Tens from Twenty to Ninety | Hausa Grammar

The exact tens from twenty to ninety are individual Hausa words: ashirin, talatin, arba’in, hamsin, sittin, saba’in, tamanin, casa’in. Most entered Hausa historically through Arabic, so they are not formed by putting goma “ten” after two, three, and so on. There is no safe calculation that turns biyu into ashirin; the decade bases must be memorized.

Once a decade word is known, the numbers between decades are regular: add da + unit, as in ashirin da ɗaya “twenty-one.” All core forms here are neutral Nigerian Standard Hausa in (informal) and (formal) use.

The teen connector is different; compare Numbers Eleven to Nineteen. Larger place values continue on Hundreds and Thousands.

The exact tens

Number	Hausa	Example phrase
20	ashirin	mutane ashirin “twenty people”
30	talatin	kujeru talatin “thirty chairs”
40	arba’in	shekara arba’in “forty years”
50	hamsin	naira hamsin “fifty naira”
60	sittin	minti sittin “sixty minutes”
70	saba’in	shafuka saba’in “seventy pages”
80	tamanin	gidaje tamanin “eighty houses”
90	casa’in	kwanaki casa’in “ninety days”

Ashirin, talatin, arba’in, hamsin.

Twenty, thirty, forty, fifty.

Sittin, saba’in, tamanin, casa’in.

Sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety.

Casa’in is the common Nigerian/Kano form used here. The Arabic-near variant tis’in also appears in Hausa writing and speech, and tasa’in is recorded as another variant. These are lexical alternatives for ninety, not different arithmetic structures. A learner following this guide should produce casa’in consistently while recognizing the others.

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Make eight separate memory cards. The resemblance among hamsin, sittin, saba’in, tamanin reflects their history, but modern Hausa speakers use each as a whole decade word.

Adding a unit: decade + da + unit

For 21–29, 31–39, and so on, place da after the decade, then add the familiar unit from one to nine.

decade + da + unit

The first four models are ashirin da ɗaya “twenty-one,” talatin da biyu “thirty-two,” arba’in da uku “forty-three,” and hamsin da huɗu “fifty-four.”

sittin da biyar

sixty-five

saba’in da shida

seventy-six

tamanin da bakwai

eighty-seven

At the top of the range, casa’in da takwas is ninety-eight and casa’in da tara is ninety-nine.

The final unit has its ordinary form. Da is mandatory in this additive pattern. This contrasts with 11–19, which use goma sha or shortened sha:

goma sha biyar

fifteen

ashirin da biyar

twenty-five

English has no spoken and in ordinary twenty-five, while Hausa requires da. Conversely, English and in a larger number does not license moving da anywhere you please; it joins specific numerical units in Hausa order.

Counted nouns precede the entire number

The full compound numeral stays together after the noun. Do not split it around the noun.

Baƙi ashirin da ɗaya sun iso.

Twenty-one guests arrived.

Mun shirya kujeru talatin da biyu.

We arranged thirty-two chairs.

An buga littattafai arba’in da uku.

Forty-three books were printed.

Ɗalibai tamanin da bakwai sun yi rajista.

Eighty-seven students registered.

The natural Hausa order is “guests twenty and one,” not English “twenty-one guests.” Human nouns above one normally use lexical plurals such as baƙi and ɗalibai. Conventional measure nouns may remain singular-shaped.

Ya yi aiki a nan shekara ashirin.

He worked here for twenty years.

Tafiyar ta ɗauki minti talatin.

The journey took thirty minutes.

No genitive linker na/ta is inserted merely because the cardinal follows a noun. In shekara ashirin, ashirin directly quantifies the unit.

Gender does not change the decade word

Cardinal decades are invariant. Masculine gida and feminine mota take the same ashirin; agreement appears elsewhere in the sentence.

An sayar da gida ashirin a sabuwar unguwar.

Twenty houses were sold in the new neighborhood.

An sayar da motoci ashirin a watan nan.

Twenty cars were sold this month.

The choice between singular-shaped and plural inanimate nouns depends on lexical and discourse preferences, not gender agreement on ashirin. Do not invent feminine forms such as ashira.

Prices, ages, times, and dates

Currency and other units precede the number:

A: Nawa ne littafin? B: Naira hamsin ne.

A: How much is the book? B: It is fifty naira.

Ragowar naira ashirin da biyar ne.

The change is twenty-five naira.

Age is commonly framed with shekara or shekaru before the numeral:

Mahaifiyata tana da shekara arba’in da biyu.

My mother is forty-two years old.

Ya cika shekara saba’in.

He turned seventy years old.

In a (formal) twenty-four-hour timetable, the hour can be a number above twelve:

Jirgin zai tashi da ƙarfe ashirin.

The flight will depart at 20:00 (eight p.m.).

For a day of the month, Hausa can use rana + number + ga watan:

Za a rufe rajista ranar talatin ga watan Satumba.

Registration will close on the thirtieth of September.

The English translation uses an ordinal (thirtieth), but this conventional date phrase uses the cardinal talatin after rana.

Exact tens and approximate quantities

An exact decade says a precise number unless context or a modifier makes it approximate. Add kusan or wajen before the number for “about.”

Mutane hamsin sun halarci taron.

Fifty people attended the meeting.

Mutane kusan hamsin sun halarci taron.

About fifty people attended the meeting.

Another useful estimate is Wajen kujeru tamanin ake buƙata “About eighty chairs are needed.”

In (formal) reporting, do not present an estimate as an exact count. The numeral itself is exact; the approximator changes the speaker’s commitment.

Reading digits is a different task

The number 50 is the single cardinal hamsin. A code containing the digits 5 and 0 is read biyar, sifili. Likewise, 28 as a quantity is ashirin da takwas, not two separate digits.

Farashin ya kai naira hamsin.

The price reached fifty naira.

Lambar akwatin ita ce biyar, sifili.

The box code is five-zero.

Akwai ma’aikata ashirin da takwas.

There are twenty-eight workers.

This distinction matters for phone numbers, account numbers, room codes, and addresses. Pauses can help mark digit-by-digit reading, but the cardinal form is what names a quantity.

Practice: build and place the number

First choose the decade, then add da + unit, then put the whole result after the noun.

ƙwai talatin da shida

thirty-six eggs

kwanaki arba’in da tara

forty-nine days

naira tamanin da biyu

eighty-two naira

mutane casa’in da ɗaya

ninety-one people

Common Mistakes

1. Trying to build an exact ten from goma

❌ goma biyu

Incorrect for twenty — the exact decade is the lexical word ashirin.

✅ ashirin

twenty

2. Omitting da before a unit

❌ talatin uku

Incorrect for thirty-three — a unit after a full ten is joined by da.

✅ talatin da uku

thirty-three

3. Using sha above nineteen

❌ hamsin sha biyu

Incorrect for fifty-two — sha belongs to the teen pattern.

✅ hamsin da biyu

fifty-two

4. Copying English number-first order

❌ ashirin da biyar littattafai

Incorrect for an ordinary count phrase — the noun precedes the whole numeral.

✅ littattafai ashirin da biyar

twenty-five books

5. Confusing a number with a digit string

❌ Muna da kujeru uku, sifili.

Incorrect for ‘We have thirty chairs’ — this reads the digits 3 and 0 separately.

✅ Muna da kujeru talatin.

We have thirty chairs.

Key Takeaways

Memorize the decade bases: ashirin, talatin, arba’in, hamsin, sittin, saba’in, tamanin, casa’in.
Exact tens are lexical words, not goma multiplied by a unit word.
Between decades, use decade + da + unit: ashirin da ɗaya, tamanin da bakwai.
Keep the complete number after its noun or unit: baƙi talatin, naira hamsin, shekara arba’in.
Cardinal decades do not agree for gender.
Produce Nigerian casa’in consistently; recognize tis’in/tasa’in as variants for ninety.

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