Counting in Central Tarahumara
Language overview
The Central Tarahumara language (Rarámuri) is a Mexican indigenous language of the Uto-Aztecan language family, spoken in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, and more precisely in Southwestern Chihuahua, by about 55,000 people, the Tarahumara. On this page, we use Wes Shoemaker’s spelling updated in 2016.
Due to lack of data, we can only count accurately up to 100 in Central Tarahumara. Please contact me if you can help me counting up from that limit.
Central Tarahumara numbers list
- 1 – bilé
- 2 – okuá
- 3 – bikiyá
- 4 – nawó
- 5 – malí
- 6 – usani
- 7 – kicháo
- 8 – osánawó
- 9 – kímakoi
- 10 – makoi
- 11 – makoi miná bilé
- 12 – makoi miná okuá
- 13 – makoi miná bikiyá
- 14 – makoi miná nawó
- 15 – makoi miná malí
- 16 – makoi miná usani
- 17 – makoi miná kicháo
- 18 – makoi miná osánawó
- 19 – makoi miná kímakoi
- 20 – osámakoi
- 30 – baisá makoi
- 40 – nawosa makoi
- 50 – malisa makoi
- 60 – usansa makoi
- 70 – kicháosa makoi
- 80 – osánawosa makoi
- 90 – kimakoisa makoi
- 100 – bilé siento
- 1,000 – bilé mil
Central Tarahumara 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).
- Numbers from one to nine are specific words, namely bilé [1], okuá [2], bikiyá [3], nawó [4], malí [5], usani [6], kicháo [7], osánawó [8], and kímakoi [9] (meaning ten minus one).
- Tens are formed by putting the multiplier digit before the word for ten, except for ten, twenty and thirty: makoi [10], osámakoi [20] (meaning second ten), baisá makoi [30] (third ten), nawosa makoi [40], malisa makoi [50], usansa makoi [60], kicháosa makoi [70], osánawosa makoi [80], and kimakoisa makoi [90] (tenth ten, minus ten).
- In compound numerals, the ten is put first, then the word miná (meaning plus), then the digit (e.g.: makoi miná bilé [11], osámakoi miná usani [26]).
- One hundred is bilé siento (from the Spanish ciento, hundred), and one thousand is bilé mil (from the Spanish mil, thousand).
Write a number in full in Central Tarahumara
Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in Central Tarahumara. 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.
Books
Primal Awareness: A True Story of Survival, Transformation, and Awakening with the Rarámuri Shamans of Mexico
by Don Trent Jacobs, editors Inner Traditions (1998)
[ Amazon.com]
Tarahumara: Where Night is the Day of the Moon
by Bernard L. Fontana, John P. Schaefer , editors University of Arizona Press (1997)
[ Amazon.com]
México: viaje al país de los tarahumaras
by Antonin Artaud, editors Fondo de Cultura Economica USA (1984)
[ Amazon.com]
Mexique, au pays des Tarahumara
by Luc Giard, editors L’Harmattan (1988)
[ Amazon.com]
Source
- Tarahumara Dictionary (in Spanish)
Uto-Aztecan languages
Central Tarahumara, Hopi, and Timbisha.
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.