialogue (in English)

In this dialogue, two friends are arranging to meet, asking the time, and sharing age and phone numbers.

Check Your Understanding (in English)

Answer this question to check your understanding of numbers and everyday details in Swahili.