Counting in Kristang

Language overview

Forty-two in Kristang Kristang, or Papia Kristang, also known as Cristão, Cristan (“Christian”), Portugues di Melaka (“Malacca Portuguese”), Linggu Maiis (“Mother Tongue”), or Portugis, is a Malayo-Portuguese Creole, spoken by the Kristang community in the state of Malacca, Malaysia, and in Singapore. Much of its vocabulary comes from Portuguese, with some derived from Chinese, Indian and Malay languages to varying degrees. Kristang counts about one thousand speakers.

Kristang numbers list

  • 1 – ngua
  • 2 – dos
  • 3 – tres
  • 4 – kuatu
  • 5 – singku
  • 6 – sez
  • 7 – seti
  • 8 – oitu
  • 9 – novi
  • 10 – des
  • 11 – onzi
  • 12 – dozi
  • 13 – trezi
  • 14 – katorzi
  • 15 – kinzi
  • 16 – dises
  • 17 – diseti
  • 18 – disoitu
  • 19 – disnovi
  • 20 – binti
  • 30 – trinta
  • 40 – korenta
  • 50 – singkuenta
  • 60 – sesenta
  • 70 – satenta
  • 80 – oitenta
  • 90 – noventa
  • 100 – sentu
  • 1,000 – mil

Kristang 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: ngua [1], dos [2], tres [3], kuatu [4], singku [5], sez [6], seti [7], oitu [8], and novi [9].
  • Numbers from eleven to fifteen are also rendered by specific words: onzi [11], dozi [12], trezi [13], katorzi [14], and kinzi [15]. From sixteen to nineteen, the numbers are formed starting with the word for ten (des), directly followed by the unit: dises [16] (10+6), diseti [17] (10+7), disoitu [18] (10+8), and disnovi [19] (10+9).
  • Tens are irregular from ten to thirty, then formed adding the suffix enta to the multiplier digit: des [10], binti [20], trinta [30], korenta [40], singkuenta [50], sesenta [60], satenta [70], oitenta [80], and noventa [90].
  • Above twenty, compound numbers are formed starting with the ten, followed by the unit separated by a space (e.g.: trinta oitu [38], satenta sez [76]).
  • Hundreds are formed starting with the multiplier digit, then the word for hundred (sentu) separated with a space, except for one hundred: sentu [100], dos sentu [200], tres sentu [300], kuatu sentu [400], singku sentu [500], sez sentu [600], seti sentu [700], oitu sentu [800], and novi sentu [900]. When compound, one hundred turns into nsentu (e.g.: nsentu ngua [101], nsentu binti [120]).
  • Thousands are formed starting with the multiplier digit, then the word for thousand (mil) separated with a space: (ngua) mil [1,000], dos mil [2,000], tres mil [3,000], kuatu mil [4,000], singku mil [5,000], sez mil [6,000], seti mil [7,000], oitu mil [8,000], and novi mil [9,000].
  • The word for million is miliang. Millions follow the same pattern as thousands: ngua miliang [1 million], dos miliang [2 millions], tres miliang [3 millions]…

Write a number in full in Kristang

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

A Kristang Family Cookbook A Kristang Family Cookbook
by , editors Marshall Cavendish International (2015)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Source

Portuguese-based creoles and pidgins

Cape Verdean Creole, and Kristang.

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.