Numerals form a subclass
of nominals. They are classified into two types, viz., cardinals
and ordinals. The ordinal numbers are different from the
cardinals only in the two numbers ‘one’ and ‘two’. All the other
ordinals are the same as the cardinals formally. The ordinal
number always precedes the noun and the noun takes the
adjectival prefix a-.
aphra
ade
‘first room, front room’
aphra
ahem
‘first house’
adun ade
‘second room’
adun ahem
‘second house’
kethom ade
‘third room
kethom ahem
‘third house’
mek ichi
‘one eye’
mek hini
‘two eyes’
mek kethom
‘three eyes’
In Karbi, adjectives
precede or follow the nouns. The numeral also precedes or
follows the noun. The noun takes the adjectival prefix a-
when the numeral precedes it.
the cum ichi
‘one firewood’
ichi a the
come
'one firewood'
hem kethe hum-thom ]
kethe ahem hum-thom ]
‘three big houses’
humthom kethe a-hem]
The numeral system of
Karbi has the basic forms one to six, ten, twenty, hundred,
thousand and ten thousand. They are listed below:
roy
apar conjet
