The
numeral system in Mao is decimal. Words denoting the concepts
of one through ten which constitute the set of basic cardinals,
of hundred, thousand and not commonly used words expressing
the concepts of twenty thousand, million, billion, trillion
and thousand thousand trillion are all absolute forms.
3.3.8.1.
The Cardinal
The basic cardinals
are
543.
kali ’
‘one’
caca
‘eight
kaxi/kahĩ/kahüi
‘two’
coku
‘nine’
kosü
‘three’
padi
‘four’
pongo
‘five’
cüro 27
‘ten’
coro
‘six’
cani
‘seven’
and
maküi
‘twenty’
nga
‘billion’
kri
‘hundred’
tsü
‘trillion’
hiu
‘thousand’
ka
‘thousand thousand
zu
‘million ’
‘trillion’
Decades
other than (the absolute) maküi ‘twenty’ are formed
by prefixing ri ‘ten’ to the basic cardinals, the
initial syllable of padi ‘four’ being optionally
and those of cani ‘seven’ caca ‘eight’
and coku ‘nine’ being obligatorily morphophenomically
deleted.
27.
This is the standard form which also has the sanction of
biblical use. Other possible but nonpreferred forms are
cia/cüa (and cüo ?)
ie5
