Counting in Tahitian

Language overview

Forty-two in Tahitian The Tahitian language (Reo Tahiti) belongs to the Austronesian language family, and more specifically, in the Eastern Polynesian languages branch, to the Tahitic languages. Spoken mainly in the Society Islands in French Polynesia, which include the Tahiti island, it counts about 125,000 speakers.

Tahitian numbers list

  • 1 – ho’e
  • 2 – piti
  • 3 – toru
  • 4 – maha
  • 5 – pae
  • 6 – ono
  • 7 – hitu
  • 8 – va’u
  • 9 – iva
  • 10 – ’ahuru
  • 11 – ’ahuru ma ho’e
  • 12 – ’ahuru ma piti
  • 13 – ’ahuru ma toru
  • 14 – ’ahuru ma maha
  • 15 – ’ahuru ma pae
  • 16 – ’ahuru ma ono
  • 17 – ’ahuru ma hitu
  • 18 – ’ahuru ma va’u
  • 19 – ’ahuru ma iva
  • 20 – piti ’ahuru
  • 30 – toru ’ahuru
  • 40 – maha ’ahuru
  • 50 – pae ’ahuru
  • 60 – ono ’ahuru
  • 70 – hitu ’ahuru
  • 80 – va’u ’ahuru
  • 90 – iva ’ahuru
  • 100 – hanere
  • 1,000 – tautini
  • one million – mirioni
  • one billion – miria

Tahitian 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 specific words, namely ’aore [0], ho’e [1], piti [2], toru [3], maha [4], pae [5], ono [6], hitu [7], va’u [8], and iva [9].
  • The tens are formed by setting the multiplier digit before the word for ten (’ahuru), except for ten itself: ’ahuru [10], piti ’ahuru [20], toru ’ahuru [30], maha ’ahuru [40], pae ’ahuru [50], ono ’ahuru [60], hitu ’ahuru [70], va’u ’ahuru [80], and iva ’ahuru [90].
  • Compound numbers are formed by linking the digit to the ten with the ma coordinator, meaning and, with (e.g.: ’ahuru ma piti [12], piti ’ahuru ma pae [25]).
  • The hundreds are formed by setting the multiplier digit before the word for hundred (hanere, derived from the English hundred), except for one hundred itself: hanere [100], piti hanere [200], toru hanere [300], maha hanere [400], pae hanere [500], ono hanere [600], hitu hanere [700], va’u hanere [800], and iva hanere [900].
  • The thousands are formed by setting the multiplier digit before the word for thousand (tautini or tauatini, derived from the English thousand), except for one thousand itself: tautini [1,000], piti tautini [2,000], toru tautini [3,000], maha tautini [4,000], pae tautini [5,000], ono tautini [6,000], hitu tautini [7,000], va’u tautini [8,000], and iva tautini [9,000].
  • The word for million is mirioni (106), and the word for billion is miria (109).

Write a number in full in Tahitian

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

English-Tahitian, Tahitian-English Dictionary: Fa’atoro Parau Marite/Peretane-tahiti Tahiti-marite/Peretane English-Tahitian, Tahitian-English Dictionary: Fa’atoro Parau Marite/Peretane-tahiti Tahiti-marite/Peretane
by , editors University of Hawaii (2010)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Lonely Planet Tahiti & French Polynesia Lonely Planet Tahiti & French Polynesia
by , editors Lonely Planet (2012)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Tahitien express Tahitien express
by , editors Dauphin (2011)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Le tahitien de poche Le tahitien de poche
by , editors Assimil (2009)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Tahiti et la Polynésie française Tahiti et la Polynésie française
by , editors Lonely Planet (2009)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Source

  • Le tahitien de poche, by Louise Peltzer, editors Assimil (2009) (in French)

Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages

Araki, Biak, Cèmuhî, Māori, Marshallese, Mussau-Emira, Mwotlap, Nêlêmwa, Nengone, Paicî, Rapa Nui, Tahitian, Tongan (telephone-style), and Yuanga-zuanga.

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.