Money

This unit covers the Zarma money system, including vocabulary for financial transactions and a detailed conversion table between CFA francs and Zarma counting terms.

Vocabulary

Zarma	English
Barmey	Change
Dey	To buy
Nera	To sell
Noru	Money
Norukoni	Rich person
Talaka	Poor person
Wi	To spend
Zoto	Coins

The Money System

The French count by 5’s (5 francs, 10 francs), while Zarmas count by 1’s. The 5 franc piece is called “dala.”

Money Conversion Table

CFA	Zarma	CFA	Zarma
5 fr.	dala	100 fr.	(dala) waranka
10 fr.	dala hinka	105 fr.	waranka cindi fo
15 fr.	dala hinza	110 fr.	waranka cindi hinka
20 fr.	dala taci	125 fr.	waranka cindi gu
25 fr.	dala gu	90 fr.	(dala) waranka ihinka si
30 fr.	dala iddu	95 fr.	(dala) waranka afo si
35 fr.	dala iyye	150 fr.	waranza
40 fr.	dala haku	175 fr.	waranza cindi gu
45 fr.	dala yegga	200 fr.	wey taci
50 fr.	dala wey	250 fr.	wey gu
55 fr.	(dala) wey cindi fo	300 fr.	wey du
60 fr.	(dala) wey cindi hinka	350 fr.	weyiyye
65 fr.	(dala) wey cindi hinza	400 fr.	wahaku
70 fr.	(dala) wey cindi taci	450 fr.	wayegga
75 fr.	(dala) wey cindi gu	500 fr.	zangu
80 fr.	(dala) wey cindi iddu	1000 fr.	zangu hinka
85 fr.	(dala) wey cindi iyye	5000 fr.	zambar fo

Usage Notes

After “dala wey”, the word “dala” is often dropped. “Each” or “a piece” is expressed by repeating the number:

Zarma	English
Marje marje no?	How much a piece?
dal’ dala	5 fr. each
dala hinka hinka	10 fr. each