{{page>nav}}

====== Numbers ======

===== Numbers below 1000 =====

The following words form the core of the number system:

**siro** – zero\\
**un** – one\\
**aval** – first\\
**do** – two\\
**tri** – three\\
**katre** – four\\
**tano** – five\\
**sis** – six\\
**set** – seven\\
**at** – eight\\
**tisa** – nine\\
**des** – ten\\
**sento** – hundred\\
**mil** – thousand

Other numbers are formed as follows:

**des un** – 11\\
**des do** – 12\\
**des tisa** – 19\\
**dodes** – 20\\
**dodes katre** – 24\\
**trides** – 30\\
**katredes tano** – 45\\
**atdes tisa** – 89\\
**sento dodes tri** – 123\\
**sento katredes** – 140\\
**dosento** – 200\\
**trisento trides tri** – 333\\
**katresento sis** – 406\\
**tanosento setdes** – 570\\
**tisasento tanodes tri** – 953  

One can see that numbers are read from left to right; if a small numeral from  **do** '2' to **tisa** '9' is followed by the larger numeral **des** '10' or **sento** '100', both these numerals are multiplied. **Un** is not used as multiplier since there is no need to do so (it would not change the value of the number). No space is used between the parts of a numeral formed in this way.

If one considers a sequence of letters without whitespace between them as a "word", then numbers above 10 have one word for each digit that isn't 0. Number words are placed in the same order as the digits, so **sento** or its multiples (if present) are always followed by **des** or its multiples (if present) and finally a number word from **un** to **tisa** (unless the last digit is 0).

**Siro** '0' is only used by itself, if the whole number is 0. Otherwise, if any digit in a number is 0, it is simply not mentioned in the number word.

===== Numbers up to a million =====

For numbers from 1000 onward, **mil** '1000' is used as additional multiplier. It too can be preceded by a smaller numeral from **do** '2' to **tisasento tisades tisa** '999' with which it is multiplied. **Un** is again not used as multiplier, since there is still no need to do so. Since the multipliers of **mil** may themselves include spaces, they are always separated from **mil** by another space. The part after the **mil** (if any), looks just like a smaller number.

**mil** – 1000\\
**mil des** – 1010\\
**mil tisades tisa** – 1099\\
**mil sissento** – 1600\\
**mil tisasento setdes tano** – 1975\\
**do mil** – 2000\\
**des mil** – 10,000\\
**tanodes mil** – 50,000\\
**atdes tisa mil** – 89,000\\
**sento mil** – 100,000\\
**katresento mil** – 400,000\\
**setsento des mil** – 710,000\\
**atsento katredes do mil sissento sisdes tri** – 842,663

===== Larger numbers =====

Additional words used for expressing larger numbers include:

**milyon** – million (10<sup>6</sup>)\\
**gigalyon** – billion (10<sup>9</sup>)\\
**teralyon** – trillion (10<sup>12</sup>)\\
...

While **milyon** is similar to the words used in English and many other languages, larger powers of 1000 are formed by combining the corresponding [[wp>Metric prefix#List_of_SI_prefixes|SI prefix]] with the suffix **-(a)lyon**. This leads to forms that are recognizable for anyone familiar with these prefixes and that avoid the [[wp>Long and short scales|long vs. short scale]] issue that would otherwise inevitably plague an international auxlang. Most French-, Spanish-, or German-speaking countries (and others) use the "long scale", which means that the word //billion/billón/Billion// in these languages corresponds to the English word 'trillion' (10<sup>12</sup>) rather than to English 'billion' (10<sup>9</sup>) – since modern English and Arabic, as well as some other languages, use the "short scale" instead. And for larger numerals, the difference in meaning gets even bigger. Regardless of which convention an auxlang would follow, it would be confusing for those used to the other scale. Usage of words derived from the SI prefixes avoids this potential pitfall.

Larger numbers are formed exactly in the same way as those involving **mil**, except that one or more of the words used for powers of 1000 are used as well – if several of these words are used in the same number, they are always sorted from largest to smallest.

**milyon** – 1,000,000\\
**sis milyon** – 6,000,000\\
**trides milyon** – 30,000,000\\
**sento milyon** – 100,000,000\\
**atsento milyon** – 800,000,000\\
**setsento sisdes tri milyon tanosento mil** – 763,500,000\\
**tisasento atdes milyon trisento des do mil setsento un** – 980,312,701\\
**gigalyon** – 1,000,000,000\\
**do gigalyon katresento milyon** – 2,400,000,000\\
**tisasento setdes gigalyon tanosento des** – 970,000,000,510

===== Cardinal and ordinal numbers =====

TODO Expand this section.

**Cardinal numbers** are placed before nouns:

**sis kofi** – six coffees\\
**tanodes uma** – fifty horses

**Ordinal numbers** are placed after nouns:

**kaus sora do** – the/a second rainbow\\
**abe des do** – the twelfth bird

**Aval** is an alternative to **un** which is only used as ordinal (after nouns):

**monte aval / monte un** – the first mountain

**Aval** is only used standalone, never as a part of combined numbers:

**uma des un** – the eleventh horse

//Rationale:// That ordinal numerals from 'two' upward are derived from cardinal numerals while a separate independent form is used for 'first', is the most typical pattern according to WALS (ch. 53). To keep things simple and regular we also allow using **un** as ordinal, but we add **aval** as independent synonym.

TODO Also explain how fractions are formed (**-i** suffix), how numbers with a fractional part are expressed (likely using the dot as decimal separator), and how large numerals can be grouped (preferably uses spaces between groups of three?).