Wolof Numbers & Counting

Wolof numbers are basically counted in groups of five. The numbers one through five (and ten) are the main numbers in the Wolof numeric system, all other numbers up to one-hundred are based on these numbers.

Wolof numbers are combined together to form new numbers. For example the
number twelve in Wolof is fukk ak ñaar (10 & 2), which when added together equals
twelve. With the exception of six through nine and all numbers divisible by ten, except for ten, up to one-hundred, such as twenty, thirty, forty, etc. all Wolof number combinations include the Wolof word ak which means ‘and’ or ‘with’.

When a larger number precedes a smaller number the numbers are added. For example the number sixteen in Wolof is fukk ak juróom benn (10 & 6 or 10 & 5 &1) which when added together equals sixteen. All numbers up to nineteen are in this order.

When a smaller number precedes a larger number then the numbers are multiplied. For
example the number forty in Wolof is ñeent fukk (4 & 10) which when multiplied equals forty. All numbers above twenty are in this order.

Wolof number combinations above twenty (except for 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 & 90) call for both addition and multiplication. For example the number thirty-two in Wolof is ñett fukk
ak ñaar (3 & 10 & 2), if written as a mathematical equation it would be 3 x 10 + 2 = 32.

Below is a table of Wolof numbers. Not all numbers are listed. We only included
the basic numbers and also tried to give examples of every kind of number combination. Click HERE for a complete list of Wolof numbers up to 100 along with their mathematical equations.

ENG. SYM.	ENG. WORD	WOLOF WORD
0	zero	tus *
1	one	benn
2	two	ñaar
3	three	ñett
4	four	ñeent
5	five	juróom
6	six	juróom benn
7	seven	juróom ñaar
8	eight	juróom ñett
9	nine	juróom ñeent
10	ten	fukk
11	eleven	fukk ak benn
12	twelve	fukk ak ñaar
13	thirteen	fukk ak ñett
14	fourteen	fukk ak ñeent
15	fifteen	fukk ak juróom
16	sixteen	fukk ak juróom benn
17	seventeen	fukk ak juróom ñaar
18	eighteen	fukk ak juróom ñett
19	nineteen	fukk ak juróom ñeent
20	twenty	ñaar fukk
21	twenty one	ñaar fukk ak benn
22	twenty two	ñaar fukk ak ñaar
23	twenty three	ñaar fukk ak ñett
24	twenty four	ñaar fukk ak ñeent
25	twenty five	ñaar fukk ak juróom
26	twenty six	ñaar fukk ak juróom benn
27	twenty seven	ñaar fukk ak juróom ñaar
28	twenty eight	ñaar fukk ak juróom ñett
29	twenty nine	ñaar fukk ak juróom ñeent
30	thirty	ñett fukk **
40	forty	ñeent fukk
50	fifty	juróom fukk
60	sixty	juróom benn fukk
61	sixty one	juróom benn fukk ak benn
62	sixty two	juróom benn fukk ak ñaar
63	sixty three	juróom benn fukk ak ñett
64	sixty four	juróom benn fukk ak ñeent
65	sixty five	juróom benn fukk ak juróom
66	sixty six	juróom benn fukk ak juróom benn
67	sixty seven	juróom benn fukk ak juróom ñaar
68	sixty eight	juróom benn fukk ak juróom ñett
69	sixty nine	juróom benn fukk ak juróom ñeent
70	seventy	juróom ñaar fukk
80	eighty	juróom ñett fukk
90	ninety	juróom ñeent fukk
100	one hundred	teemeer
1000	one thousand	junni
1,000,000	one million	fukki teemeeri junni

* The number zero (0) in Wolof can either be called tus or dara.

** The number thirty (30) in Wolof can either be called ñett fukk or fanweer.