How to count in Bambara (Bamanankan), a Mande language spoken in Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ghana.
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 | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | kelen | fɔlɔ |
| 2 | fila, fla | filanan, flanan |
| 3 | saba | sabanan |
| 4 | naani | naaninan |
| 5 | duuru | duurunan |
| 6 | wɔɔrɔ | wɔɔrɔnan |
| 7 | wolonwula, wolofila | wolonwulanan |
| 8 | seegin, ségin | seeginnan |
| 9 | kɔnɔntɔn | kɔnɔntɔnnan |
| 10 | tan | tannan |
| 11 | tan ni kelen | tan ni kelenan |
| 12 | tan ni fila | tan ni filanan |
| 13 | tan ni saba | tan ni sabanan |
| 14 | tan ni naani | tan ni naaninan |
| 15 | tan ni duuru | tan ni duurunan |
| 16 | tan ni wɔɔrɔ | tan ni wɔɔrɔnan |
| 17 | tan ni wolonwula | tan ni wolonwulanan |
| 18 | tan ni seegin | tan ni seeginan |
| 19 | tan ni kɔnɔntɔn | tan ni kɔnɔntɔnan |
| 20 | mugan | muganan |
| 21 | mugan ni kelen | mugan ni kelenan |
| 22 | mugan ni fila | mugan ni filanan |
| 23 | mugan ni saba | mugan ni sabanan |
| 24 | mugan ni naari | mugan ni naarinan |
| 25 | mugan ni duuru | mugan ni duurunan |
| 26 | mugan ni wɔɔrɔ | mugan ni wɔɔrɔnan |
| 27 | mugan ni wolonwula | mugan ni wolonwulanan |
| 28 | mugan ni seegin | mugan ni seeginan |
| 29 | mugan ni kɔnɔntɔn | mugan ni kɔnɔntɔnan |
| 30 | bi saba | bi sabanan |
| 40 | bi naani | bi naaninan |
| 50 | bi duuru | bi duurunan |
| 60 | bi wɔɔrɔ | bi wɔɔrɔnan |
| 70 | bi wolonwula, bi woronfla | bi wolonwulanan, bi woronflanan |
| 80 | bi seegin, bi segi | bi seeginan, bi seginan |
| 90 | bi kɔnɔntɔn, bi kònòntò | bi kɔnɔntɔnan, bi kònòntònan |
| 100 | kɛmɛ, kèmè | kɛmɛnan, kèmènan |
| 101 | kɛmɛ ni kelen | kɛmɛ ni kelenan |
| 200 | kɛmɛ fila | kɛmɛ filanan |
| 300 | kɛmɛ saba | kɛmɛ sabanan |
| 400 | kɛmɛ naani | kɛmɛ naaninan |
| 500 | kɛmɛ duuru | kɛmɛ duurunan |
| 600 | kɛmɛ wɔɔrɔ | kɛmɛ wɔɔrɔnan |
| 700 | kɛmɛ wolonwula | kɛmɛ wolonwulanan |
| 800 | kɛmɛ seegin | kɛmɛ seeginan |
| 900 | kɛmɛ kɔnɔntɔn | kɛmɛ kɔnɔntɔnan |
| 1,000 | waa kelen, ba kelen | waa kelenan, ba kelenan |
| 2,000 | waa fila, ba fila | waa filanan, ba filanan |
| 3,000 | waa saba, ba saba | waa sabanan, ba sabanan |
| 4,000 | waa naani, ba naani | waa naaninan, ba naaninan |
| 5,000 | waa duuru, ba duuru | waa duurunan, ba duurunan |
| 6,000 | waa wɔɔrɔ, ba wɔɔrɔ | waa wɔɔrɔnan, ba wɔɔrɔnan |
| 7,000 | waa wolonwula, ba wolonwula | waa wolonwulanan, ba wolonwulanan |
| 8,000 | waa seegin, ba seegin | waa seeginan, ba seeginan |
| 9,000 | waa kɔnɔntɔn, ba kɔnɔntɔn | waa kɔnɔntɔnan, ba kɔnɔntɔnan |
| 10,000 | waa tan | waa tanan |
| 20,000 | waa mugan | waa muganan |
| 30,000 | waa bi saba | waa bi sabanan |
| 40,000 | wa bi naani | wa bi naaninan |
| 50,000 | waa bi duuru | waa bi duurunan |
| 60,000 | waa bi wɔɔrɔ | waa bi wɔɔrɔnan |
| 70,000 | waa bi wolonwula | waa bi wolonwulanan |
| 80,000 | waa bi seegin | waa bi seeginan |
| 90,000 | waa bi kɔnɔntɔn | waa bi kɔnɔntɔnan |
| 100,000 | waa kɛmɛ | waa kɛmɛnan |
| 150,000 | waa kɛmɛ ni bi duuru | waa kɛmɛ ni bi duurunan |
| 200,000 | waa kɛmɛ fila | waa kɛmɛ filanan |
| 300,000 | waa kɛmɛ saba | waa kɛmɛ sabanan |
| 400,000 | waa kɛmɛ naani | waa kɛmɛ naaninan |
| 500,000 | waa kɛmɛ duuru | waa kɛmɛ duurunan |
| 600,000 | waa kɛmɛ wɔɔrɔ | waa kɛmɛ wɔɔrɔnan |
| 700,000 | waa kɛmɛ wolonwula | waa kɛmɛ wolonwulanan |
| 800,000 | waa kɛmɛ seegin | waa kɛmɛ seeginan |
| 900,000 | waa kɛmɛ kɔnɔntɔn | waa kɛmɛ kɔnɔntɔnan |
| 1,000,000 | mílyɔn kélen | mílyɔn kélenan |
| 2,000,000 | milyɔn fila | milyɔn filanan |
| 1/2 | tla filana, tla flana, tlancè | |
| 1/3 | tla sabana, tla ko saba | |
| 1/4 | tla naanina, tla ko naani | |
| 1/5 | tla duuruna, tla ko duuru | |
| 1/10 | tla tanna, tla ko tan | |
| 1/20 | tla muganna, tla ko mugan |
Ordinal numbers in Bambara are formed by adding the suffix -na(n) to the regular cardinal numbers, The only exception to this is first, which is fɔlɔ.
- Zana Kone: Parlons Bambara. An ka bamanankan fɔ, Tome 1. Edition 2002.
- Francisco Jose. Bambara-French-English / English-Bambara Dictionary. 2005
- В.Ф.Выдрин: Язык Бамана. Учебное пособие. Санкт-Петербург, 2008.
- Dr. habil. Siegmund Brauner: Lehrbuch des Bambara. VEB Verlag Ezyklopädie Leipzig, 1974.
- An Ka Bamanankan Kala: Beginning Bambara. Indiana University Linguistics Club, 1977.
Informaton about Bambara numerals
http://www.languagesandnumbers.com/how-to-count-in-bambara/en/bam/
Information provided 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 Bambara | Phrases | Numbers
Bambara, Kinyarwanda, Kpelle, Mandinka, Soninke, Susu, Vai
Alphabetical index | Language family index
[top]
You can support this site by Buying Me A Coffee, and if you like what you see on this page, you can use the buttons below to share it with people you know.
If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways. Omniglot is how I make my living.
Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com
[top]
