Counting in Ro

Language overview

Forty-two in Ro Ro is an a priori philosophical language in which words are categorized depending of their first syllables. For instance, all numbers begin with za (which actually means number), and all collective numbers with ze (like zedac, crowd). Created by the Reverend Edward Powell Foster starting in 1904 and published in 1928 (in Dictionary of Ro: the world language), it was supported by several American sponsors, of whom Melvil Dewey, inventor of the Dewey Decimal Classification, a library classification system of knowledge.

Ro numbers list

  • 1 – zab
  • 2 – zac
  • 3 – zad
  • 4 – zaf
  • 5 – zag
  • 6 – zal
  • 7 – zam
  • 8 – zaq
  • 9 – zar
  • 10 – zabax
  • 11 – zabab
  • 12 – zabac
  • 13 – zabad
  • 14 – zabaf
  • 15 – zabag
  • 16 – zabal
  • 17 – zabam
  • 18 – zabaq
  • 19 – zabar
  • 20 – zacax
  • 30 – zadax
  • 40 – zafax
  • 50 – zagax
  • 60 – zalax
  • 70 – zamax
  • 80 – zaqax
  • 90 – zarax
  • 100 – zaw
  • 1,000 – zay
  • one million – zazab
  • one billion – zazac
  • one trillion – zazad

Ro 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 rendered by specific words: zax [0], zab [1], zac [2], zad [3], zaf [4], zag [5], zal [6], zam [7], zaq [8], and zar [9].
  • The tens are formed by suffixing the multiplier digit with the word ax (which is the word for other, unless it is a mere coincidence): zabax [10], zacax [20], zadax [30], zafax [40], zagax [50], zalax [60], zamax [70], zaqax [80], and zarax [90].
  • Compound numbers are formed by juxtaposing the ten root (or the multiplier digit) with the end of the unit name, removing the initial z (e.g.: zacab [21] (from zacax and zab), zalam [67]).
  • The hundreds are formed by stating the multiplier digit, then the word for hundred (zaw) separated with a space, except for one hundred itself: zaw [100], zac zaw [200], zad zaw [300], zaf zaw [400], zag zaw [500], zal zaw [600], zam zaw [700], zaq zaw [800], and zar zaw [900].
  • The thousands are formed by stating the multiplier digit, then the word for thousand (zay) separated with a space, except for one thousand itself: zay [1,000], zac zay [2,000], zad zay [3,000], zaf zay [4,000], zag zay [5,000]…
  • Large numbers names are following the short scale principle, in which each new term is one thousand times its previous one. They are formed by suffixing the za root (the word for number) by the number of millions. Thus, we have zazab (million, 106), then zazac (billion, 109), zazad (trillion, 1012), zazaf (quadrillion, 1015), zazag (quintillion, 1018)… And we can go up to zazar (nonillion, 1030).

Write a number in full in Ro

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

Source

Auxiliary languages

Afrihili, Ba kom, Babm, Bolak, Ceqli, Digisk Folkspraak, Esperanto, Folkspraak, Globasa, Glosa, Guosa, Idiom neutral, Ido, Intal, Interlingua, Interlingue, Interslavic, Kotava, Langue nouvelle, Latinesce, Latino sine flexione, Lingua Franca Nova, Lingwa de planeta, Mondial, Mondlango, Neolatin, Nove Latina, Pandunia, Panglobish, Ro, Romanid, Slovio, Solresol, Sona, Spokil, Stœchiophonie, Tutonish, Universalglot, Uropi, and Volapük.

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.