Counting in Arhuaco

Language overview

Forty-two in Arhuaco Arhuaco (Ikʉ) is a Indigenous South-American language that belongs to the Chibchan language family. It is spoken by the Arhuaco people from the the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in Colombia. Arhuaco counts about 8,000 speakers.

Due to lack of data, we can only count accurately up to 9,999 in Arhuaco. Please contact me if you can help me counting up from that limit.

Arhuaco numbers list

  • 1 – in’gwi
  • 2 – mowga
  • 3 – máykʉnʉ
  • 4 – ma’keywa
  • 5 – asewa
  • 6 – chin̈wa
  • 7 – koga
  • 8 – abewa
  • 9 – ikawa
  • 10 – uga
  • 11 – in’gwi kʉttow
  • 12 – mowga kʉttow
  • 13 – máykʉnʉ kʉttow
  • 14 – ma’keywa kʉttow
  • 15 – asewa kʉttow
  • 16 – chin̈wa kʉttow
  • 17 – koga kʉttow
  • 18 – abewa kʉttow
  • 19 – ikawa kʉttow
  • 20 – mowga uga
  • 30 – máykʉnʉ uga
  • 40 – ma’keywa uga
  • 50 – asewa uga
  • 60 – chin̈wa uga
  • 70 – koga uga
  • 80 – abewa uga
  • 90 – ikawa uga
  • 100 – syentu
  • 1,000 – mil

Arhuaco numbering rules

Now that you’ve had a gist of the most useful numbers, let’s move to the writing rules for the tens, the compound numbers, and why not the hundreds, the thousands and beyond (if possible).

  • Digits from one to nine are specific words: in’gwi [1], mowga [2], máykʉnʉ [3], ma’keywa [4], asewa [5], chin̈wa [6], koga [7], abewa [8], and ikawa [9].
  • Tens are formed starting with the multiplier digit, followed by the word for ten (uga) separated with a space, except for ten itself: uga [10], mowga uga [20], máykʉnʉ uga [30], ma’keywa uga [40], asewa uga [50], chin̈wa uga [60], koga uga [70], abewa uga [80], and ikawa uga [90].
  • Compound numbers are formed starting with the ten, then the unit digit and the word kʉttow that expresses the unit (e.g.: máykʉnʉ uga abewa kʉttow [38], koga uga asewa kʉttow [75]). For numbers between eleven and nineteen, the ten can be omitted (e.g.: (in’gwi uga) mowga kʉttow [12]).
  • Hundreds are formed starting with the multiplier digit, then the word for hundred (syentu, loanword from the Spanish ciento), except for one hundred: syentu [100], mowga syentu [200], máykʉnʉ syentu [300], ma’keywa syentu [400], asewa syentu [500], chin̈wa syentu [600], koga syentu [700], abewa syentu [800], and ikawa syentu [900].
  • Compound hundreds are formed regularly (e.g.: syentu mowga uga [120]).
  • Thousands are formed starting with the multiplier digit, then the word for thousand (mil, loanword from Spanish), except for one thousand: mil [1,000], mowga mil [2,000], máykʉnʉ mil [3,000], ma’keywa mil [4,000], asewa mil [5,000], chin̈wa mil [6,000], koga mil [7,000], abewa mil [8,000], and ikawa mil [9,000].

Write a number in full in Arhuaco

Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in Arhuaco. Will you guess how to write a number in full? Enter a number and try to write it down in your head, or maybe on a piece of paper, before displaying the result.

Other supported languages

As the other currently supported languages are too numerous to list extensively here, please select a language from the full list of supported languages.