How to count in Domari, a Western Indo-Aryan language spoken in many parts of the Middle East and North Africa.
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| Numeral | Cardinal | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ikak, yíkă, yikák | ‘awwal (A,m) ‘ūla (A,f) |
| 2 | dī, dīs, dies, diyyes, diesni | tānī (A,m) tāniye (A,f) |
| 3 | tărăn, taranes | tālit (A,m) tālite (A,f) |
| 4 | štar, štares | rābiʕ (A,m) rābiʕe (A,f) |
| 5 | pŭnj, pŭnjás, pʌndžes | xāmis (A,m) xāmise (A,f) |
| 6 | sitt-ēk-i (A), šas, šasás, taran-wa-taran (lit. ‘three-and-three’) |
sādis (A,m) sādise (A,f) |
| 7 | sabʕ-ak-i (A), ḥōṭ, ḥōṭīs, štar-wa-taran (lit. ‘four-and-three’ |
sābiʕ (A,m), sābiʕe (A,f) |
| 8 | tamāniy-ak-i (A), štar-wa-štar (lit. ‘four-and-four’) |
tāmin (A,m) tāmine (A,f) |
| 9 | tisʕ-ak-Ii(A), štar-wa-štar-yikák (lit. ‘four-and-four-and-one’) štar-wă-pŭnj, štar-wa-pʌndž (lit. four-and-five) |
tāsiʕ (A,m) tāsiʕe (A, f) |
| 10 | das, des, ʕašr-ak-i (A) | ʕāšir (A,m) ʕāšire (A,f) |
| 11 | das-wa-yikak (lit. ‘ten-and-one’) | |
| 18 | das-wă-štár-wă-štár (lit. ‘ten-and-four-and-four’) |
|
| 19 | wīs-ila-yikak (lit. ‘twenty-without-one’) | |
| 20 | ʕišrīn-i (A), wīs, wīs-i, wīstăne | |
| 21 | ʕišrīn ū ekak-i (A), wīs-u-yikak (lit. twenty-and-one) |
|
| 22 | ʕišrīn ū diyyes-i (A) | |
| 23 | ʕišrīn ū taranes-i (A) | |
| 24 | ‘arbaʕ ū ʕišrīn (A) | |
| 29 | wīs-u-štár-u-štár-wă-yikák (lit. ‘twenty-and-four-and-four-and-one’) |
|
| 30 | talātin (A), taran-das (lit.‘three-ten‘), wăt | |
| 40 | ‘arbaʕīn (A) štar-das (lit.‘four-ten‘) dī-wīs (lit. ‘two-twenty‘) |
|
| 50 | xamsīn (A), nīm-sai (lit. ‘half-hundred‘) | |
| 60 | sittīn (A), šaš-das (lit. ‘six-ten‘) tărăn wīs (lit. ‘three-twenty‘) dī wăt (lit. ‘two-thirty’) |
|
| 70 | sabʕīn (A), ḥōṭ-das (lit. ‘seven-ten‘) | |
| 80 | tamānin (A) štár-wa-štár das (lit. ‘eight-ten‘) štár wīs (lit. ‘four-twenty’) |
|
| 90 | tisʕīn (A), sai-ila-dás (lit. ‘hundred-without-ten‘) |
|
| 100 | miyyēk hi (A), siyy-ak-i, sai | |
| 200 | di-sai, dī ṣadd | |
| 1,000 | ‘alf-ak-i (A), das sai (lit. ‘ten-hundred‘) tilli sai |
The numeral system of the Jerusalem Domari has undergone a significant change over the past century with the loss of the inherited Indic forms for most of the numerals above ‘five’.
The linking elements – wa, u and ila ‘without’ – are Arabic-derived, while the word nīm ‘half’ derives from Persian.
(23) ʕišrīn ū taranes-i: Here, the Arabic form išrīn ‘twenty’ is followed by the inherited taran ‘three’. Usually, however, the entire Arabic expression is preferred, with the smaller numeral preceding the higher (decimal) one: ‘arbaʕ ū ʕišrīn ‘twenty four’.
Macalister (1914) reports that Arabic forms are used for ordinal and other fractional expressions.
| Numeral | Cardinal |
|---|---|
| 1 | yēka, yōka (short forms yē – yō) |
| 2 | dәdī |
| 3 | trәn |
| 4 | štar |
| 5 | panğ, pandȝ |
| 6 | šēš (K) |
| 7 | ḥawt, ḥaft (K) |
| 8 | ḥašt (K) |
| 9 | nu (K), nah (inherited) |
| 10 | dazz, daz: (K) |
| 11 | dazz yēk |
| 12 | dazz dī |
| 13 | dazz trәn |
| 14 | dašštā, dazz štār |
| 15 | dazz panğ |
| 16 | daššēš, dazz šēš |
| 17 | dazz ḥawt, dazz ḥaft |
| 18 | dazz ḥašt |
| 19 | dazz nah, dazz nu |
| 20 | wīst (K) |
| 21 | wīst yēka |
| 22 | wīst dәdī |
| 23 | wīst trәn |
| 24 | wīšštār, wīst štār |
| 25 | wīst panğ |
| 26 | wīššēš, wīst šēš |
| 27 | wīst ḥawt, wīst ḥaft |
| 28 | wīst ḥašt |
| 29 | wīst nah, wīst nu |
| 30 | sī, si: (K) |
| 40 | čәl (K) |
| 50 | pēnğā, pe:ndȝa |
| 60 | trәn wīst |
| 70 | trәn wīst dazz |
| 80 | trәn wīst wīst, štar wīst |
| 90 | ṣadd illa dazz (lit. ‘hundred-without-ten‘) štar wīst dazz (lit. ’four-and-twenty-and-ten‘, 4x20+10) |
| 100 | ṣadd (K) |
| 200 | dī ṣadd |
| 1,000 | hazār (K) |
| 2,000 | dī hazār |
(K) Kurdish
Note: The compound ṣadd illa dazz “ninety” is a good example of the different layers of borrowing in Northern Domari: ṣadd “hundred” was borrowed from Kurdish, illa “except” is from Arabic, and dazz “ten” is inherited.
Source: https://mpi-lingweb.shh.mpg.de/numeral/Domari.htm
Information provided by Wolfgang Kuhl
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
Information about Domari | Numbers in Domari
Caló, Domari, Finnish Kalo, Kalderash Romani, Sinte Romani, Welsh Romani
Alphabetical index | Language family index
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