How do you count from 1 to 10 in Tigrinya?

1 ሓደ (ḥade), 2 ክልተ (kilte), 3 ሰለስተ (seleste), 4 ኣርባዕተ (arba'ite), 5 ሓሙሽተ (ḥamushte), 6 ሽዱሽተ (shudushte), 7 ሸውዓተ (shew'ate), 8 ሸሞንተ (shemonte), 9 ትሽዓተ (tish'ate), 10 ዓሰርተ (aserte).

What are Geez numerals?

Geez numerals (፩ ፪ ፫ ፬ ፭ ፮ ፯ ፰ ፱ ፲) are the traditional number symbols used in the Geez script for languages like Tigrinya, Amharic, and Tigre. They derive from Greek numerals and are still used in religious texts, formal contexts, and decorative writing.

Numbers in Tigrinya — 1 to 100 with Geez Numerals & Pronunciation

1 to 10

#	Geez Numeral	Tigrinya	Pronunciation
1	፩	ሓደ	ḥade
2	፪	ክልተ	kilte
3	፫	ሰለስተ	seleste
4	፬	ኣርባዕተ	arba'ite
5	፭	ሓሙሽተ	ḥamushte
6	፮	ሽዱሽተ	shudushte
7	፯	ሸውዓተ	shew'ate
8	፰	ሸሞንተ	shemonte
9	፱	ትሽዓተ	tish'ate
10	፲	ዓሰርተ	aserte

Tens, hundreds, thousands

#	Geez Numeral	Tigrinya	Pronunciation
20	፳	ዕስራ	isra
30	፴	ሰላሳ	selasa
40	፵	ኣርብዓ	arba'a
50	፶	ሓምሳ	ḥamsa
60	፷	ስሳ	sisa
70	፸	ሰብዓ	seb'a
80	፹	ሰማንያ	semanya
90	፺	ተስዓ	tes'a
100	፻	ሚእቲ	mi'ti
1,000	፲፻	ሺሕ	shihi

How Tigrinya numbers work

Compound numbers between 11 and 99 follow the pattern ten + and + unit. For example, 21 is ዕስራን ሓደን (isran ḥaden) — literally "twenty and one." Once you know 1–10 and the tens, you can build any number under 100.

About Geez numerals

Tigrinya uses both Western (Arabic) digits and the traditional Geez numerals (፩ ፪ ፫…). Geez numerals appear in religious texts, formal documents, and decorative writing. They have no zero — large numbers are built by combining symbols.

Want to read these on signs and books? Start with the Tigrinya alphabet chart.