Cardinal Numbers 11-100
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
Amharic numbers 11-100 use a base-10 system where you combine the tens and the units.
- 11-19 are formed by adding the unit to 'asra' (e.g., asra-and = 11).
- Multiples of 10 have unique names like 'haya' (20) and 'selasa' (30).
- Numbers 21-99 combine the ten-word and the unit-word (e.g., haya-and = 21).
Amharic Tens and Units
| Number | Amharic (Ge'ez) | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
|
10
|
አስር
|
Asir
|
|
20
|
ሃያ
|
Haya
|
|
30
|
ሰላሳ
|
Selasa
|
|
40
|
አርባ
|
Arba
|
|
50
|
አምሳ
|
Amsa
|
|
60
|
ስልሳ
|
Silsa
|
|
70
|
ሰባ
|
Seba
|
|
80
|
ሰማንያ
|
Semanya
|
|
90
|
ዘጠና
|
Zetegna
|
Meanings
Cardinal numbers represent quantity. In Amharic, numbers 11-100 follow a logical additive structure.
Basic Counting
Used for counting objects or people.
“አስራ አንድ መጽሐፍ (Asra and metshaf) - 11 books”
“ሰላሳ ብር (Selasa birr) - 30 birr”
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
11-19
|
Asra + Unit
|
Asra-and (11)
|
|
20-99
|
Ten + Unit
|
Haya-hulet (22)
|
|
Question
|
Number + Noun + ?
|
Haya-and sew new? (Is it 21 people?)
|
|
Negative
|
Ay- + Number
|
Ay-asra-and (Not 11)
|
|
Quantity
|
Number + Noun
|
Selasa birr (30 birr)
|
Formality Spectrum
ሃያ አምስት ብር አለኝ። (Shopping)
ሃያ አምስት ብር አለኝ። (Shopping)
ሃያ አምስት ብር አለኝ። (Shopping)
ሃያ አምስት ብር አለ። (Shopping)
Number Building Blocks
Tens
- Haya 20
- Selasa 30
Units
- And 1
- Hulet 2
Examples by Level
አስራ አንድ
11
ሃያ ሁለት
22
ሰላሳ ሶስት
33
አርባ አራት
44
አምሳ አምስት ብር
55 Birr
ስልሳ ስድስት ሰዎች
66 people
ሰባ ሰባት መጽሐፍ
77 books
ሰማንያ ስምንት ቀን
88 days
ዘጠና ዘጠኝ አመት
99 years
አስራ ስድስት ተማሪዎች
16 students
ሃያ ዘጠኝ ደቂቃ
29 minutes
አርባ አንድ ኪሎ
41 kilos
ስልሳ አራት የቤት ስራዎች
64 homework assignments
ሰባ አምስት በመቶ
75 percent
ሰማንያ ሁለት ዶላር
82 dollars
አስራ ዘጠኝ ሰአት
19 hours
ዘጠና አራት አባላት
94 members
አምሳ ሁለት ሳምንታት
52 weeks
ስልሳ ዘጠኝ ገጾች
69 pages
ሰባ ስድስት አገሮች
76 countries
ሰማንያ ዘጠኝ በመቶ ድርሻ
89 percent share
አስራ ሁለት ወራት
12 months
ሃያ ስምንት ቀናት
28 days
አርባ ዘጠኝ መኪናዎች
49 cars
Easily Confused
Asra-amest (15) and Amsa (50) sound similar.
Silsa (60) and Seba (70) are often mixed.
Asra-and (11) and And (1).
Common Mistakes
Haya-na-and
Haya-and
Asra-and-ten
Asra-and
And-asra
Asra-and
Haya-one
Haya-and
Amsa-amest-birr
Amsa-amest birr
Silsa-sost
Silsa-sost
Zetegna-zetegn
Zetegna-zetegn
Arba-and-sew
Arba-and sew
Haya-hulet-och
Haya-hulet
Seba-sebat-och
Seba-sebat
Semanya-simint-och
Semanya-simint
Amsa-amest-och
Amsa-amest
Sentence Patterns
___ ብር አለኝ።
___ ሰዎች አሉ።
ይህ መጽሐፍ ___ ብር ነው።
እኔ ___ አመት ነኝ።
Real World Usage
ሃያ ብር እሰጣለሁ።
አስራ አምስት ብር ነው።
ሃያ አምስት አመት ነኝ።
አርባ ደቂቃ ቀረ።
አስራ ሁለት ተማሪዎች አሉ።
ሰማንያ በመቶ ድርሻ።
Practice the tens
Avoid 'na'
Use flashcards
Listen to locals
Smart Tips
Group them by sound.
Don't pause between ten and unit.
Use standard Arabic numerals for clarity.
Remember the number comes first.
Pronunciation
Vowel clarity
Ensure the 'a' sounds are crisp.
Stress
Stress the first syllable of the ten-word.
Statement
ሃያ አንድ ነው። ↘
Falling intonation for facts.
Question
ሃያ አንድ ነው? ↗
Rising intonation for questions.
Memorize It
Mnemonic
Remember 'Asra' is 'Ten' and 'Haya' is 'Twenty'. Just stack the rest like Lego bricks!
Visual Association
Imagine a stack of 20 books (Haya) with 1 book (And) on top. That's 21 (Haya-and).
Rhyme
Haya is twenty, Selasa is thirty, counting in Amharic is never dirty!
Story
I went to the market with 20 (Haya) coins. I bought 1 (And) apple. Now I have 21 (Haya-and) items in my bag.
Word Web
Challenge
Count from 20 to 30 out loud in 30 seconds.
Cultural Notes
Bargaining is common. Using the exact number is expected.
Numbers are stated clearly to avoid financial errors.
Some speakers might use slightly different pronunciations.
Amharic numbers are derived from Ge'ez, an ancient Semitic language.
Conversation Starters
ስንት አመትህ ነው?
ይህ መጽሐፍ ስንት ነው?
በክፍል ውስጥ ስንት ተማሪዎች አሉ?
ስንት ሰአት ነው?
Journal Prompts
Common Mistakes
Test Yourself
21 = ___
35 = ?
Find and fix the mistake:
Haya-na-and (Incorrect)
birr / haya / amest
66 = ?
Answer starts with: Sil...
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
88 = ?
99 = ___
Score: /8
Practice Exercises
8 exercises21 = ___
35 = ?
Find and fix the mistake:
Haya-na-and (Incorrect)
birr / haya / amest
66 = ?
40 = ?
88 = ?
99 = ___
Score: /8
FAQ (8)
No, Amharic numbers 11-100 are gender-neutral.
No, the number already implies plurality.
They are distinct, but practice helps distinguish 'l' and 'b'.
You can use Arabic numerals (11, 12) or Ge'ez script.
The numbers themselves are the same in all registers.
100 is 'meto'.
No, that is a common mistake.
Yes, they are the standard for all daily counting.
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
diez y uno
Amharic omits the conjunction.
soixante-dix
Amharic is purely decimal.
einundzwanzig
Amharic maintains tens-first order.
nijuu-ichi
Both are decimal.
ahad 'ashar
Amharic lacks gendered numbers.
ershiyi
Both are logical and consistent.
