Dagbani numbers are the fastest way to feel at home in Tamale. You need them the moment a trader names a figure, a trotro mate calls out a stop, or a friend asks how many people are coming for lunch. Most of the system rests on a small set of words, and the patterns for 11–19 and 21–29 are regular enough to practise in an afternoon.
This guide teaches counting from the verified Dagbanli vocabulary, then shows how to use the numbers in the market — including where the pattern breaks down and where the record is silent. It is for visitors, residents and anyone doing business in Northern Ghana who wants to follow a price instead of guessing at it.
A note on Dagbani and Dagbanli
The language is called Dagbanli in the language itself; Dagbani is the anglicised form. Dagbamba are the people, Dagbaŋ is the land, Dagbana is one person. Dagbanli is a Gur (Mabia) language with two main dialects: Eastern Dagbani (Nayahali), centred on Yendi, and Western Dagbani (Tomosili), centred on Tamale. They are mutually intelligible, differing mainly in some root vowels and the pronunciation of some nouns.
Dagbani numbers 1–10: the words everything else is built from
Start with the units. Ten short words carry most of your counting, so learn them aloud until they come without thinking.
| Number | Dagbani | Number | Dagbani |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ndam | 6 | Ayobu |
| 2 | Ayi | 7 | Apoin |
| 3 | Ata | 8 | Anii |
| 4 | Anahi | 9 | Awoi |
| 5 | Anu | 10 | Pia |
You will hear these constantly in ordinary talk: ayi for two people, ata for three plates, anu for five minutes. They are also the parts larger numbers are assembled from.
Building 11–19: the pini- pattern
From 11 the language starts assembling. The element pini- is attached to the unit word, and the pattern holds cleanly from 11 to 17.
| Number | Dagbani | How it is put together |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | piniyini | pini- + one |
| 12 | pinaayi | pini- + two |
| 13 | pinaata | pini- + three |
| 14 | pinaanahi | pini- + four |
| 15 | pinaanu | pini- + five |
| 16 | pinaayobu | pini- + six |
| 17 | pinaapoin | pini- + seven |
| 18 | pishiayika | Irregular; not built from pini- |
| 19 | pishiyinika | Irregular; not built from pini- |
The honest note is that 18 and 19 do not follow the rule. They are not pini- plus eight or nine, and the forms contain an element that does not appear in 11 to 17. Learn them as separate words rather than looking for a logic the record does not support. The vowel in the early teens also shifts between pini- and pina- as the unit changes; that is normal speech.
The twenties, and the pattern that only goes so far
Twenty is pishi. The source we used records only two forms beyond the base in this range: pishi ni yini for 21 and pishi ni ayi for 22. It is tempting to assume the pattern simply continues for 23 to 29, but we have not verified that, so we are not printing those forms. Ask a speaker and write down what you hear.
| Number | Dagbani | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | pishi | The base for the twenties |
| 21 | pishi ni yini | pishi ni + one |
| 22 | pishi ni ayi | pishi ni + two |
The tens, the hundreds and the big figures
Above twenty the tens each have their own form, and no single rule produces all of them. Learn them as a set. Pirigili means half, which you need when someone splits a pile of tomatoes or a measure of grain. Bɛla means less and pam means more, so you can compare quantities without naming a figure.
| Number | Dagbani | Number | Dagbani |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | pihita | 80 | pihinii |
| 40 | pihinahi | 90 | pihiwɔi |
| 50 | pihinu | 100 | kɔbiga |
| 60 | pihiyobu | 1,000 | tuhili |
| 70 | pisopoin | 200 | kɔbishiyi |
| 300 | kɔbisita | 2,000 | tusaayi |
Where the record runs out, do not improvise. The verified list has no word for zero and does not cover the numbers between the tens. If you need 34 or 57, ask a speaker and write down what you hear. Inventing a plausible compound is how learners end up confidently saying something that is not Dagbanli at all.
Counting in Dagbani for money and prices
In practice you rarely stand in a market reciting a list. You ask a price, hear a number, and respond. The numbers arrive fast, inside a sentence, and the skill that matters is catching the scale of the figure before you work out the rest.
The words you need at the stall
Numbers only work with the vocabulary around them. These phrases cover most of a market or shop exchange.
| English | Dagbani |
|---|---|
| How much is this? | A la n nyɛ ŋɔ |
| That’s too expensive | Di be kirikiri yaɣi / daa maa kpem yaɣi |
| Expensive | Kirikiri |
| Discount for me | Boomi ma |
| Cheap | Alaha |
| Would you take ____? | A ni kpuɣi ____ |
| I can’t afford it | N ku tooi li |
| I don’t want it | M bi borili |
| You’re cheating me | A ŋaritimami |
| I’m not interested | M bi bora |
| OK, I’ll take it | Din ŋuna, n ni kpuɣi li |
| Can I have a bag? | N ni tooi nya baaji |
| I need ____ | M borila ____ |
| Do you have this in my size? | A mali ŋɔ din ni saɣi ma? |
Before any of that, greet. Dasiba in the morning, Antire or Aninwula in the evening, and Ka di be wula? to ask how someone is. A trader who has been greeted properly will slow down for you. If it is all moving too quickly, Gaafara gets attention and N bi gbaai means you have not understood.
Bargaining: hearing numbers fast
Bargaining in Tamale is mostly a listening exercise. The seller names a figure, you counter with A ni kpuɣi and your number, and the two of you move until you agree. The difficulty is not producing Dagbani numbers; it is catching them at speed, in a market, with several conversations happening at once.
- Listen for the beginning. The tens sit at the front of a number word, so catching pishi or kɔbiga tells you the scale before you have worked out the rest.
- Repeat the number back. Say what you think you heard, then wait. A nod confirms it; a correction teaches you the word you missed.
- Use your hands and a phone. Holding up fingers or showing a figure on a phone screen settles a number instantly. Nobody considers it rude.
- Go quiet rather than guessing. If you did not catch it, say Gaafara and ask again. Agreeing to a number you have not understood is the one mistake that costs you.
Payment method is part of the conversation. Mobile money is widely used in Tamale, and the amount still has to be said out loud or typed in, so the same number words apply. Our notes on mobile money and small business in Ghana cover how that side works.
Practice drills you can do this week
Numbers stick through repetition and use, not through reading. These drills take a few minutes each and need no teacher.
- Count your day. Count steps, sachets of water, plates on a table or people in a queue, out loud, using the units.
- Climb the teens. Run 11 to 19 forwards and backwards until the irregular 18 and 19 no longer trip you.
- Build twenties. Start at 20 and add a unit at a time, then have a speaker confirm your 28 and 29.
- Name the tens. Recite 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 in order and at random, from the table above.
- Role-play the stall. With a friend, take turns naming a figure and asking A la n nyɛ ŋɔ, speeding up until it is uncomfortable.
Days are worth adding to the routine, because market cycles and appointments run on them: Alahari, Atani, Atalaata, Alaaba, Alaamishi, Alizummah, Asibiri. For the full phrase set, our Dagbanli phrasebook for visitors collects the greetings and courtesies in one place.
What things cost, and what you can ask about
You will not find cedi figures in this guide, and that is deliberate: prices move with fuel, season and demand, so a figure printed here would be stale by the time you read it. Ask instead whether a price covers one item or a bundle, whether a lower grade is available, and whether the bulk amount is cheaper per unit.
For day-to-day expenses, transport and services, see our guide to the cost of living in Tamale. When you are buying in person, our survival guide to Tamale Central Market explains how the stalls are arranged.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 1 to 10 in Dagbani?
Ndam, ayi, ata, anahi, anu, ayobu, apoin, anii, awoi and pia. These ten words are the foundation of the counting system, and the teens and twenties are built by attaching them to pini- and pishi.
Is there a Dagbani word for money?
The verified vocabulary used here does not include one, so this guide supplies no term for money, nor for the cedi. In a market you can work with numbers and the phrases for asking a price, agreeing a figure or saying it is too expensive.
What if the trader speaks too quickly for me to follow?
Say Gaafara to get attention and ask again, or admit N bi gbaai — I don’t understand. Repeating the number back, holding up fingers or showing the figure on a phone all work well.
Do I need to learn all the numbers before I can shop in Tamale?
No. Units 1 to 10, the tens up to 100, and the phrases for asking and refusing a price cover most everyday exchanges. Learning 11 to 19 well helps, because those forms appear often and two of them are irregular.
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