An Ainu–English–Japanese Dictionary/Chapter VII
The numerals assume four forms in the Ainu language; viz.; first, the Radical form; second, the Substantive form; third, the Ordinal form; fourth, the Adverbial form.
The radical forms of the numerals are as follows:—
Numbers may be framed by means of scores to an indefinite extent; but in actual practice, the numbers are rarely, if ever, met with. At the present day, the simpler Japanese method of numeration is rapidly supplanting the cumbrous native system. In order to arrive at a clear comprehension of the Ainu system of counting, the student must carefully note the following two particulars:— (a.)—The word ikashima commonly means, “excess,” “redundance;” but with the numerals it signifies, ”addition,” “to add to.” It is always placed after the number which is conceived of as added. (b.)—The particle e signifies “to subtract,” “to take away from,” and follows the number which is supposed to be taken away. Care must therefore be taken not to confound the particle with the e which is used as a preposition, and which means, “to,” “towards.” Thus tu ikashima wa(n) is, “two added to ten,” i.e. 12; and shinepe-san ikashima, wan e, tu hot ne, is “nine added to, ten taken from, two score;” and so on. Note also the following expressions:—E-tup, “one and a half;” e-rep, “two and a half;” e-inep, “three and a half.”
The radical form shine is also often used as the indefinite article a or an. See Chapter IV. The Article.
§ II. THE SUBSTANTIVE FORM.
Niu, “a person” Shinen, one person. Tun, two persons. Ren, three persons. Inen, four persons. Ashikne niu, five persons. Iwa niu, six persons. Arawa niu, seven persons. Tupe-san niu, eight persons. Shinepe-san niu, nine persons. Wa niu, ten persons. Shinen ikashima wa niu, eleven persons. Tun ikashima wa niu, twelve persons. Hot ne niu, twenty persons. Wa niu e tu hot ne niu, thirty persons. Shinen ikashima wa niu e tu hot ne niu, thirty-one persons. Ashikne hot ne niu, one hundred persons. Pe, be, p, “thing.” Shinep, one thing. Tup, two things. Rep, three things. Inep, four things. Ashiknep, five things. Iwanbe, six things. Arawanbe, seven things. Tupe-sanbe, eight things. Shinepe-sanbe, nine things. Wanbe, ten things. Shinep ikashima wanbe, eleven things. Tup ikashima wanbe, twelve things. Hot nep, twenty things. Wanbe e tu hot nep, twenty-one things. Shinep ikashima wanbe e tu hot nep, thirty-one things. Ashikne hot nep, one hundred things. [N.B.—Note carefully the repetition of the noun after each numeral.] With the numbers two and three, quadrupeds and sometimes even inanimate objects are counted with the word pish, e.g. Seta shinep, one dog. Seta tup pish, two dogs. Seta rep pish, three dogs. Seta inep, four dogs. Niu, pe, and pish may be considered to correspond in some degree to the so-called “classifiers” or “auxiliary numerals” of Chinese, Japanese, and many other Eastern languages; but no further trace of such “classifiers” exists. The radical form can never be used in answer to a question. In such a case one of the substantive forms must be employed. Some nouns are excluded by their nature from both the above categories. The following are a few such words. Kamui “god or gods”; To, “a day;” Tokap “day;” Kunne “night,” “black.” Kamui is counted as follows:— Shine kamui, one god. Tu kamui, two gods. Re kamui, three gods. Ine kamui, four gods. Ashikne kamui, five gods. Iwan kamui, six gods. Arawan kamui, seven gods. Tupe-san kamui, eight gods. Shinepe-san kamui, nine gods. Wan kamui, ten gods. Shine kamui ikashima wan kamui, eleven gods. Tu kamui ikashima wan kamui, twelve gods. Hot ne kamui, twenty gods. And so on. To is counted as follows:— Shine to, one day. Tut ko, two days. Rere ko, three days. Ine rere ko, four days. Ashikne rere ko, five days. Iwan rere ko, six days. Arawan rere ko, seven days. Tupe-san rere ko, eight days. Shinepe-san rere ko, nine days. Wan to, ten days. Shine to ikashima wan to, eleven days. Tut ko ikashima wan to, twelve days. Rere ko ikashima wan to, thirteen days. Hot ne to, twenty days. Wan to e tu hot ne to, thirty days. Tu hot ne rere ko, forty days. Wan to e re hot ne rere ko, fifty days. Ashikne hot ne to, one hundred days. Tokap is counted as follows:— Tokap shine to, one day. Tokap tut ko, two days. Tokap rere ko, three days. Tokap rere ko ine rere ko, four days. Tokap rere ko ashikne rere ko, five days. Tokap rere ko iwan rere ko, six days. Tokap rere ko arawan rere ko, seven days. Tokap rere ko tupe-san rere ko, eight days. Tokap rere ko shinepe-san rere ko, nine days. Wan to, ten days. Tokap shine to ikashima wan to, eleven days. Tokap tut ko ikashima wan to, twelve days. Tokap rere ko ikashima wan to, thirteen days. Tokap rere ko ine rere ko ikashima wan to, fourteen days. Hot ne to, twenty days. And so on. Sometimes tokap is counted thus:— Tokap to shine to, one day. Tokap to rereko, three days. Tokap to tutko, two days. And so on. Kunne is counted as follows:— Shine anchikara, one night. Tu anchikara, two nights. Re anchikara (also kunne rere ko), three nights. Kunne rere ko ine rere ko, four nights. Kunne rere ko ashikne rere ko, five nights. Kunne rere ko iwan rere ko, six nights. Kunne rere ko arawan rere ko, seven nights. Kunne rere ko tupe-san rere ko, eight nights. Kunne rere ko shinepe-san rere ko, nine nights. Wan anchikara, ten nights. And so on; i.e. adding kunne and kunne rere ko wherever tokap and tokap rere ko would be added to express “day.” Sometimes kunne is counted thus:—
And so on.
§ III. THE ORDINAL FORM.
Shine ikinne, first. Tu ikinne, second. Re ikinne, third. Ine ikinne, fourth. Ashikne ikinne, fifth. Iwan ikinne, sixth. Arawan ikinne, seventh. Tupe-san ikinne, eighth. Shinepe-san ikinne, ninth. Wan ikinne, tenth. And so on; adding ikinne to the radical form wherever pe, be, or p would be placed for the substantive form. The second way is as follows, but goes no higher than ten. Above ten the first method alone is in use:— Shine otutanu, first. Tu otutanu, second. Iye e re ikinne, third. Iye e ine ikinne, fourth. Iye e ashikne ikinne, fifth. Iye e iwan ikinne, sixth. Iye e arawan ikinne, seventh. Iye e tupe-san ikinne, eighth. Iye e shinepe-san ikinne, ninth. Iye wan ikinne, tenth. The ordinals are rarely met with. When they are used, the noun is preceded by no an, e.g.
And so on.
§ IV. THE ADVERBIAL FORM.
Ara shui-ne, or a-shui-ne once. Tu shui-ne, twice. Re shui-ne, thrice. Ine shui-ne, four times. Ashikne shui-ne, five times. Iwan shui-ne, six times. Arawan shui-ne, seven times. Tupe-san shui-ne, eight times. Shinepe-san shui-ne, nine times. Wa shui-ne, ten times. And so on. The word shui-ne is compounded from shui, “again” and ne, part of the verb “to be;” shui-ne would therefore mean, “to be again.”
§ V. MISCELLANEOUS.
Pairs of articles are expressed by the word uren, “both,” placed before the noun, e.g.:—
It may be found useful to note also the following phrases:—
And so on.
And so on.
And so on.
And so on. |
- ↑ But in counting fish 10 is earasamne no wan; while in counting animals 10 is shine atuita.
- ↑ In counting fish 20 is shine shike, i.e. one bundle, or “one load.”
- ↑ This word is often pronounced Fuyehe.
- ↑ Oara is from a which also becomes ara.
- ↑ Before t the final ra may be changed into t, thus making oat-tapsutu.