Yoruba Numbers
Learning the Yoruba Numbers is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. The more you master it the more you get closer to mastering the Yoruba language. But first we need to know what the role of Numbers is in the structure of the grammar in Yoruba.
Yoruba cardinal number convey the "how many" they're also known as "counting numbers," because they show quantity. Here are some examples:
| English Numbers | Yoruba Numbers |
| numbers | |
| one | Okan |
| two | Eji |
| three | Eta |
| four | Erin |
| five | Arun |
| six | Efa |
| seven | Eje |
| eight | Ejo |
| nine | Esan |
| ten | Ewa |
| twelve | Mejila |
| thirteen | metala |
| fourteen | merinla |
| fifteen | Medogun |
| sixteen | Merindinlogun |
| seventeen | Metadinlogun |
| eighteen | Medjidinlogun |
| nineteen | Mokandinlogun |
| twenty | Ogun |
| hundred | Ogorun |
As you can see from the example above, the structure of the Numbers in Yoruba has a logical pattern. Locate the Numbers above and see how it works with the rest of the sentence in Yoruba.
List of Ordinal Numbers in Yoruba
Yoruba Ordinal numbers tell the order of things in a set: first, second, third, etc. Ordinal numbers do not show quantity. They only show rank or position. Below is a list of the Cardinal Numbers and Ordinal Numbers in Yoruba. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Yoruba vocabulary.
| English Numbers | Yoruba Numbers |
| Ordinal Numbers | |
| first | Ekini |
| second | Ekeji |
| third | Eketa |
| fourth | Ekerin |
| fifth | Ekarun |
| sixth | Ekefa |
| seventh | Ekeje |
| eighth | Ekejo |
| ninth | Ekesan |
| tenth | Ekewa |
| eleventh | Okankola |
| twelfth | Ekejila |
| thirteenth | Eketala |
| fourteenth | Ekerinla |
| fifteenth | Eekedogun |
| sixteenth | Ekerindinlogun |
| seventeenth | Eketadinlogun |
| eighteenth | Ekejidinlogun |
| nineteenth | Okandinlogun |
| twentieth | Ogun |
| once | Eekan |
| twice | Emeji |
Cardinal Numbers and Ordinal Numbers have a very important role in Yoruba, therefore they need very special attention. Once you're done with Yoruba Numbers, you might want to check the rest of our Yoruba lessons here: Learn Yoruba. Don't forget to bookmark this page.