Counting
0 - 9
The basic numbers are:
| Láadan | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rawoho | Zero (0) | The official dictionary technically does not have a word for 0, but rawoho is "none". |
| Nede | One (1) | |
| Shin | Two (2) | |
| Boó | Three (3) | |
| Bim | Four (4) | |
| Shan | Five (5) | |
| Bath | Six (6) | |
| Um | Seven (7) | |
| Nib | Eight (8) | |
| Bud | Nine (9) | |
10 - 19
The numbers 11 through 19 are formed by putting the ones value before the tens value, adding "e" as necessary to break up consonants.
| Láadan | English |
|---|---|
| Thab | Ten (10) |
| Nedethab | Eleven (11) |
| Shinethab | Twelve (12) |
| Boóthab | Thirteen (13) |
| Bimethab | Fourteen (14) |
| Shanethab | Fifteen (15) |
| Bathethab | Sixteen (16) |
| Umethab | Seventeen (17) |
| Nibethab | Eighteen (18) |
| Budethab | Nineteen (19) |
20 - 99
After that, 20, 30, 40, and so on will have "thab" (10) first, and then the number in that tens place, so 20 would be "ten-two", 30 would be "ten-three", and so on.
| Láadan | English |
|---|---|
| Thab | Ten (10) |
| Thabeshin | Twenty (20) |
| Thabebóo | Thirty (30) |
| Thabebim | Forty (40) |
| Thabeshan | Fifty (50) |
| Thabebath | Sixty (60) |
| Thabebum | Seventy (70) |
| Thabenib | Eighty (80) |
| Thabebud | Ninety (90) |
Then, to build out 21, 22, 34, 56, etc. you use the tens-value ("Thabeshin") plus ("i") how many ones ("nede").
| Láadan | English |
|---|---|
| Thabeshin | Twenty (20) |
| Thabeshin i shin | Twenty-two(22) |
| Thabebim i shan | Forty-five (45) |
| Thabebud i bud | Ninety-nine (99) |
Bigger numbers
| Láadan | English |
|---|---|
| Debe | One hundred (100) |
| Debe i nede | One hundred and one (100) |
| Debe i thabeshin i nede | One hundred and twenty-one (121) |
| Debeshan | Five hundred (500) |
| Debeshan i nede | Five hundred and one (501) |
| Debeshan i thabeshin i nede | Five hundred and twenty-one (521) |
| Thob | One thousand (1,000) |
| Thobeshin | Two thousand (2,000) |
| Thobeshin i debeshin i thabeshin i shin | Two thousand, two hundred, and twenty-two (2,200) |
| Rod | One million (1,000,000) |
| Merod | One billion (1,000,000,000) |
Specifying quantity in a statement
With pronouns, we can specify singular, some (2-5), or many (6+), but how do we explicitly state how many of an item is doing some action, or being affected?
Multiple subjects
For multiple subjects, you will still need to add the plural marker "me-" to your verb, but you can specify a quantity of subjects by putting the number after your subject.
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Bíi eril yod rul thuzheth wa. | The cat ate a cake | rul = cat |
| Bíi eril meyod rul shin thuzheth wa. | Two cats ate a cake. | me- = plural marker, shin = two |
Multiple objects
Let's say you ate three cakes. The number three ("Boó") will go after your object to specify the amount of that object.
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Bíi eril yod le thuzheth wa. | I ate a cake | yod = to eat, thuzh = cake, -th = object marker |
| Bíi eril yod le thuzheth boó wa. | I ate three cakes. | boó = three. |
Multiple recipients/givers
In the case where, perhaps, you're giving cake to three people, your number will go after the recipient.
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Bíi eril ban le thuzheth withediwa. | I gave cake to a person. | ban = to give, with = person, -di = goal marker. |
| Bíi eril ban le thuzheth withedi boó wa. | I gave cake to three people. | |
| Bíi eril bel le thuzheth withede boó wa. | I took cake from three people. | bel = to take, -de = source marker |
Some, many, all, any
You can use the words for "some", "many", "all", and "any" the same way you use an actual number in a sentence - after the subject, the object, or additional case-phrases.
| Láadan | English |
|---|---|
| menedebe or mendebe | many |
| nedebe or ndebe | few/several |
| woho | all/every |
| waha | any |
| Láadan | English | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Bíi eril yod le thuzheth wa. | I ate a cake. | |
| Bíi eril yod le thuzheth nedebe wa. | I ate some cake. | |
| Bíi eril yod le thuzheth menedebewa. | I ate many cakes. | |
| Bíi eril yod le thuzheth woho wa. | I ate all the cake. | |