Numbers in Tok Pisin



Learn numbers in Tok Pisin

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

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 Tok Pisin?

Tok Pisin is an English creole language spoken in Papua New Guinea. With about 4 million speakers, it is one of Papua New Guinea’s official languages, the two others being English and Hiri Motu. Tok Pisin is also known as New Guinea Pidgin, Melanesian Pidgin English and Neo-Melanesian, and counts about 120,000 speakers.

List of numbers in Tok Pisin

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

• 1) wan
• 2) tu
• 3) tri
• 4) foa
• 5) faiv
• 6) sikis
• 7) seven
• 8) et
• 9) nain
• 10) ten
• 11) wanpela ten wan
• 12) wanpela ten tu
• 13) wanpela ten tri
• 14) wanpela ten foa
• 15) wanpela ten faiv
• 16) wanpela ten sikis
• 17) wanpela ten seven
• 18) wanpela ten et
• 19) wanpela ten nain
• 20) tupela ten
• 30) tripela ten
• 40) fopela ten
• 50) faipela ten
• 60) sikispela ten
• 70) sevenpela ten
• 80) etpela ten
• 90) nainpela ten
• 100) wan handet
• 1,000) tausen
• one million) wan milien

Numbers in Tok Pisin: Tok Pisin numbering rules

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

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

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Digits from zero to nine are specific words where one can recognize English digit names in their pronunciation, namely siro [0], wan [1], tu [2], tri [3], foa [4], faiv [5], sikis [6], seven [7], et [8], and nain [9].

The tens are built from the multiplier number, followed by the ending -pela (which also transforms the digits into adjectives), then the word ten, except for ten itself: ten [10], tupela ten [20], tripela ten [30], fopela ten [40], faipela ten [50], sikispela ten [60], sevenpela ten [70], etpela ten [80], and nainpela ten [90].

From eleven to ninety-nine, the numbers are built by saying the ten, then the digit separated by a space, with the exception of ten which becomes wanpela ten (e.g.: wanpela ten tu [12], sikispela ten seven [67]).

The hundreds are built by putting the multiplier unit before the word hundred (handet): wan handet [100], tu handet [200], tri handet [300]… The thousands follow the same structure, the word for thousand being tausen: tausen [1,000] (with no one unit), tu tausen [2,000], tri tausen [3,000]…

One million is said wan milien and the millions follow the same rule as the thousands.