Numbers in Kaqchikel



Learn numbers in Kaqchikel

Knowing numbers in Kaqchikel is probably one of the most useful things you can learn to say, write and understand in Kaqchikel. Learning to count in Kaqchikel may appeal to you just as a simple curiosity or be something you really need. Perhaps you have planned a trip to a country where Kaqchikel is the most widely spoken language, and you want to be able to shop and even bargain with a good knowledge of numbers in Kaqchikel.

It's also useful for guiding you through street numbers. You'll be able to better understand the directions to places and everything expressed in numbers, such as the times when public transportation leaves. Can you think of more reasons to learn numbers in Kaqchikel?

The Kaqchikel language, also spelled Cakchiquel or Cachiquel, belongs to the Mayan languages family, and more specifically to the Quichean-Mamean branch. Spoken by the Kaqchikel people of the midwestern highlands of Guatemala, it counts about 450,000 speakers. Two numeral systems coexist in Kaqchikel: a substractive system, and an additive system which tends to replace the former. We will explain here the additive numbering system.Due to lack of data, we can only count accurately up to 459 in Kaqchikel. Please contact me if you can help me counting up from that limit.

List of numbers in Kaqchikel

Here is a list of numbers in Kaqchikel. We have made for you a list with all the numbers in Kaqchikel from 1 to 20. We have also included the tens up to the number 100, so that you know how to count up to 100 in Kaqchikel. We also close the list by showing you what the number 1000 looks like in Kaqchikel.

  • 1) jun
  • 2) kaʼiʼ
  • 3) oxiʼ
  • 4) kajiʼ
  • 5) woʼoʼ
  • 6) waqiʼ
  • 7) wuquʼ
  • 8) waqxaqiʼ
  • 9) bʼelejeʼ
  • 10) lajuj
  • 11) julajuj
  • 12) kabʼlajuj
  • 13) oxlajuj
  • 14) kajlajuj
  • 15) woʼlajuj
  • 16) waqlajuj
  • 17) wuqlajuj
  • 18) waqxaqlajuj
  • 19) bʼelejlajuj
  • 20) jukʼal
  • 30) jukʼal lajuj
  • 40) kak’al
  • 50) kak’al lajuj
  • 60) oxk’al
  • 70) oxk’al lajuj
  • 80) kajk’al
  • 90) kajk’al lajuj
  • 100) ok’al

Numbers in Kaqchikel: Kaqchikel numbering rules

Each culture has specific peculiarities that are expressed in its language and its way of counting. The Kaqchikel is no exception. If you want to learn numbers in Kaqchikel you will have to learn a series of rules that we will explain below. If you apply these rules you will soon find that you will be able to count in Kaqchikel with ease.

The way numbers are formed in Kaqchikel is easy to understand if you follow the rules explained here. Surprise everyone by counting in Kaqchikel. Also, learning how to number in Kaqchikel yourself from these simple rules is very beneficial for your brain, as it forces it to work and stay in shape. Working with numbers and a foreign language like Kaqchikel at the same time is one of the best ways to train our little gray cells, so let's see what rules you need to apply to number in Kaqchikel

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  • Digits from zero to nine have specific names: wa’ix [0], jun [1], kaʼiʼ [2], oxiʼ [3], kajiʼ [4], woʼoʼ [5], waqiʼ [6], wuquʼ [7], waqxaqiʼ [8], and bʼelejeʼ [9].
  • The tens multiples of twenty are formed starting with the root of the multiplier digit suffixed with k’al. The other tens are composed starting with the previous multiple of twenty followed by the word for ten (lajuj), except for ten itself: lajuj [10], jukʼal [20], jukʼal lajuj [30] (20+10), kak’al [40] (2*20), kak’al lajuj [50] (2*20+10), oxk’al [60] (3*20), oxk’al lajuj [70] (3*20+10), kajk’al [80] (4*20), and kajk’al lajuj [90] (4*20+10).
  • Numbers from eleven to nineteen are formed starting with the unit root, directly followed by the word for ten (lajuj): julajuj [11], kabʼlajuj [12], oxlajuj [13], kajlajuj [14], woʼlajuj [15], waqlajuj [16], wuqlajuj [17], waqxaqlajuj [18], and bʼelejlajuj [19].
  • Compound numbers above twenty are formed starting with the ten (or rather the previous multiple of twenty), then the number from one to nineteen separated with a space (e.g.: jukʼal oxlajuj [33] (20+13), oxk’al woʼoʼ [65]).
  • This system being completely vigesimal, hundreds and thousands are not expressed as multiples of ten, but as multiples of twenty. Each multiple of twenty is formed the same way, starting with the root of the multiplier, directly followed by k’al up to 380, then by q’o’ above: ok’al [100] (5*20), waqk’al [120] (6*20), wuqk’al [140] (7*20), waqxaqk’al [160] (8*20), b’elejk’al [180] (9*20), lajk’al [200] (10*20), julajujk’al [220] (11*20), kab’lajujk’al [240] (12*20), oxlajujk’al [260] (13*20), kajlajujk’al [280] (14*20), wolajujk’al [300] (15*20), waqlajujk’al [320] (16*20), wuqlajujk’al [340] (17*20), waqxaqlajujk’al [360] (18*20), b’elelajujk’al [380] (19*20), juq’o’ [400] (20*20), juk’al juq’o’ [420] (21*20)… kaq’o’ [800] (40*20)… oxoq’o’ [1,200] (60*20)… jukala’ [160,000] (800*20)…
  • Compound numbers above one hundred are regularly formed, i.e. starting with the previous multiple of twenty, then the number from one to nineteen separated with a space (e.g.: ok’al jun [101], wuqk’al ka’i’ [142], julajujk’al wuqu’ [227]).
  • Escribiendo Kaqchikel, Martín Chacach Cutzal, Universidad Rafael Landívar (2004)
  • Numbers in different languages