How to count in Na’vi

Enter a number and get it written in full in Na’vi.

Language overview

Invented by Paul Frommer for the fictional indigenous race in James Cameron’s movie Avatar, Na’vi language has no written form but is transcripted in latin alphabet where two diacritics (ä, ì), three ejective consonants (px, tx, kx), and the apostrophe (’) used as a glottal stop are added.

The octal numeral system

Na’vi numbers have been finally unveiled. Their numeral system is octal, or in the base-8, which can be explained by the fact Na’vi have four fingers. To better understand the octal numeral system, let’s start with a more familiar one: the decimal system. In the decimal system (or base-10), we have ten digits, from zero to nine. When we add 1 (one) to 9 (nine), we get 10 (ten), or the unit 1 (one) followed by 0 (zero). This system is positional (the digits represent the units, and their rank the matching power of ten). Thus, 132 decomposes in 100 + 30 + 2 = 1*102 + 3 *101 + 2 *100. This system is also known as a positional decimal numeral system.
Base-8 uses digits from 0 to 7. Its first ten is eight in decimal (810 = 108), the base is noted in subscript. The decomposition of an octal number (in a positional system) is the same as the one of a decimal number, only the base changes: (132)8 = 1*82 + 3 *81 + 2 *80. If we carry it out, we get the matching decimal number, here 90.

Na’vi numbering rules

  • The digits from one to seven are: ’aw [1], mune [2], pxey [3], tsìng [4], mrr [5], pukap [6], and kinä [7].
  • The tens are formed by setting the root of the multiplier digit before the number eight (which is ten in base eight), except for eight itself: vol [108/810], mevol [208/1610], pxevol [308/2410], tsìvol [408/3210], mrrvol [508/4010], puvol [608/4810], and kivol [708/5610].
  • Compound numbers are formed by suffixing the ten with the second root of the digit (yes, Na’vi digits have two roots: one for compound units, and one for multiplier unit). The ten word loses its final -l before a consonant, showing an apocope. The roots for compound digits are: -aw [1], -mun [2], -pey [3], -sìng [4], -mrr [5], -fu [6], and -hin [7]. The compound numbers from 118 to 188 are: volaw [118/910], vomun [128/1010], vopey [138/1110], vosìng [148/1210], vomrr [158/1310], vofu [168/1410], and vohin [178/1510]. We can now make any number up to 778 (or 6310): pxevosìng [348/2810], mrrvofu [568/4610], kivomun [728/5810]…
  • The hundreds are formed the same way as the tens, i.e. by prefixing the word for hundred (zam) with the multiplying root of the multiplier digit, except for one hundred itself: zam [1008/6410], mezam [2008/12810], pxezam [3008/19210], tsìzam [4008/25610], mrrzam [5008/32010], puzam [6008/38410], and kizam [7008/44810].
  • The word for the octal thousand is vozam, and the word for the octal ten thousand is zazam. Thousands and tens of thousands are built regularly as tens and hundreds (e.g.: vozam [1,0008/51210], mrrvozam [5,0008/2,56010], zazam [10,0008/4,09610], puzazam [60,0008/24,57610])
  • Lacking data on how are made compound numbers greater than one hundred, we can assume they are said as in English, with no conjunction between them (e.g.: pxevol mrrvosìng [3548/23610], mevozam kizam vofu [2,7158/1,48510]).

Books

Numbers list

18 – ’aw
28 – mune
38 – pxey
48 – tsìng
58 – mrr
68 – pukap
78 – kinä
108 – vol
118 – volaw
128 – vomun
138 – vopey
148 – vosìng
158 – vomrr
168 – vofu
178 – vohin
208 – mevol
308 – pxevol
408 – tsìvol
508 – mrrvol
608 – puvol
708 – kivol
1008 – zam
1,0008 – vozam
10,0008 – zazam

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Other universes languages

Dothraki, D’ni, Giak, Hylian, Láadan, Na’vi, and Wardwesân.

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