Faleni · Lesson 10: Numbers, money and time

Faleni counts the way it does everything else: one pattern, no exceptions. Ten digit-words, three words for the powers of ten, and every number after that is built by saying the big part first. Prices, clock time and dates are then just those numbers next to a word you already know. There is no new grammar in this lesson at all.

Hear these first

Tap each word to hear it, say it aloud, then reveal the meaning.

Tap a word to hear it, say it aloud, then reveal the meaning.

The ten digits

Every one is a single syllable, and none of them sounds like another. Say them in order twice and they are yours.

Building any number: big part first

Three more words carry the powers of ten: na 10, to 100, fu 1000. Put the multiplier in front of them and add the rest:

• na = 10 · ne na = 2 x 10 = 20 · ne na ki = 20 + 3 = 23
• ki to = 300 · ki to fo na pe = 300 + 40 + 5 = 345
• ne fu = 2000 · ne fu ne na lu = 2000 + 26 = 2026

There is no "twenty-three" to memorise, no "eleven", no "fifteen". Read the pieces left to right and add them up.

Counting things

A number is a modifier, so like every modifier it follows the noun:

• sope ki: three dogs · tu ne: two houses · pu ta: one child
• wa ha komu sope ki.: I have three dogs.
• tu wa ha komu tepa pe.: My house has five rooms.

You never add a plural marker as well. sope ki is already three of them, so jo would be saying it twice.

Which one: nuki

Add nuki after a number to make it an ordinal, and it still follows the noun:

• ta nuki first · ne nuki second · ki nuki third
• tepa ki nuki ha le.: The third room is big.

Money

Ask a price with tomi (money) and jenu (how much):

• sufe ha tomi jenu?: How much is bread?
• sufe ha tomi ne na.: Bread costs 20.
• wa ha ko tomi.: I pay. (give money)

The clock

nafi is hour and naha is minute. The pattern is [hour] nafi [minutes] naha:

• ki nafi: 3 o'clock
• ki nafi ki na naha: 3:30 · ku nafi pe na pe naha: 9:55
• ki nafi nehu: half past three (nehu = half)

• Add a time of day for morning or evening: lu nafi nami = 6 in the morning, mo nafi nana = 8 in the evening.

• wa ha kaluwe lu nafi nami.: I wake at 6 in the morning.

• wa ha kawi ki nafi ki na naha.: I come at 3:30.

Dates

Months are numbered with nafa (month), days with nita (day), years with nalu (year). Give them smallest first: day, month, year.

• nita ne na ku: day 29 · nafa lu: month 6 (June)
• nita ne na ku nafa lu: 29 June
• nita ne na ku nafa lu nalu ne fu ne na lu: 29 June 2026
• wa ha ka nita ne na ku nafa lu.: I go on 29 June.

The rest of the tail

You will meet these rarely, and they follow the same shape. The full reference is in Numbers and extras:

• Decimals with nuse (point): ki nuse ta fo = 3.14
• Fractions with nemo (part): ta nemo ne = 1/2 (or just nehu, half)
• Negatives with noli (opposite): noli pe = -5

A little conversation: at the shop

A: fofu, sufe ha tomi jenu?: Excuse me, how much is bread? B: sufe ha tomi ne na.: Bread costs 20. A: wa ha me sufe ne, foso.: I'd like two loaves, please. B: awe. we ha ko tomi fo na.: Yes. You pay 40. A: fife! we ha kapu jeni?: Thanks! When do you close? B: wa jo ha kapu mo nafi nana.: We close at 8 in the evening.

Practice

1. Listen & choose

Tap the play button, listen, then pick what it means.

2. Read the number aloud

Work each one out before you look.

• fo na ne
• si to mo na ki
• ne fu ne na lu
• pe nuse pe

3. Say it in Faleni

Translate to Faleni:

1. I have two children.
2. How much is the ticket?
3. I come at 9 o'clock.
4. The first house is small.

Next

That is the whole number system: ten digits, three powers of ten, and one rule about which part comes first. Nothing in it is irregular, and nothing in it is a special case for time or money.

Keep the words alive in practice, read the reference text, and take any sentence apart in the translator.