How to count in Kiribati, a Micronesian language spoken on Kiribati (formerly the Gilbert Islands), and a number of other Pacific islands.
If any of the numbers are links, you can hear a recording by clicking on them. If you can provide recordings, please contact me.
| Numeral | Cardinal | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | akea (lit. "nothing") | |
| 1 | teuana | te moa |
| 2 | uoua | te kauoua 1) |
| 3 | tenua | te katenua |
| 4 | aua | te kaua |
| 5 | nimaua | te kanimaua |
| 6 | onoua | te kaonoua |
| 7 | itua | te kaitua |
| 8 | wanua | te kawanua |
| 9 | ruaiua, raiwa | te karuaiua |
| 10 | tebwina | te katebwina |
| 11 | tebwi ma teuana | te katebwi ma teuana |
| 12 | tebwi ma uoua | te katebwi ma uoua |
| 13 | tebwi ma tenua | te katebwi ma tenua |
| 14 | tebwi ma aua | te katebwi ma aua |
| 15 | tebwi ma nimaua | te katebwi ma nimaua |
| 16 | tebwi ma onoua | te katebwi ma onoua |
| 17 | tebwi ma itua | te katebwi ma itua |
| 18 | tebwi ma wanua | te katebwi ma wanua |
| 19 | tebwi ma ruaiwa | te ka tebwi ma ruaiwa |
| 20 | uabwi | te kauabwi |
| 21 | uabwi ma teuana | |
| 22 | uabwi ma uoua | |
| 23 | uabwi ma tenua | |
| 24 | uabwi ma aua | |
| 25 | uabwi ma nimaua | |
| 26 | uabwi ma onoua | |
| 27 | uabwi ma itua | |
| 28 | uabwi ma wanua | |
| 29 | uabwi ma ruaiwa | |
| 30 | tenibwi | |
| 40 | abwi | |
| 50 | nimabwi | |
| 60 | onobwi | |
| 70 | itibwi | |
| 80 | wanibwi | |
| 90 | ruabwi | |
| 100 | tebubua | |
| 200 | uabubua | |
| 300 | tenibubua | |
| 400 | abubua | |
| 500 | nimabubua | |
| 501 | nimabubua ao teuana | |
| 600 | onobubua | |
| 700 | itibubua | |
| 800 | wanibubua | |
| 900 | ruabubua | |
| 1,000 | teuana tengaa, te-ngaa, tengaa | |
| 2,000 | uoua tengaa, uangaa | |
| 3,000 | teniua tengaa, teningaa | |
| 4,000 | aua tengaa | |
| 5,000 | nimaua tengaa | |
| 6,000 | onoua tengaa | |
| 7,000 | itua tengaa | |
| 8,000 | wanua tengaa | |
| 9,000 | ruaiwa tengaa | |
| 10,000 | tebwina tengaa | |
| 100,000 | tebubua tengaa | |
| 200,000 | uabubua tengaa | |
| 300,000 | tenibubua tengaa | |
| 400,000 | abubua tengaa | |
| 500,000 | nimabubua tengaa | |
| 600,000 | onobubua tengaa | |
| 700,000 | itibubua tengaa | |
| 800,000 | wanibubua tengaa | |
| 900,000 | ruabubua tengaa | |
| 1,000,000 | te mirion, teuana te mirion | |
| one billion | te birian | |
| 1/2 | itera | |
| 2/3 | uoua te katenim'akoro | |
| 3/4 | teniua te kaam'akoro | |
| 4/5 | aua te kanimam'akoro |
For numbers of 1,000 and higher there is an old system of counting which has mostly been replaced by one more similar to the Western style.
In the old system the numeral prefixes are used with the forms for 1,000, 10,000 and further multiples of ten on up to a billion, for which there seems to be no older form
| Numeral | Cardinal |
|---|---|
| 1,000 | te ngaa |
| 2,000 | uangaa |
| 5,555 | nimangaa nimabubua nimabwi ma nimaua |
| 10,000 | te rebu |
| 10,666 | te rebu onobubua onobwi ma onoua |
| 20,777 | uarebu itibubua itibwi ma itua |
| 100,000 | te kuri |
| 200,001 | uakuri ao teuana |
| 651,000 | onokuri nimarebu tengaa |
| 1,000,000 | te ea |
| 9,742,000 | ruaea itikuri arebu uangaa |
| 10,000,000 | te tano |
| 52,000,000 | nimatano uaea |
| 100,000,000 | te taki |
| 946,834,000 | ruataki atano onoea wanikuri tenrebu angaa |
Kiribati numbers supplied by Wolfgang Kuhl
Source: Te taetae ni Kiribati. The Language of Kiribati. Grammar Handbook, 2010.
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
Information about Kiribati | Phrases | Numbers | Tower of Babel
Carolinian, Chuukese, Kiribati, Kosraean, Marshallese, Mokliese, Nauruan, Pingelapese, Pohnpeian, Puluwatese, Satawalese, Sonsorolese, Tobian, Ulithian, Woleaian
Alphabetical index | Language family index
[top]
You can support this site by Buying Me A Coffee, and if you like what you see on this page, you can use the buttons below to share it with people you know.
If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways. Omniglot is how I make my living.
Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com
[top]
