Counting in Dothraki
Language overview
The Dothraki language has been coined by George R. R. Martin in his series of fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire. It is spoken by the Dothrakis, the proud nomadic horsemen people of Essos. For the television adaptation of these novels named Game of Thrones aired from April 2011, the TV channel HBO has contracted David J. Peterson to develop the original words list into a complete language, with a grammar and rules of pronunciation.
Dothraki numbers list
- 1 – at
- 2 – akat
- 3 – sen
- 4 – tor
- 5 – mek
- 6 – zhinda
- 7 – fekh
- 8 – ori
- 9 – qazat
- 10 – thi
- 11 – atthi
- 12 – akatthi
- 13 – senthi
- 14 – torthi
- 15 – mekthi
- 16 – zhindatthi
- 17 – fekhthi
- 18 – oritthi
- 19 – qazatthi
- 20 – chakat
- 30 – chisen
- 40 – chitor
- 50 – chimek
- 60 – chizhinda
- 70 – chifekh
- 80 – chori
- 90 – chiqazat
- 100 – ken
- 1,000 – dalen
- one million – yor
Dothraki 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 zero to nine are: som [0] (meaning absent, missing), at [1], akat [2], sen [3], tor [4], mek [5], zhinda [6], fekh [7], ori [8], and qazat [9].
- Numbers for eleven to nineteen are formed by putting the digit name before the word for ten (thi), without space. Thus, we get atthi [11], akatthi [12], senthi [13], torthi [14], mekthi [15], zhindatthi (and not zhindathi) [16], fekhthi [17], oritthi (and not orithi) [18], and qazatthi [19]. The sixteen and eighteen irregularities appear as every other number in the teens is stressed on the penultimate syllable, so the t is doubled to follow that stress pattern.
- The tens are formed by prefixing the multiplier unit with chi (or ch when the digit name begins with a vowel), except for ten: thi [10], chakat [20], chisen [30], chitor [40], chimek [50], chizhinda [60], chifekh [70], chori [80], and chiqazat [90].
- The hundreds are formed by prefixing the word for hundred (ken) with the multiplier digit, with no space, except for one hundred itself: ken [100], akatken [200], senken [300], torken [400], mekken [500], zhindaken [600], fekhken [700], oriken [800], and qazatken [900].
- The thousands are formed by prefixing the word for thousand (dalen) with the multiplier digit, separated with a space, except for one thousand itself: dalen [1,000], akat dalen [2,000], sen dalen [3,000], tor dalen [4,000], mek dalen [5,000], zhinda dalen [6,000], fekh dalen [7,000], ori dalen [8,000], and qazat dalen [9,000].
- Compound thousands are formed by linking the thousand with the lower number with the conjunction ma (and, with), shortened in m’ before a vowel (e.g.: dalen ma sen [1,003], akat dalen m’atthi [2,011]).
- One million is yor.
Write a number in full in Dothraki
Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in Dothraki. 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
Dothraki: A Conversational Language Course
by David J. Peterson, editors Living Language (2014)
[ Amazon.com]
Game of Thrones Season One Essays
by Pearson Moore, editors Inukshuk Press (2011)
[ Amazon.com, Kindle - Amazon.com]
A Game of Thrones 4-Book Boxed Set: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire)
by George R.R. Martin, editors Bantam (2011)
[ Amazon.com, Kindle - Amazon.com]
Juego de tronos
by George Martin, editors Vintage (2012)
[ Amazon.com]
Le Trône de Fer, ou le Pouvoir dans le sang
by Stéphane Rolet, editors Presses universitaires François Rabelais (2014)
[ Amazon.com]
Le Trône de Fer, l’intégrale - 1
by George Martin, editors J’ai lu (2010)
[ Amazon.com]
A Guerra Dos Tronos: As Crônicas De Gelo e Fogo (em português do Brasil)
by George Martin, editors Leya (2010)
[ Amazon.com]
Articles
Lexicon evolution in Game of Thrones How many words are there in Dothraki, in High Valyrian, in Astapori Valyrian? One of the recurring questions about David J. Peterson’s constructed languages for Game of Thrones deals with the lexicon size of each of them. Let’s see the evolution of these lexicons season after season from a variety of sources. |
David J. Peterson After his linguistics studies at University of California, David J. Peterson has been chosen by HBO to create the Dothraki language for its series Game of Thrones. He then invented many other languages for television, the movie industry, and literature. |
Babies named from Game of Thrones What’s behind a name? A projection of wishes and personality traits, which sometimes comes from modern mythology nourished by novels and TV shows. Let’s see in this article the influence of Martin’s Game of Thrones on names given to babies since 2010 in the United States of America. |
Sources
- Dothraki, by David J. Peterson
- The Dothraki Language Dictionary (.pdf)
Links
- Dothraki, by David J. Peterson
- Lekh Dothraki
- Dothraki Vocabulary and Grammar Guide (.pdf)
- A Wiki of Ice and Fire
Game of Throne languages
Dothraki, and High Valyrian.
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.