Numbers in Tetun Dili



Learn numbers in Tetun Dili

Knowing numbers in Tetun Dili is probably one of the most useful things you can learn to say, write and understand in Tetun Dili. Learning to count in Tetun Dili 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 Tetun Dili is the most widely spoken language, and you want to be able to shop and even bargain with a good knowledge of numbers in Tetun Dili.

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 Tetun Dili?

Tetun Dili, also known as Tetun Prasa, Tetun Praça, or improperly as Tetun, is a Tetun-based creole, Tetun being an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian group. It is spoken by about 50,000 speakers in East Timor’s capital city Dili and in its surroundings, in the north of the country, where the two official languages are Tetun and Portuguese. Strongly influenced by Portuguese, it is also influenced by Mambae, with some Indonesian and Malay loans.We present on this page the numbers names based on Portuguese.

List of numbers in Tetun Dili

Here is a list of numbers in Tetun Dili. We have made for you a list with all the numbers in Tetun Dili 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 Tetun Dili. We also close the list by showing you what the number 1000 looks like in Tetun Dili.

• 1) ún
• 2) dois
• 3) trés
• 4) kuatru
• 5) sinku
• 6) seis
• 7) seti
• 8) oitu
• 9) novi
• 10) dés
• 11) onzi
• 12) dozi
• 13) trezi
• 14) katorzi
• 15) kizi
• 16) dezaseis
• 17) dezaseti
• 18) dezoitu
• 19) dezanovi
• 20) vinti
• 30) trenta
• 40) kuarenta
• 50) sinkuenta
• 60) sesenta
• 70) setenta
• 80) oitenta
• 90) noventa
• 100) sein
• 1,000) míl
• one million) un milyaun
• one billion) un bilyaun

Numbers in Tetun Dili: Tetun Dili numbering rules

Each culture has specific peculiarities that are expressed in its language and its way of counting. The Tetun Dili is no exception. If you want to learn numbers in Tetun Dili 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 Tetun Dili with ease.

The way numbers are formed in Tetun Dili is easy to understand if you follow the rules explained here. Surprise everyone by counting in Tetun Dili. Also, learning how to number in Tetun Dili 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 Tetun Dili 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 Tetun Dili

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Digits and numbers from zero to fifteen are specific words, namely zero [0], ún [1], dois [2], trés [3], kuatru [4], sinku [5], seis [6], seti [7], oitu [8], novi [9], dés [10], onzi [11], dozi [12], trezi [13], katorzi [14], and kizi [15]. Sixteen to nineteen are regular numbers, i.e. named after the ten and the digit, and written phonetically: dezaseis [10 and 6], dezaseti [10 and 7], dezoitu [10 and 8], dezanovi [10 and 9].

The tens have specific names based on the digits roots except for ten and twenty: dés [10], vinti [20], trenta [30], kuarenta [40], sinkuenta [50], sesenta [60], setenta [70], oitenta [80], and noventa [90].

The same applies to the hundreds: sein [100] (plural sentus), duzentus [200], trezentus [300], kuatrusentus [400], kinyentus [500], seisentus [600], setisentus [700], oitusentus [800], and novisentus [900].

Tens and units are linked with i (and), as in oitenta i trés [83], as well as hundreds and tens (e.g.: sentu i vinti [120]), but not hundreds and compound tens above twenty (e.g.: novisentus setenta i sinku [975]), nor thousands and hundreds, unless the number ends with a hundred with two zeroes (e.g.: dois míl i trezentus [2,300], but míl novisentus noventa i novi [1,999]). The conjonction i is also used to link thousands and units (e.g.: dois míl i trés [2,003]).

Millions are formed by stating the multiplier digit before the word for million (milyaun, plural milyoens), separated with a space: un milyaun (and not ún milyaun) [1 million], dois milyoens [2 million], trés milyoens [3 million], kuatru milyoens [4 million]…

Billions are formed the same way as millions, i.e. by stating the multiplier digit before the word for billion (bilyaun, plural bilyoens), separated with a space: un bilyaun (and not ún bilyaun) [1 billion], dois bilyoens [2 billion], trés bilyoens [3 billion], kuatru bilyoens [4 billion]… Thus, the Tetun Dili language uses the short scale system where every new word greater than a million is one thousand times bigger than the previous term (milyaun, bilyaun), which is similar to Brazilian Portuguese.

Tetun Dili Institute of Technology