How to count in Quenya

Enter a number and read it spelled out in Quenya.

Language overview

Quenya (quenya in Tengwar script) is one of the fictional languages spoken by the Elves, in the Arda world of J. R. R. Tolkien (of which The Lord of the Rings is one of the most renown work). Mainly influenced by Finnish, in grammar, phonology and vocabulary, it is also influenced to some extend by Latin, Greek, German and Spanish. It is written in Latin alphabet or in Tengwar script.

Quenya numbering rules

  • Digits from zero to nine and numbers from ten to twelve are specific words, namely munta (munta) [0], minë (minë) [1], atta (atta) [2], neldë (neldë) [3], canta (canta) [4], lempë (lempë) [5], enquë (enquë) [6], otso (otso) [7], tolto (tolto) [8], nertë (nertë) [9], cainen (cainen) [10], minquë [11] (minquë), and yunquë (yunquë) [12]. As the elves originally used the duodecimal number system (base 12), eleven and twelve are still irregular.
  • From thirteen to nineteen, the numbers are built by adding the -cëa (-cëa) suffix at the end of the first syllable (acting as a root) of the matching digit: nelcëa (nelcëa) [13], cancëa (cancëa) [14], lencëa (lencëa) [15], encëa (encëa) [16], occëa (occëa) [17], tolcëa (tolcëa) [18], and nercëa (nercëa) [19].
  • The tens are formed by adding the ten word (cainen, cainen) after the matching digit root (or first syllable), with the exception of ten where the unit is implicit: cainen (cainen) [10], yucainen (yucainen) [20], nelcainen (nelcainen) [30], cancainen (cancainen) [40], lemincainen (lemincainen) [50], eneccainen (eneccainen) [60], otsocainen (otsocainen) [70], tolcainen (tolcainen) [80], and nercainen (nercainen) [90].
  • Numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine are built by saying the unit first, then the ten separated by a space (e.g.: lempë yucainen (lempë yucainen) [25], enquë cancainen (enquë cancainen) [46]).
  • The hundreds are built exactly the same way as the tens, i.e. by adding the hundred word (tuxa, tuxa) after the matching digit root: tuxa (tuxa) [100], yutuxa (yutuxa) [200], neltuxa (neltuxa) [300]… When the hundred is composed, the unit is said first, then the ten, then the hundred, all separated by spaces (e.g.: atta otsocainen tuxa (atta otsocainen tuxa) [172], lempë tolcainen yutuxa (lempë tolcainen yutuxa) [285], cancainen neltuxa (cancainen neltuxa) [340])
  • We assume the thousands are built identically, i.e. by adding the thousand word (húmë, húmë) after the matching digit root: húmë (húmë) [1,000], yuhúmë (yuhúmë) [2,000], nelhúmë (nelhúmë) [3,000]…
  • The word for million is mindóra (mindóra).

Books

Numbers list

1 – minë (minë)
2 – atta (atta)
3 – neldë (neldë)
4 – canta (canta)
5 – lempë (lempë)
6 – enquë (enquë)
7 – otso (otso)
8 – tolto (tolto)
9 – nertë (nertë)
10 – cainen (cainen)
11 – minquë (minquë)
12 – yunquë (yunquë)
13 – nelcëa (nelcëa)
14 – cancëa (cancëa)
15 – lencëa (lencëa)
16 – encëa (encëa)
17 – occëa (occëa)
18 – tolcëa (tolcëa)
19 – nercëa (nercëa)
20 – yucainen (yucainen)
30 – nelcainen (nelcainen)
40 – cancainen (cancainen)
50 – lemincainen (lemincainen)
60 – eneccainen (eneccainen)
70 – otsocainen (otsocainen)
80 – tolcainen (tolcainen)
90 – nercainen (nercainen)
100 – tuxa (tuxa)
1,000 – húmë (húmë)
one million – mindóra (mindóra)

Other supported languages

Supported languages by families
As the other currently supported languages are too numerous to list extensively here, please select a language from the following select box, or from the full list of supported languages.