Ahom numbers
are very similar to other numbers in Thai and other Tai languages, which mostly come from Middle Chinese and Old Chinese. For counting and ordering, we have two kinds of numbers:
4.1.1 Cardinal Numbers
A Cardinal Number is a number that says how many of something there are, such as one, two, three, four, five, etc. The following table lists 0-9 digits in Ahom
To understand how to write longer numbers in Ahom, it is important to first know the tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, etc places.
Now let us first break a three digit number into groups of hundreds, tens, and ones
512 = 5 (100) + 10 + 2
= hâa (paak) + síp + sawng
Similarly for four digit number we break it into groups of thousands, hundreds, and tens and ones
1325 = 1 (1000) + 3 (100) + 2(10) + 5
= lērng (reng) + saam (pàak) + sawng (síp) + hâa
Finally a really long number to help you understand everything,
20239001 = 20 (million) + 2 (hundred thousand) + 3 (ten thousand) + 9 (thousand) + 1
= sáao (lâan) + sawng (saen) + saam (mèrn) + kāo (reng) + ét
You might have noticed, in the ending one we didn't use lērng and instead used ét. There is a very good reason why that is so, but for now it is just good to remember that lērng is never used in ones place and we use ét in the end of multi-digit numbers.
The following example table might illustrate this better
So when you are counting numbers, you follow the given formula —
Noun + Number + Classifier
mnq# n,[q# mI# nukq$ so[q tUw
(mán náang mée nûk sawng to)
- She has two birds.
xw mI# em# sI! eka$
(khao mée mé sèe kâw)
- He has four wives.
Here kâw is a classifier applied for persons and to is a classifier applied for animals (including birds, reptiles and insects). Let's see one more example before we close this topic
AI! sV[q sEw$ ka# s,M lM#
(èe saeng sêr káa saam lám)
- Iseng bought four cars.
Here lám is a classifier applied for vehicles
4.1.2 Ordinal Numbers
Just like Cardinal Numbers are used for counting, ordinal numbers are used for ordering such as first, second, third, etc. You can convert any cardinal number to ordinal number by just adding the tēe or thêe prefix.
mnq# c,j# dj@ rpq$ sU# tI@ so[q
(mán tsáai dāi râp súu tēe sawng)
- He received second prize.
4.2 Dates
Now that you are familiar with cardinal and ordinal numbers, counting dates in Ahom shouldn't be difficult for you. For months we just add dern + the number of the month. So January is the first month, it is dern lērng, dern sawng, March is dern saam, etc.
mEw@ nj$ bnq# vI$ 25 dEnq sipq# so[q
(mēr nâi wán thêe 25 dern síp sawng)
- Today is 25th December.
Anyways, this was all for nouns lesson. Head out to Grammar section, to learn more about pronouns after this. And also check verbs and tenses lessons after that.
Happy Learning
- Learn Ahom Team
We thank @birmanicus for providing all audio in this lessons as well as other lessons. So please make sure to follow him on instagram
4.1.1 Cardinal Numbers
A Cardinal Number is a number that says how many of something there are, such as one, two, three, four, five, etc. The following table lists 0-9 digits in Ahom
| Ahom | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
|
sunq (sun) | zero |
|
lE[q@ (lērng) | one |
|
so[q (sawng) | two |
|
s,mq (saam) | three |
|
sI! (sèe) | four |
|
ha$ (hâa) | five |
|
rukq# (rúk) | six |
|
cCtq# (tsét) | seven |
|
pVtq! (pàet) | eight |
|
kw@ (kāo) | nine |
To understand how to write longer numbers in Ahom, it is important to first know the tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, etc places.
| Ahom | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
|
sipq# (síp) | ten |
|
s,w# (sáao) | twenty |
|
p,kq! (pàak) | hundred |
|
rC[q (reng) | thousand |
|
mEnq! (mèrn) | ten thousand |
|
sVnq (saen) | hundred thousand |
|
l,nq$ (lâan) | million |
Now let us first break a three digit number into groups of hundreds, tens, and ones
512 = 5 (100) + 10 + 2
= hâa (paak) + síp + sawng
Similarly for four digit number we break it into groups of thousands, hundreds, and tens and ones
1325 = 1 (1000) + 3 (100) + 2(10) + 5
= lērng (reng) + saam (pàak) + sawng (síp) + hâa
Finally a really long number to help you understand everything,
20239001 = 20 (million) + 2 (hundred thousand) + 3 (ten thousand) + 9 (thousand) + 1
= sáao (lâan) + sawng (saen) + saam (mèrn) + kāo (reng) + ét
You might have noticed, in the ending one we didn't use lērng and instead used ét. There is a very good reason why that is so, but for now it is just good to remember that lērng is never used in ones place and we use ét in the end of multi-digit numbers.
The following example table might illustrate this better
| Ahom | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
|
sipq# ACtq# (síp ét) | 11 |
|
pVtq! sipq# kw@ (pàet síp kāo) | 89 |
|
sI! p,kq! s,w! ACtq# (sée pàak sáao ét) | 421 |
|
lE[q@ rC[q ACtq# (lērng reng ét) | 1001 |
So when you are counting numbers, you follow the given formula —
Noun + Number + Classifier
mnq# n,[q# mI# nukq$ so[q tUw(mán náang mée nûk sawng to)
- She has two birds.
xw mI# em# sI! eka$(khao mée mé sèe kâw)
- He has four wives.
Here kâw is a classifier applied for persons and to is a classifier applied for animals (including birds, reptiles and insects). Let's see one more example before we close this topic
AI! sV[q sEw$ ka# s,M lM#(èe saeng sêr káa saam lám)
- Iseng bought four cars.
Here lám is a classifier applied for vehicles
4.1.2 Ordinal Numbers
Just like Cardinal Numbers are used for counting, ordinal numbers are used for ordering such as first, second, third, etc. You can convert any cardinal number to ordinal number by just adding the tēe or thêe prefix.
| Ahom | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
|
tI@ lE[q@ (tēe lērng) | first |
|
tI@ so[q (tēe sawng) | second |
|
tI@ s,mq (tēe saam) | third |
mnq# c,j# dj@ rpq$ sU# tI@ so[q(mán tsáai dāi râp súu tēe sawng)
- He received second prize.
4.2 Dates
Now that you are familiar with cardinal and ordinal numbers, counting dates in Ahom shouldn't be difficult for you. For months we just add dern + the number of the month. So January is the first month, it is dern lērng, dern sawng, March is dern saam, etc.
mEw@ nj$ bnq# vI$ 25 dEnq sipq# so[q(mēr nâi wán thêe 25 dern síp sawng)
- Today is 25th December.
Anyways, this was all for nouns lesson. Head out to Grammar section, to learn more about pronouns after this. And also check verbs and tenses lessons after that.
Happy Learning
- Learn Ahom Team
We thank @birmanicus for providing all audio in this lessons as well as other lessons. So please make sure to follow him on instagram