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Grammar help

Cardinal numbers

All the numbers in Zarma are based on these first ten, except for the specific words of the tens (20, 30, ...), 'hundred' (zangu) and 'thousand' (zambar).

All of the cardinal numbers, except 6, 7, and 8, drop the prefix vowel ('i' or 'a') when they are qualifying adjectives

Money in Zarma is based on the 5-Franc unit. To a Zarma this is not five of everything: it is one, 1 dala.

afo	ihinka	ihinza
1	2	3

musu fo	musu beeri hinka	alboro hinza

Topics

Counting

0-10

11-20

10s, 100, 1000

20 onwards

Numerical
adjectives

Counting money

Counting

Counting from 0 to 10

All the numbers in Zarma are based on these first ten, except for the specific words of the tens, 'hundred' and 'thousand'.

Cardinal numbers 0 - 10
Zarma	number	pronunciation	Zarma	number	pronunciation
yaamo	0	yaa mo
afo	1	à fô	iddu	6	id du
ihinka	2	î *hin* ka	iyye	7	iy ye
ihinza	3	î *hin* za	ahakku	8	â hak ku
itaaci	4	î taa ci	iyegga	9	î *yeg* ga
iggu	5	i ggu	iway	10	î *way*

A half in Zarma is expressed with 'jare'. Jare literally means a part.
Ay ga ba buuru hinka nda jare. I want two and a half loaf of bread.

Counting from 11 to 20

The cardinal numbers above 10 are formed by adding to the word for the tens (10, 20, 30, etc.) the word 'cindi' (remains, left over) andthen add the unit. For example, 14 is 'iway cindi taci', literally ten and four left over.

The numbers just below the tens ending on a '8' or '9' can be expressed in two ways. In addition to the regular way using 'cindi' one can use 'si' (without, missing). For example 'waranka ihinka si' and 'waranka afo si"' represent 'twenty less two' and 'twenty less one', respectively, and are alternate way of saying "18" and "19".

Cardinal numbers 11-20
number	Zarma	pronunciation
11	iway cindi fo	i way cindi fo
12	iway cindi hinka	i way cindi hin ka
13	iway cindi hinza	i way cindi *hin* za
14	iway cindi taaci	i way cindi *taa* ci
15	iway cindi gu	i way cindi gu
16	iway cindi iddu	i way cindi id du
17	iway cindi iyye	i way cindi iy ye
18	iway cindi ahakku waranka ihinka si	i way cindi a hak ku war an ka i hin ka si
19	iway cindi yegga waranka afo si	i way cindi yeg ga war an ka a fo si
20	waranka	war an ka

The tens, hundreds and thousands

The tens (iway-wayey) are more or less based on a junction of 'ten' (iway) and the numbers one to nine. Hundred and thousand have their own name, but the hundreds (zangu-zangey) and the thousands (zambar-zambarey) are formed similar to English. As you may notice in the tens is the only instance where 'iddu' and 'iyye' are shortened.

Cardinal numbers 10s, 100s, 1000s
number	Zarma	pronunciation
10	iway	î *way*
20	waranka (not wayhinka)	war an ka
30	waranza (not wayhinza)	war an za
40	waytaaci	way taa ci
50	waygu	way gu
60	waydu (sometimes wayiddu)	way du
70	wayye (sometimes wayiyye)	way ye
80	wahakku (not wayahakku)	wa hak ku
90	wayyega (sometimes wayga)	way yeg ga
100	zangu	zan gu
200	zangu hinka	zan gu hin ka
1000	zambar	zam bar
2000	zambar hinka	zam bar hin ka
1,000,000	milyo / miliyo / million / zambar dubu

Counting from 20 onwards

The cardinal numbers above 20 are formed by adding to the word for the tens (20, 30, 40, etc.) the word 'cindi' (remains, left over) and then the unit (1, 2, ect.).

In counting over 100 'nda' or 'da' unites the tens to the hundreds, and the hundreds to the thousands. In counting under two thousand, one may count by hundreds all the way.

As we have seen for 11-20, when the unit lack one or two 'subunits' an idiom can be formed, not only for the number below hundred as we have discussed.

Counting from 20 onwards
number	Zarma	English (literally)
24	waranka cindi hinka	twenty remains four
56	waygu cindi iddu	fifty remains six
67	waydu cindi iyye	sixty remains seven
90	zangu iway si / wayyega	one hundred without ten / ninety
91	wayyega cindi fo	ninety remains one
98	zangu ihinka si	one hundred without two
99	zangu afo si	one hundred without one
156	zangu da waygu cindi iddu	hundred and fifty remains six
1001	zambar fo cindi fo	one thousand remains one
1011	zambar fo nd' iway cindi fo	one thousand and ten remains one
1111	zambar fo da zangu nd' iway cindi fo	one thousand and hundred and ten remains one
1400	zangu way cindi taaci zambar fo da zangu taaci	ten remains four hundreds one thousand and four hundred
2372	zambar hinka da zangu hinza da wayye cindi hinka	two thousand and three hundred and seventy remains two
888888	zambar zangu ahakku nda wahakku cindi ahakku nda zangu ahakku nda wahakku cindi ahakku	eight hundred and eighty remains eight thousands and eight hundred and eighty remains eight

Numerical adjective

All of the cardinal numbers, except 6, 7, and 8, drop the prefix vowel ('i' or 'a') when they are qualifying adjectives, directly following a noun or a noun with an adjective modifier. The noun does not take either a definite (see 1.D.2) or a plural ending (see 1.D.3), these being carried by the number if needed.

Zarma	English
bari fo	one horse, a horse
curo hinka	two birds
farkay gu	five donkeys
wayboro iyye	seven women
yo ahakku	eight camels

Numerical adjective in combination with qualifying adjective (5.D.2) If there is also a numeral adjective (one, five), this is placed after the qualifying adjective in Zarma.

Zarma	English
Yeeji futu hinza go no.	There are three mean bulls.

When the noun has a qualifying adjective, the definite article ending (if needed), either singular or plural, is placed on the adjective but not on the noun, which retains the indefinite form. When there is a numerical adjective, then neither the noun nor the qualifying adjective change from their indefinite form.

Zarma	English
bariyo	the horse
bari kayna	the small horse
hanso	the dog
hansi beero	the big dog
hansi beerey	the big dogs
hansi beeri hinka	two big dogs

Counting money

Money in Zarma is based on the 5-Franc unit. To a Zarma this is not five of everything: it is one, 1 dala. Instead of dala you may also hear dela.

Some of them may have heard of the Franc, but it is no more a money unit to them than a farthing is to you. They look at a 25-Franc piece and they think "five". They see a 100-Franc bill and they think "twenty". There used to be 5-Franc bills, so few people will see "billet" for this unit, and may use "katibi" for it, but this is still the smallest money unit now in use. Smaller units were formerly common, but only older people remember them; even they were not called Francs, but other names.

Money to 100 Francs
Zarma	English	Zarma	English
dala fo	5 Francs	dala way	50 Francs
dala hinka	10 Francs	dala way cindi taaci	70 Francs
dala hinza	15 Francs	dala way cindi iddu	80 Francs
dala taaci	20 Francs	(dala) waranka hinka si	90 Francs
dala gu	25 Francs	(dala) waranka af si	95 Francs
dala iddu	30 Francs	(dala) waranka	100 Francs

When counting money in the hundreds and thousands, one often does not specify if it is 'dala' when the context is clear. On the other hand, in the higher numbers, if it is people or other things, this must be specified, as the hearer may think you mean so much money's worth. In areas with Hausa influence, you will hear 'zika fo' for a thousand franc bill.