Numbers Eleven to Nineteen

Hausa builds the numbers eleven through nineteen transparently from goma sha + unit: goma sha uku is thirteen and goma sha takwas is eighteen. The small word sha belongs to this teen pattern. It is not replaced by da “and,” which joins a full ten and a unit from twenty-one upward.

The complete forms are neutral in (informal) conversation and (formal) writing. A shorter form without goma, such as sha biyu “twelve,” is also established, especially in (informal) speech and familiar time expressions. Beginners should master the full pattern first because it makes the structure visible.

Review the unit forms on Cardinal Numbers Zero to Ten; the following decade pattern is taught on Tens from Twenty to Ninety.

The teen table

The unit word is exactly the familiar form from one to nine: ɗaya, biyu, uku, huɗu, biyar, shida, bakwai, takwas, tara. Keep the hooked ɗ in ɗaya and huɗu.

Sha is the teen formative, not ordinary da

The internal learner formula is:

goma + sha + unit

You may think “ten plus unit” to remember the value, but sha is a fixed part of the Hausa teen numeral. It does not behave like a freely chosen translation of English and. Compare thirteen with twenty-three:

Using da after goma destroys the conventional teen form. Conversely, carrying sha into the twenties is also wrong.

The pattern has no special form corresponding to English eleven or twelve. English makes learners memorize two unrelated words; Hausa keeps both inside the same teen series.

Counted nouns still come before the numeral

The complete teen expression occupies one cardinal slot after the noun.

English says twelve chairs, with number first. Hausa says kujeru goma sha biyu, with the counted noun first. There is no genitive linker na/ta between an ordinary noun and the cardinal.

Human nouns use their lexical plural above one: baƙi, yara, ma’aikata, not singular baƙo, yaro, or ma’aikaci. Many inanimate nouns are more flexible, and conventional units often remain singular-shaped.

The unit nouns shekara and minti are conventional in such measurement frames. Do not add an English plural ending or reverse the order.

No gender agreement inside the numeral

The numeral is invariant. A masculine noun and a feminine noun take the same teen form.

The noun phrase and surrounding pronouns can show gender, but goma sha shida does not. English-speaking learners sometimes expect the final unit to agree because Hausa adjectives do; cardinal numerals are a different word class.

Full and short forms

Both goma sha biyu and sha biyu mean twelve. The shorter form is especially common where the numerical frame is unmistakable.

In a careful (formal) document, the full form can reduce ambiguity and displays the decimal structure. The short form is not “bad Hausa”; it is a conventional alternant. Keep your choice consistent within a list or table.

Prices, times, and dates

With prices, the currency unit precedes the whole number:

With a clock hour, ƙarfe comes first. Twelve has a familiar short expression:

In a (formal) twenty-four-hour schedule, a teen can name an afternoon hour directly:

A calendar date can use rana “day” followed by the number and ga watan “of the month”:

English ordinal translation fourteenth does not force an ordinal suffix into this conventional Hausa date phrase. The cardinal expression names the day of the month.

Alternative countdown forms for eighteen and nineteen

Hausa also has established expressions that count back from twenty: ashirin biyu babu “twenty with two absent” for eighteen and ashirin ɗaya babu for nineteen. These are useful for recognition in (informal) speech, but the direct teen forms are clearer for beginners and neutral in every setting.

The order matters: full ten, missing amount, then babu. Do not improvise countdown expressions for every number merely because these two are attested alternatives.

Digit strings versus a teen quantity

The digit sequence 1–8 may be read ɗaya, takwas when spelling out a code. The number 18 is one numeral, goma sha takwas.

Pausing between digits helps signal a code. In a quantity, say the teen as one integrated phrase.

Practice

Build each number by keeping goma sha fixed and changing only the unit.

Common Mistakes

1. Using da inside a teen

2. Carrying sha into the twenties

3. Copying English number-first order

4. Using a singular human noun

5. Reading a quantity as separate digits

Key Takeaways

• Eleven through nineteen use goma sha + unit.
• The shorter sha + unit is established, especially in familiar (informal) contexts; the full form is always clear.
• Do not use da inside the teens; da joins a full ten and unit from twenty-one upward.
• The numeral follows its noun: baƙi goma sha ɗaya, naira goma sha biyar, ƙarfe goma sha biyu.
• Cardinal teens do not change for gender.
• Ashirin biyu babu and ashirin ɗaya babu are recognized countdown alternatives for eighteen and nineteen, not a fully productive beginner pattern.