Counting in Caló

Language overview

Forty-two in Caló Caló, also known as Iberian Romani, is a mixed Romani–Romance language. Based on the Romance grammar with Romani lexical borrowings, it is spoken by the Spanish and Portuguese Romani, and often used as a secret language. The Caló language counts about 60,000 speakers.

Caló numbers list

  • 1 – yeque
  • 2 – dui
  • 3 – trin
  • 4 – ostar
  • 5 – panche
  • 6 – jobe
  • 7 – ester
  • 8 – otor
  • 9 – nebel
  • 10 – deque
  • 11 – yedeque
  • 12 – duideque
  • 13 – trindeque
  • 14 – ostardeque
  • 15 – panchedeque
  • 16 – jobedeque
  • 17 – esterdeque
  • 18 – otordeque
  • 19 – nebeldeque
  • 20 – bin
  • 30 – trianda
  • 40 – ostardí
  • 50 – panchardí
  • 60 – jobenta
  • 70 – esterdí
  • 80 – otorenta
  • 90 – esnete
  • 100 – gres
  • 1,000 – milé
  • one million – yeque tarquino

Caló 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 names: yeque [1], dui [2], trin [3], ostar [4], panche [5], jobe [6], ester [7], otor [8], and nebel [9].
  • Tens are formed starting with the multiplier digit, with different suffixes, except for ten, twenty and ninety: deque [10], bin [20], trianda [30], ostardí [40], panchardí [50], jobenta [60], esterdí [70], otorenta [80], and esnete [90].
  • Numbers from eleven to nineteen are formed starting with the unit or the unit root, followed with the word for ten (deque), with no space: yedeque [11], duideque [12], trindeque [13], ostardeque [14], panchedeque [15], jobedeque [16], esterdeque [17], otordeque [18], and nebeldeque [19].
  • Compound numbers from twenty-one and above are formed starting with the ten, directly followed with the unit, with no space (e.g.: binjobe [26], esterdíotor [78]).
  • Hundreds are formed starting with the multiplier digit, directly followed by the word for hundred (grés), with no space, except for one hundred: gres [100], duisgrés [200], tringrés [300], ostargrés [400], panchegrés [500], jobegrés [600], estergrés [700], otorgrés [800], and nebelgrés [900].
  • The word for thousand is milé [1,000].
  • The word for million is tarquino.

Write a number in full in Caló

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

Mixed languages

Caló, Llanito, and Michif.

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.