Counting in Arikara

Language overview

Forty-two in Arikara Arikara is an indigenous language of North America, belonging to the Caddoan languages family. Spoken by the Arikara people in the Fort Berthold reservation in North Dakota, it counts about twenty speakers.

Arikara numbers list

  • 1 – áxkux
  • 2 – pítkux
  • 3 – táwit
  • 4 – čiitíʾiš
  • 5 – šíhux
  • 6 – tšaápis
  • 7 – tawišaapiswaána
  • 8 – tawišaápis
  • 9 – nooxiniiwaána
  • 10 – nooxíniʾ
  • 11 – nooxini na áxkux
  • 12 – nooxini na pítkux
  • 13 – nooxini na táwit
  • 14 – nooxini na čiitíʾiš
  • 15 – nooxini na šíhux
  • 16 – nooxini na tšaápis
  • 17 – nooxini na tawišaapiswaána
  • 18 – nooxini na tawišaápis
  • 19 – nooxini na nooxiniiwaána
  • 20 – wiitáʾuʾ
  • 30 – nasaawíʾuʾ
  • 40 – pitkuxunaánuʾ
  • 50 – pitkuxunaánuʾ na nooxíniʾ
  • 60 – tawihkunaánuʾ
  • 70 – tawihkunaánuʾ na nooxíniʾ
  • 80 – čiitiʾištaánuʾ
  • 90 – čiitiʾištaanu na nooxíniʾ
  • 100 – šihuxtaánuʾ
  • 1,000 – nooxininaánuʾ
  • one million – axku-hunaánuʾ

Arikara 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 rendered by specific words, namely: áxkux [1], pítkux [2], táwit [3], čiitíʾiš [4], šíhux [5], tšaápis [6], tawišaapiswaána [7], tawišaápis [8], and nooxiniiwaána [9].
  • Tens follow a vicesimal system (based on twenty): nooxíniʾ [10], wiitáʾuʾ [20] (formed on wiitanáʾu, which means man), nasaawíʾuʾ [30], pitkuxunaánuʾ [40] (2*20), pitkuxunaánuʾ na nooxíniʾ [50] (2*20 + 10), tawihkunaánuʾ [60] (3*20), tawihkunaánuʾ na nooxíniʾ [70] (3*20 + 10), čiitiʾištaánuʾ [80] (4*20), and čiitiʾištaanu na nooxíniʾ [90] (4*20 + 10).
  • Compound numbers are formed by linking each number position (tens and units, hundreds and tens, thousands and hundreds…) with the conjunction na (et): čiitiʾištaanu na áxkux [81], šihuxtaánuʾ na pítkux [102].
  • Hundreds are formed by putting the multiplier digit first, then the word for hundred (šihuxtaánuʾ) separated with a space, except for one hundred itself: šihuxtaánuʾ [100], pitkux šihuxtaánuʾ [200], tawit šihuxtaánuʾ [300]… nooxiniiwaána šihuxtaánuʾ [900].
  • Thousands are formed by putting the multiplier digit first, then the word for thousand (nooxininaánuʾ) separated with a space, except for one thousand itself: nooxininaánuʾ [1,000], pitkux nooxininaánuʾ [2,000], tawit nooxininaánuʾ [3,000]… nooxiniiwaána nooxininaánuʾ [9,000].
  • Millions are formed the same way as thousands, i.e. by putting the multiplier digit first, then the word for million (hunaánuʾ) separated with a space, except for one million itself: axku-hunaánuʾ [1 million], pitkux hunaánuʾ [2 millons], tawit hunaánuʾ [3 milions]…

Write a number in full in Arikara

Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in Arikara. 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.

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